Tyla bags first MTV VMA

South Africa’s pop sensation, Tyla, has once again raised the bar high, by winning her first ever Best Afrobeat Award at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards that were held in New York City, USA. This comes at the backdrop of being recently honoured with The Global Impact Award at the Billboard’s R&B No.1’s event.

Tyla’s breakout single Water was nominated in the Afrobeats category where she outclassed a list of Nigeria’s super stars consisting of Burna Boy, Davido, Tems and Ayra Starr. The 22-year-old expressed gratitude and hailed fellow African artists during her acceptance speech.

“This is just so special but also bittersweet because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats. It’s a thing, and even though Afrobeats have opened so many doors for us, African
music is so diverse. Its’s more than just Afrobeats,” said an elated Tyla.

The success of Water doesn’t come as a surprise, especially after the traction it garnered after it dropped in July last year. The song made history when it reached ten million monthly listeners on Spotify, making Tyla the first South African to achieve this milestone. It became the soundtrack to TikTok videos and even used by international celebrities.

Messages of praise continue to flood in across social media platforms, with fans particularly from Mzansi congratulating Tyla for raising the SA flag high consistently. Meanwhile, visuals of track No.6 called ’Breathe me ‘from her self-titled debut album are out for fans to enjoy. The video, which was shot in Osaka, Japan, hit over 676 000 views on YouTube just hours following its release last week.