泰拉

Tyla Laura Seethal ( TY-luh; born 30 January 2002) is a South African singer-songwriter. Dubbed the "Queen of Popiano", her musical style is characterised by a fusion of pop and amapiano.

Born and raised in Johannesburg, Tyla signed with Epic Records in 2021 following the domestic success of her 2019 debut single, "Getting Late". Her 2023 single "Water" served as her international breakthrough; it was the first song by a South African soloist to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years, and was awarded the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance. The single preceded her self-titled debut album (2024), which was released to critical acclaim and moderate commercial success. In 2025, she released the extended play (EP) WWP, and embarked on its accompanying tour. This was followed by her second studio album, A*Pop (2026), which received critical praise and spawned the Billboard Global 200 top-twenty single "Chanel".

Tyla is the youngest African artist in history to win a Grammy Award, with two wins. Her other accolades include two MTV Video Music Awards, two BET Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, among nominations for a BRIT Award, an Ivor Novello Award, a Soul Train Music Award and nine South African Music Awards.

Early life and education

Tyla Laura Seethal was born on 30 January 2002 in Edenvale in Gauteng's East Rand, to parents Sharleen and Sherwin Seethal. She is Coloured, with Zulu, Indian/Indo-Mauritian, and Irish ancestry. She grew up in Johannesburg, and graduated from Edenglen High School in 2019, where she served as Head of Culture. Tyla is the third of five children. Her siblings include two elder half sisters, Alaina and Whitney, a younger brother, Tyrese, and a younger sister, Sydney. Her youngest sibling and sister, Sydney, is a model and content creator, and has appeared alongside Tyla in Swedish clothing brand H&M's Spring 2025 campaign.

During her final year of high school, Tyla began pursuing a music career, sharing original songs and covers on Instagram while actively seeking opportunities in the music industry. She was discovered by her first manager, Garth von Glehn, who arranged her initial recording sessions. She spent every weekend of her final high school year in the recording studio.

Career

2019–2022: Career beginnings

In late 2019 after finishing high school, Tyla self-released her debut single, "Getting Late" featuring production from Kooldrink, which achieved national success. Filmed by her own manager intermittently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, the accompanying music video was released in January 2021. It amassed several million views on YouTube, and was nominated for South African Music Award for Best Music Video of the Year in 2022.

As of 2021, she started studying towards a degree in mining engineering, and after much persuasion and "a lot of crying", her parents agreed to let Tyla take a year off university to attempt to lift her music career off the ground. She then signed a recording contract with Epic Records through a joint venture with Fax Records in the United States in May 2021. She followed up her debut single with the singles "Overdue" in October 2021, and "To Last" in November 2022.

2023–2024: International breakthrough with "Water" and Tyla

Tyla's first public performance occurred in 2023 during the Dolce & Gabbana afterparty at Milan Fashion Week, following the release of her single "Been Thinking", which earned Tyla her first chart placements of her career, on the Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay charts. Heven Haile of Pitchfork described it as a "slick club anthem that channels the seductive pop-R&B hits of mid-2000s Ciara and Rihanna". Tyla then joined Chris Brown as the opening act for his Under the Influence Tour. In May 2023, she released the single "Girl Next Door", featuring Nigerian singer Ayra Starr.

Tyla released the song "Water" in July 2023 as the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album. After spawning a viral dance challenge on the social media platform TikTok, "Water" peaked within the top 10 in multiple countries including South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Tyla became the first South African soloist in 55 years and the youngest ever to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 with "Water", following Hugh Masekela's "Grazing in the Grass" in 1968. She performed "Water" live on The Bianca Show in Sweden and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the United States. The music video for "Water" was released on 6 October 2023, it accumulated 3 million views on YouTube in three days. Tyla was then featured on a remix version of "Girls Need Love" by Summer Walker, released as part of the latter's Girls Mix extended play in October 2023.