Tyla Seethal, the 22-year-old proudly South African singer, has the inaugural Grammy for Best African Music Performance for her global hit song Water – bringing home another major win for SA.
The young artist, who hails from Johannesburg, has had all eyes on her since her song Waves became a TikTok sensation. Since then, Tyla has skyrocketed to superstardom. Water charted on the Billboard Top 100 in October last year, and in December, Janet Jackson ‘knighted’ Tyla during a live performance.
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The major wins have kept coming though, with the young artist winning at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards held on Sunday 4 February.
She won Best African Music Performance – a new category introduced this year, which aims to “recognise recordings that utilise local expressions from across the African content.”
Tyla beat several other African artists, including Asake, Davido, and fellow South African, Musa Keys.
During her acceptance speech, Tyla was elated, saying: “Oh my gosh, guys. This is crazy. Like I never thought I’d say, ‘I won a Grammy at 22 years old, guys’”
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She went on to say:
“If you don’t know me, my name is Tyla. I’m from South Africa and last year God decided to change my whole life, so thank you so much to God. Thank you to my team, my family; I know my mother’s crying somewhere in here.”
And of course, she thanked Recording Academy for the new category, stating “It’s so important.”
Tyla’s award is another win in a long line of successes for South Africa on the international stage – from sport, to now, music.
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Featured Image: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
