Tyla Religion

What religion is Tyla?

Tyla is a South African singer and songwriter who is a Christian. In her Grammy acceptance speech for “Water,” she said, “Last year, God decided to change my whole life… So thank you so much to God.” Claims of her converting to Islam such as adopting the name “Amina” during Ramadan appear to be misinformation.

Tyla gained global recognition with her 2023 single “Water,” subsequently became the first solo South African artist since 1968 to enter the Billboard Hot 100, won a Grammy for Best African Music Performance in 2024, and released her debut self-titled album Tyla in March 2024, which introduced her signature “popiano” blend of pop and amapiano to international audiences. In 2021, she signed with Epic Records following the success of her breakthrough single “Getting Late.”

Among her many career achievements, Tyla won the 2024 and 2026 Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance, won the 2024 and 2025 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Afrobeats, and was nominated for International Song of the Year at the BRIT Awards 2024.

Early life and education

Tyla, born Tyla Laura Seethal on January 30, 2002, in Edenvale, Gauteng, in the East Rand of Johannesburg, South Africa, to parents Sharleen and Sherwin Seethal. Her father, Sherwin, has Indian roots and hails from Mauritius, while her mother, Sharleen, is a South African native of Zulu heritage with Irish ancestry. She is the third of five children, with an older sister named Whitney, a younger brother named Tyrese, and a younger sister named Sydney, who is a model and content creator and appeared alongside Tyla in H&M’s Spring 2025 campaign.

Tyla identifies as Coloured, a term used in South Africa for mixed-race individuals, with Indian, Indo-Mauritian, Zulu, and Irish ancestry. She attended Edenglen High School in Johannesburg, graduating in 2019, where she served as head of culture in her final year. After graduating, she enrolled to study mining engineering at university before persuading her parents to allow her to take a gap year to pursue music instead.

Career beginnings

In late 2019, Tyla self-released her debut single “Getting Late,” featuring production from fellow South African DJ Kooldrink, which achieved national success. Its accompanying music video, filmed by her own manager during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, was released in January 2021 and was nominated for the South African Music Award for Best Music Video of the Year in 2022. Subsequently, she signed a recording contract with Epic Records through a joint venture with Fax Records in May 2021. She followed up her debut single with the singles “Overdue” in October 2021 and “To Last” in November 2022. Her first public performance came in 2023 at the Dolce & Gabbana afterparty at Milan Fashion Week, following the release of her single “Been Thinking,” which earned her first chart placements on the Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay charts. She then joined Chris Brown as the opening act for his Under the Influence Tour. In May 2023, she released “Girl Next Door” featuring Nigerian singer Ayra Starr.

“Water” breakthrough

Tyla released “Water” in July 2023 as the lead single from her debut studio album. The song spawned a viral dance challenge on TikTok, accumulating over 9.6 billion views under the hashtag #WaterChallenge. In October 2023, “Water” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 67, becoming the first solo song by a South African artist to appear on the chart since Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing in the Grass” in 1968, and it also made Tyla, at age 21, the youngest South African musician ever to reach the Hot 100. Later on, “Water” continued to climb the charts, eventually reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and achieving top‑10 placements in multiple countries, while earning multi‑platinum certifications and widespread radio play, and in November 2023 Tyla released a remix of the song featuring American rapper Travis Scott.

Notably, Tyla performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and on The Bianca Show in Sweden. At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024, “Water” won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance, making Tyla the youngest African artist in history to win a Grammy Award.

Debut album

Tyla’s debut album, also titled Tyla, was released on March 22, 2024, via Epic Records and Fax Records, and it was preceded by a five‑track EP that included “Water” and served as an introduction to the full project. The album is described by Tyla as an “experimental” record that intentionally mixes amapiano beats with pop, R&B, and Afrobeats, and it features tracks such as “Safer,” “Truth or Dare,” “Breathe Me,” “Priorities,” “Butterflies,” “On and On,” “Art,” “Jump” (with Gunna and Skillibeng), “On My Body” (with Becky G), “To Last,” and “Water” (feat. Marshmello), as well as the Travis Scott remix of “Water.” The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 24, reached No. 5 on the Apple Music album chart internationally, and was recognized as a significant moment for African pop music. A deluxe edition of the album followed in October 2024, spawning the single “Push 2 Start,” which won Best African Music Performance at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2026, marking her second Grammy win. The album’s Tyla Tour ran from 2024 to 2025 across North America and Europe.

In June 2026, Tyla performed Game Time alongside Future at the opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States and also performed the South African national anthem before the opening match between South Africa and Mexico.

Popiano

Tyla’s musical style is a self-coined fusion of pop and amapiano, the South African subgenre of house music featuring indigenous African languages over groovy bass and synths, which she refers to as “Popiano,” a term that has since been widely adopted by critics and the media. She has been dubbed the “Queen of Popiano” and has been credited with introducing the amapiano sound to mainstream global audiences. Her influences include Aaliyah, Rihanna, Michael Jackson, Shakira, and Cassie, alongside local South African music and artists.

World tour

Tyla’s first major touring project, the “Tyla Tour,” was announced in support of her debut album and was initially scheduled to run from March 21, 2024, to May 28, 2024, across Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America. However, in March 2024 Tyla announced that she was canceling the entire 2024 tour, including her Coachella performance, due to an injury that had worsened despite her efforts to continue performing, and she stated that she had been “silently suffering” with the injury before making the decision to postpone and cancel the shows. The tour was later relaunched as the “We Wanna Party” tour, her first headline concert tour, which began in November 2025 in Asia with dates in Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore, and other cities and continued into 2025–2026 with stops across Europe, North America, and additional Asian markets, including performances at major festivals and arenas. The following month, South Korean entertainment company HYBE announced a new management partnership with Tyla through a joint venture with her management company, Africa Creative Agency, under the newly created NFO LLC, with the stated goal of amplifying continental African artists on the global stage.

Personal life

Tyla was named a Global Honoree for the Glamour Women of the Year Awards 2025 and has spoken openly about her struggles with self-image during her upbringing.

Her parents, initially opposed to her music career, attended the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024, where she won her first Grammy. Her second studio album, A*Pop, is scheduled for release on July 24, 2026, through Fax Records and Epic Records. Its lead single “Chanel,” released in October 2025, peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Global 200 and number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100. A second single, “She Did It Again” featuring Zara Larsson, followed in April 2026.