Tyla, a South African music sensation, has made history by debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her viral hit song “Water.”
This achievement marks the first solo appearance by a South African artist on the chart since jazz legend Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing in the Grass” 55 years ago.
At just 21 years old, Tyla is also the youngest South African musician to secure a spot on this prestigious chart.
The Billboard Hot 100 is a highly regarded music ranking chart in the United States, featuring a diverse range of music genres. Tyla’s breakthrough came with her track “Water,” which began gaining popularity on TikTok after its release in July. She shared TikTok videos of herself dancing to the song, sparking a viral trend.
“Water” is a fusion of various music genres, including Afrobeats, pop, R&B, and Amapiano, a South African electronic dance music style.
The song’s catchy nature led to the creation of the viral “water dance challenge” on TikTok, with users incorporating the South African Bacardi dance routine, choreographed by Lee-ché Janecke, into their videos. Tyla’s TikTok dance to her own song garnered over 70 million views.
The music video for “Water” also achieved great success, amassing over one million views on YouTube within its first day of release.
This achievement marks the first time a song by a South African female artist has accomplished such a feat. “Water” has further gained traction on other music charts in the US and UK, including the Billboard Afrobeats and R&B charts.
Tyla, whose full name is Tyla Laura Seethal, has solidified her status as one of Africa’s rising musical talents, with previous successful songs like “Been Thinking” and “Girl Next Door,” featuring Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayra Starr.
She is set to release her first album in November and recently served as the opening act for Chris Brown’s “Under the Influence” music tour in Europe.
Amidst her ongoing success, Tyla represents a new generation of global musical talents shining a spotlight on South Africa and the African continent as a whole.
