By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Grammy Award winner Tyla landed at the OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday, since she won the inaugural golden gramophone for Best African Music Performance.
Tyla received a spirited welcome from fans, friends, family and government officials form the Department of Arts and Culture.
This marks her return to home soil since she bagged the prestigious award in the United States (US).
In a brief engagement with the media, Tyla thanked everyone who welcomed her back home.
The superstar comes home just in time for the Cultural and Creative Industry Awards which she has been nominated for in the Best Newcomer Award category.
Fans are excited to have the star back home, even if it might be for a short while. While in the country, a Tyla pop-up will take place in Johannesburg on April 2 at Mall of Africa.
The Cultural and Creative Industry Awards are not the local awards honouring the country’s latest export. Tyla scored six nominations at the upcoming Metro FM awards.
Tyla received nominations for her hit viral song ‘Water’. She is nominated in the categories of Song of the Year, Best Female Artist, Best Music Video, Best Viral Challenge and Artist of the Year.
This March, Tyla relased her self-titled debut album, which delivered on the expectations fans had for the young star.
Tyla’s 14-track album, filled with sultry beats and vibey rhythms is primed for the summer. Featuring production from Sammy Soso, Mocha, Ari PenSmith and Believve, the team’s main objective was to blend amapiano with R&B and pop, presenting a new sound.
Creating the music wasn’t really work… She understands what she wants,” said Soso, who produced 10 of the tracks and has worked with Afrobeat all-stars Wiz Kid, Oxlade and KSI. “As a young woman growing up and being the ‘it’ girl and being her, she was just going through so many different things and realizing her worth and how she wanted to be treated… as we kept on making different records, it was like, ‘Let’s touch on this feeling. Let’s touch on that feeling’… creating songs out of real-life situations.”
Tyla hopes fans gravitate to other songs like they did to “Water”– but admits she felt a bit of pressure. The song reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and trended on TikTok with her viral #WaterChallenge dance.
The songstress was born Tyla Seethal, in Edenvale, Johannesburg, and is the middle child with four other siblings.