tyla--2/13/2026

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Today's selection-- from Tyla by Jamey Lowell. Tyla Laura Seethal, the South African singer and songwriter who became the youngest African artist in history to win a Grammy Award. Her fame came first through the online success of her 2023 song “Water”:

“‘Water’ didn't arrive in Tyla's career as a random success. It came after years of shaping her voice, refining her sound, and learning how to balance instinct with strategy. By the time she began working on the track, she had already grown confident in what she wanted from her music. She wasn't chasing trends or trying to recreate earlier work. She wanted a song that felt true to the world she was building, something rhythmic enough to move a crowd, melodic enough to stick in someone's head, and personal enough to express the part of her personality she had only begun to show in earlier releases.

“The earliest ideas for ‘Water’ started in a studio session where she and her team were exploring new ways to stretch the sound she had started calling popiano. She had spent enough time around producers to know that songs often grow out of small sparks: a drum pattern, a melody hummed off the top of her head, a bassline that makes her sit up straighter. In this case, the rhythm came first. The beat had the shape of amapiano, the bounce, the log-drum pulse, but it moved with a tighter structure, a cleaner frame, something that left room for a vocal line that could soar.

“Tyla was drawn to the groove immediately. It felt familiar, but sharper. The beat had energy without rushing her, which gave her room to play with melody the way she liked: relaxed, flirtatious, and controlled. She stepped into the booth and tried a few lines, not worried about lyrics at first, just exploring tone and phrasing. She stretched notes, shortened them, whispered through some, and pushed others with more confidence. The melody she kept returning to had a teasing swing to it, a kind of push-and-pull that matched the heat's steady drive.

"Water", single by Tyla

“The theme of the song developed naturally from that mood. She wasn't trying to tell a complex story; she wanted to capture a feeling. ‘Water’ became a song about attraction, playful, undeniable, and bold. It carried the confidence of someone leaning into desire rather than tiptoeing around it. The lyrics were simple on the surface, but they were delivered with a self-assuredness that made them feel more layered. It wasn't the innocence of a first crush or the intensity of heartbreak. It was the spark in between the moment when you know someone has your attention and you're not shy about admitting it.

“Once the initial melody and lyrics took shape, the production moved into deeper refinement. Tyla and her team focused on making the song tight without losing its warmth. Every layer mattered. The percussion had to breathe. The log drum needed to be hit with enough presence to root the song in South African rhythm, but not overwhelm the lighter melodic touches. Her vocals had to sit close to the listener, almost as if she were speaking directly into their ear. She wanted people to feel her expression, not just hear the notes.

“They went through version after version, balancing each detail until the track felt like a clear statement of who she was becoming as an artist. The production needed to be polished, but not sterile; energetic, but still controlled. She pushed for a sound that would work on dance floors and radio, in headphones and social feeds. She had learned enough about music's global landscape to understand that versatility wasn't a luxury; it was essential.

“When the final mix came together, she knew she had something special. But knowing a song's potential and seeing it realized are two different experiences. Even with  the  support  of  her  team  and  her  growing international presence, Tyla didn't expect the track to become the moment that would push her career beyond anything she had imagined.

“The turning point came after the release, when ‘Water’ began catching attention online. The song's rhythm and vocal delivery made it ideal for short-form videos, and the choreography she performed in clips of the track amplified its momentum. The dance wasn't elaborate; it was clean, confident, and rooted in her natural movement, the same fluid style she'd shown since childhood. People around the world started copying it. Dancers, influencers, and everyday listeners filmed themselves moving to the beat, often using her chorus as the anchor point.

“The song's success wasn't just digital. Radio stations picked it up. DJs played it in clubs outside of South Africa. Streaming platforms pushed it onto playlists where people who had never heard of her encountered it for the first time. Each new wave of attention fed the next, building a momentum that didn't feel manufactured. It felt like a global audience discovering something they didn't know they were missing.

“For Tyla, watching ‘Water’ grow was surreal. She had imagined global reach, but imagining and experiencing it were entirely different. She saw her name appear on charts she had studied as a teenager. She saw her song travel into spaces where South African pop had rarely been heard. The track didn't just expand her audience; it introduced many listeners to the sound that shaped her life.

“The success also changed how she viewed her own artistry. ‘Water’ proved that her instinct to maintain a strong connection to home while reaching outward could work. It wasn't necessary to abandon the rhythmic language of her upbringing to make global music. Instead, she could invite the world into her sound. She began to understand her role differently, not only as an entertainer  but as someone bridging cultural spaces through melody and rhythm.

“As ‘Water’ climbed charts and reached milestones no South African solo artist had achieved in decades, Tyla embraced the shift with gratitude and determination. The song became a pivot point the moment her career moved from promising to undeniable. It opened doors she hadn't dreamed she'd walk through so early. Yet despite its scale, the song remained rooted in the same creative impulse she had carried from the start: trust the music, trust the feeling, and build from the heartbeat of where she came from.

“‘Water’ didn't change who she was. It revealed her on a bigger stage and showed the world the artist she had been becoming all along.”

author:	Jamey Lowell
title:	TYLA: Breaking Barriers in Music: How She Became the First South African Solo Artist in Decades to Crack the U.S. Charts
pages:	48-53