South African-born pop star Tyla has the world eating out of the palm of her hand with her viral hit song, “Water”.
Released just a month ago, the “Water” music video has racked up more than 33 million views on YouTube and has topped various music charts both locally and abroad.
Most importantly, she made history by debuting on the Billboard Hot 100, marking her first solo song to do so since jazz legend Hugh Masekela's “Grazing in the Grass” 55 years ago.
The song also sparked a viral “Water” dance challenge on TikTok garnering more than 448.6 million views, and the song has been used in over 500 000 videos on the app as people post themselves mimicking her moves.
The global sensation has also bagged awards like the Most Stylish Performing Artist at the South African Style Awards (SASA), and made her debut on the Soul Train Awards nominees list under the category Best New Artist alongside Ayra Starr.
Counting her blessings, Tyla took to Instagram to share a video of a packed venue watching her performance on a big screen, singing and dancing along to her viral hit.
In the caption, she wrote how she dreamt of “moments like this” and how eager she is to show the world what an “African pop star looks like”.
“Not long ago I was just a girl in South Africa dreaming of moments like this… Even though I’ve been grindingggg for years it feels like this is all happening so fast,” she posted. “I cannot wait for the world to see what an African Popstar looks like! 🐅 ✨.”
Heading to the comments to praise the South African global star were local celebrities Lalla Hirayama, Craig Lucas and Nandi Madida among others.
“🇿🇦🇿🇦 !!!! this is only the beginning 🙏👏🙌❤️ that performance was pure fire!🔥🔥🔥🔥 congratulations Tyla!!!!!!🙌🙌🙌🙌,” wrote Hirayama.
Lucas shared: “Our hearts are filled with pride 🤍🇿🇦.”
At just 21, Tyla is enjoying her superstar moment performing on stages across the world and on TV shows, making sure she leaves her mark on the industry.
If all goes as planned, Tyla will be releasing her EP later this month.
For now, Tyla is enjoying a break in Jamaica.
She shared pictures of her time there with her followers.