Tyla’s previous year has been extraordinary. Her breakthrough single, “Water,” which was released in July 2023, started a worldwide trend with its well-known TikTok dance challenge. She won her first Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance with the song, which racked up an incredible 29 million monthly Spotify plays. Even with the song’s extraordinary popularity, Tyla acknowledges that she was taken aback.

Check out: Jump video by Tyla

For me and my entire team, it was a complete surprise. It was a really amazing occasion, she remarks.

The South African singer discusses her self-titled first album, “Tyla,” in the most recent issue of V Magazine. She also shares details about her high hopes for the future and the influences that shaped her as a teenager.

Read some of the interview’s highlights:’

On how the journey as a young songwriter has shaped her career

“All those years of writing, making music by myself, performing in talent shows or for family, acting in plays—I feel like all of those moments developed me in a way and help me now as a performer and as an artist. Just having had some sort of experience, even though it wasn’t professional, it definitely helped me.”

On being multifaceted and how her performing arts experience has influenced her artistry

“Yeah, definitely. I loved doing it in school. Every single play, I would be there auditioning and singing and acting. I just loved playing a character on stage and entertaining people, really. So I really incorporate those [passions] into my performance today. I love combining everything that I enjoy into one show, balancing acting [and] singing. I really have fun with it.”

On how her sound and personal style have evolved

“It evolved a lot. I’ve loved fashion and music since I was very young, but I never really had the resources when I was growing up to access the things that I personally liked. Now, I’m able to play around more and get the pieces and wear the things that I’ve always wanted to wear, so I’m enjoying that as well. And musically, my direction has always been to take African sounds to the world and mix pop, R&B, afrobeats, and amapiano together and make it huge. All those years of trying, making terrible songs, making okay songs, brought me to this point where I feel like I’ve made a sound that I’m happy bringing to the world.”