Tyla Biography: Early Life, Career, Songs, Awards & Net Worth

Tyla Laura Seethal, or Tyla, is a South African singer and composer born on January 30, 2002. Her musical style is a blend of pop and amapiano, earning her the title “Queen of Popiano” from numerous magazines.

She rose to international prominence after her 2023 song “Water” peaked in the top ten in several countries, including her own country of South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Tyla is the youngest African artist in history, having won two Grammy Awards. Her additional honours include two MTV Video Music Awards, two BET Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, as well as nominations for a BRIT Award, an Ivor Novello Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and nine South African Music Awards.

Tyla Biography

Tyla Laura Seethal was born in Edenvale, Gauteng’s East Rand. Sharleen and Sherwin Seethal’s daughter is Coloured and has Indian, Indo-Mauritian, Zulu, and Irish ancestry. She grew up in Johannesburg and graduated from Edenglen High School in 2019, where she was Head of Culture.

Tyla began pursuing a music career in her senior year of high school, posting original songs and covers on Instagram and aggressively looking for possibilities in the music industry.

Garth von Glehn, her first manager, discovered her and arranged for her initial recording sessions. She went to the recording studio every weekend throughout her senior year of high school.

Career

Tyla self-released her debut single, “Getting Late,” featuring Kooldrink production, in late 2019, after graduating from high school, and it became a nationwide hit. Her own manager occasionally filmed the accompanying music video throughout the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which was released in January 2021.

It has received many million views on YouTube and was nominated for the South African Music Award for Best Music Video of the Year in 2022.

Tyla’s first public performance was in 2023 at the Dolce & Gabbana afterparty at Milan Fashion Week, following the release of her track “Been Thinking,” which garnered Tyla her first career chart spots on the Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay charts.

Pitchfork’s Heven Haile characterised it as a “slick club anthem that channels the seductive pop-R&B hits of the mid-2000s Ciara and Rihanna“. Tyla then appeared as the opening act for Chris Brown’s Under the Influence Tour. She released the track “Girl Next Door” in May 2023, which features Nigerian artist Ayra Starr.

In July 2023, she released “Water” as the lead single off her self-titled debut studio album. After sparking a viral dance challenge on the social media site TikTok, “Water” climbed into the top ten in several countries, including South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Tyla became the first and youngest South African soloist in 55 years, following Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing in the Grass” in 1968, to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 with “Water”. Tyla received the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance with “Water” at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024, making her the youngest African artist to ever win a Grammy.

Tyla was featured on Thai rapper Lisa’s song “When I’m with You” from her album Alter Ego, which was released on February 28, 2025. On April 18, 2025, a remix of WizTheMc and Bees & Honey’s song “Show Me Love” starring Tyla was released.

The remix was premiered live during her Coachella 2025 set, where she also performed her upcoming track “Bliss” for the first time. Tyla released the single “Bliss” on May 9, 2025, and the following month, she presented the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. On July 11, a second single called “Is It” was released.

She penned and performed the song “Everything Goes with Blue” for the Smurfs album, which debuted on July 18. Tyla appeared on the song “Talk To Me” alongside Damiano David and Nile Rodgers, which was published on September 11, 2025.

Tyla’s single “Chanel” was released on October 24 and peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Global 200, her highest charting entry since “Water” (2023). Tyla’s second concert tour, the We Wanna Party Tour, began on November 11, 2025, with a sold-out gig in Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.

On December 15, 2025, HYBE, a South Korean entertainment business, established a global management relationship with Tyla’s management company, Africa Creative Agency.

Tyla will be managed by HYBE and ACA’s Brandon Hixon and Colin Gayle as part of a bigger “expansion strategy” to “amplify” continental African musicians, leveraging Hixon and Gayle’s creative ability and HYBE’s “scale and resources.”

Tyla won Best African Music Performance at the 68th Grammy Awards for her song Push 2 Start. She became the first artist to win the award twice, having previously won for “Water” in 2024. She beat out nominees such as Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Davido, and Eddy Kenzo. Tyla also revealed her second studio album, A-Pop, which would be released in the summer of 2026.

Discography

• 2019: Getting Late
• 2021 Overdue
• 2022 To Last
• 2022 Amawele
• 2023 Girl Next Door
• 2023: Been Thinking
• 2023 Water

Tyla Net Worth

Tyla’s net worth is expected to be approximately $2 million by 2025. Her music career brings in around $0.1 million per year.

Social Media

Instagram: @tyla