Last night, Tyla was awarded her first-ever VMA at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards. After the South African pop star was presented the award for Best Afrobeats Video for “Water” by Halle Bailey and Lil Nas X, she asked the rapper to hold the heavy trophy while she delivered her speech. A brief moment of confusion about who she was asking for help from sent some viewers searching for crumbs of drama — but Tyla dismissed their speculation quickly.
“Y’all make everything weird… I was not asking my girl Halle… We just girls,” Tyla wrote on X (formerly Twitter) a few minutes after the show wrapped. “STFU I WON A VMAAAA.” When the singer first stepped behind the microphone for her speech, she said, “I’m not strong enough, please hold it for me,” before Lil Nas X took it off of her hands. “Thank you, I’m sorry,” she added. In a response to her post, Bailey wrote: “Exactly ♥️♥️ love u babes congrats.”
The time spent dissecting the minor blip in communication could be better spent highlighting the important distinction Tyla made about genre during her acceptance speech. “The global impact that ‘Water’ has had on the world just proves that African music can be pop music too,” she said. “This is just so special, but also bittersweet because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats.”
She added: “It’s a thing, and even though Afrobeats has run things and has opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse. It’s more than just Afrobeats. I come from South Africa. I represent Amapiano, I represent my culture.”
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Tyla released her self-titled debut album earlier this year, which positioned her as the perfect ambassador to bring Amapiano into the mainstream pop conversation. “As soon as I heard ‘Water,’ I said, ‘It’s over.’ We have the song,” she told Rolling Stone last year. “I would describe ‘Water’ as the song of the year … it’s the sound of Africa. It’s not only for Africa, but it’s for the world … It’s literally me bring Africa to the world.”
And while Tyla didn’t take the stage at the VMAs, she has an understanding and appreciation for the art of pop that once made the awards show a minefield of iconic moments. “When I was younger, I always wanted to see a pop star from South Africa amongst the Rihannas, Britney Spears, Michael Jacksons,” she added in that same interview. “I always wanted to see someone from where I was from there. I want to be the biggest pop star for the people back home … I always felt that this was going to happen for me, but there was always some level of doubt because I never had that person that opened that door. Basically, I’m trying to be that girl that opens that door.”
