South African musician Tyla Laura Seethal, commonly known as Tyla, on Sunday, February 4, won the African Music Performance Award, the Grammys’ inaugural prize dedicated exclusively to music from the African continent. Tyla, 22, took home the award thanks to her song ‘Water’, the lead single from her debut studio album, Tyla, which reached global popularity and made various achievements after her video performing the song at The Giants of Africa festival in Kigali, Rwanda, in August 2023 went viral and sparked a Tik Tok challenge trend that earned her over 15 million monthly listeners on Spotify. ALSO READ: What top music stars said at Giants of Africa festival Tyla’s Grammy win came against steep contenders from the Afrobeats industry, with Burna Boy, Davido, Asake, Olamide and Ayra Starr all in the running for the award, as well as fellow South African Musa Keys, who, alongside Davido, made the shortlist for their hit track ‘Unavailable’. Oh my gosh, guys. This is crazy. Like I never thought I'd say, 'I won a Grammy at 22 years old, Excited Tyla said after receiving the trophy, adding, “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. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The New Times (@thenewtimesrwanda) Tyla’s award was not the only win for Afro music at the event. Afrobeat sensation Burna Boy also made his debut performance at the Grammys with a dazzling live performance of some of the biggest tracks on his recently released album ‘I Told Them’ including lead single, ‘City Boys’. Veteran music producer Jimmy Jam presented the award to Tyla on Sunday, February 4, at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles where the 66th annual Grammy Awards, arguably music’s biggest night on the globe, were held. ALSO READ: Diamond Platnumz, Davido, Tiwa Savage lead Giants of Africa festival lineup Tyla dropped her hit single Water in July 2023; the song spawned a TikTok dance challenge, with users participating across the world, a move that made the song land on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 7. This was the first time in 55 years, since Hugh Masekela's Grazing in the Grass that a solo song by a South African musician made it onto the chart. Being 21 years old at the time, Tyla became the youngest South African to appear on the list.
