tyla's voice --4/3/2026

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Today's selection-- from Tyla by Jamey Lowell. Tyla on discovering her voice

“Tyla's relationship with music deepened long before anyone outside her home realized she had real potential. What began as casual singing around the house started to take a more intentional shape as she grew older. The spark didn't arrive in a dramatic moment. It came quietly, building through small decisions she made as a teenager, the songs she listened to, the artists she studied, the confidence she gained each time she pushed herself a little further.

“Like many young singers, her earliest experiments were private. She sang in her room where no one could interrupt, often repeating a single line until she felt it land in her chest rather than just in her throat. She recorded voice notes on her phone to hear how she actually sounded, a habit that embarrassed her at first, because playback stripped away the comfort of the moment and exposed the truth of her voice. But she kept doing it because those recordings helped her learn. She listened back, noticed where she strained, where she rushed, and where she felt at ease. It was a slow, personal form of training.

“Dancing played its own role. Tyla wasn't just drawn to melodies; she was pulled toward rhythm. Music didn't feel static to her. It moved. It demanded motion. She taught herself routines by watching music videos, pausing and rewinding until she understood the way a performer's body matched the beat. The combination of singing and dancing began shaping her identity as an entertainer long before she considered herself one. Performance, even in its rough early form, felt natural to her.

Tyla in 2021

“Her influences at the time reflected the mix of cultures she grew up around. She listened to international pop stars whose voices filled global charts, but she also felt at home with South African artists who carried the pulse of the country's evolving sound. R&B singers taught her tone control and emotional delivery. Pop artists showed her the power of hooks and visual presence. South African icons taught her how rhythm could carry meaning even before words entered the picture. She absorbed pieces from all of them without trying to copy anyone outright. What she wanted wasn't imitation but understanding, a sense of how voices worked, how songs were built, how artists carved out personal style.

“As she reached her mid-teens, her experiments grew bolder. She searched for beats online and sang over them, using whatever equipment she had. Sometimes it was a basic microphone, other times just her phone. These early recordings weren't made with the expectation of going viral or building a fan base. They were made because she needed to try. Each track helped her find new textures in her voice and new ways to phrase her ideas. She practiced harmonies, tried different tones, and pushed into the higher parts of her register. She didn't always know what she was doing, but she learned through trial, error, and persistence.

“Her personality shaped this stage of discovery, too. Tyla wasn't loud about her ambitions. She shared clips online sparingly, often holding onto them for days before deciding to post. When she did share, the responses gave her a small but meaningful push. The encouragement felt validating, but what mattered more was that strangers had reacted to her voice at all. It meant she wasn't the only one who heard something in it.

“At home, her family noticed her growing focus. They had always known she loved music, but now it was becoming more than a pastime. They saw her staying up late to write or practice. They saw her listening to songs differently, not just enjoying them but studying their structure. While they still emphasized practical career plans, they also recognized that music wasn't slipping away as she grew older. It was taking root.

“She began writing her own lyrics more frequently, turning teenage emotions into verses and choruses. She wrote about things she felt but didn't always say out loud: small disappointments, confidence shifts, daydreams, moments of frustration. These early songs weren't polished, but they were honest. They gave her a voice that belonged to her alone.”

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:	17-20