South African singer Tyla has entered a new stage of her career with A*POP, her second studio album. Released on July 24, 2026, the project follows the global success of “Water” and her Grammy-winning rise from Johannesburg to the centre of international pop.
The new album has also renewed interest in Tyla’s biography, real name, age, nationality, parents and musical identity. Her full name is Tyla Laura Seethal, and she is a 24-year-old South African singer whose sound brings amapiano rhythms into pop and R&B.
Tyla’s story did not begin with “Water.” Before the song became an international hit, she had already spent several years developing her sound, posting performances online, releasing “Getting Late” and persuading her parents to let her pursue music full-time.
Tyla profile
Why Tyla is trending
Tyla is trending because she released A*POP on July 24, 2026. The 14-track album runs for 44 minutes and was issued by FAX Records under an exclusive licence to Epic Records, according to Apple Music.
The release quickly attracted international reviews and interviews. The Guardian described the project as a mixture of pop, R&B, Afrobeats and amapiano, while The Times focused on Tyla’s South African upbringing, global success and ambition to broaden the idea of an African pop star.
Interest in the album reaches beyond existing fans. Tyla’s international breakthrough created a large audience that knows “Water” but may know less about the singer’s full name, background and career before the hit.
What is Tyla’s real name?
Tyla’s real name is Tyla Laura Seethal. She performs under her first name, Tyla, which is pronounced “Tie-luh.”
ENTERTAINMENT
Tyla Biography: Real Name, Age and A*POP Album
Jul 24, 2026
Aug 5, 2026
19 min read
Published
Updated:
South African singer Tyla has entered a new stage of her career with A*POP, her second studio album. Released on July 24, 2026, the project follows the global success of “Water” and her Grammy-winning rise from Johannesburg to the centre of international pop.
The new album has also renewed interest in Tyla’s biography, real name, age, nationality, parents and musical identity. Her full name is Tyla Laura Seethal, and she is a 24-year-old South African singer whose sound brings amapiano rhythms into pop and R&B.
Tyla’s story did not begin with “Water.” Before the song became an international hit, she had already spent several years developing her sound, posting performances online, releasing “Getting Late” and persuading her parents to let her pursue music full-time.
Tyla profile
Detail | Information |
Full name | Tyla Laura Seethal |
Stage name | Tyla |
Date of birth | January 30, 2002 |
Age | 24, as of July 2026 |
Birthplace | Johannesburg, South Africa |
Nationality | South African |
Profession | Singer and songwriter |
Parents | Sharleen Seethal and Sherwin Seethal |
Genres | Pop, R&B, amapiano and Afropop |
Signature sound | “Popiano,” her pop-facing blend built around South African influences |
Breakthrough song | “Water” |
Debut album | TYLA (2024) |
Second album | A*POP (2026) |
Record labels | FAX Records and Epic Records |
Major award | Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance |
Why Tyla is trending
Tyla is trending because she released A*POP on July 24, 2026. The 14-track album runs for 44 minutes and was issued by FAX Records under an exclusive licence to Epic Records, according to Apple Music.
The release quickly attracted international reviews and interviews. The Guardian described the project as a mixture of pop, R&B, Afrobeats and amapiano, while The Times focused on Tyla’s South African upbringing, global success and ambition to broaden the idea of an African pop star.
Interest in the album reaches beyond existing fans. Tyla’s international breakthrough created a large audience that knows “Water” but may know less about the singer’s full name, background and career before the hit.
What is Tyla’s real name?
Tyla’s real name is Tyla Laura Seethal. She performs under her first name, Tyla, which is pronounced “Tie-luh.”
Unlike many artists, she did not create a completely different stage identity. Using her first name has made the Tyla brand short, memorable and easy to recognise across different countries.
Her surname, Seethal, still appears in biographical searches because listeners often want to confirm whether Tyla is her birth name or a stage name. Both are partly correct: Tyla is her real first name and also the professional name she uses in music.
How old is Tyla?
Tyla was born on January 30, 2002, making her 24 years old in July 2026.
She was 21 when “Water” became a global hit in 2023 and 22 when she won her first Grammy in February 2024. Her age made the achievement even more notable because she reached one of music’s largest international stages only a few years after leaving high school.
Where is Tyla from?
Tyla is from South Africa. She was born in Johannesburg and grew up in the city’s wider urban culture, surrounded by both South African and international music.
Her nationality is South African, not American. Although her work takes her around the world and she spends time outside South Africa, she regularly presents herself as a South African artist.
That connection is central to her music. Tyla has explained that her home shaped the mix of sounds she heard while growing up, including amapiano, kwaito, house, Afrobeats, R&B and mainstream pop.
She has also spoken about wanting the world to see that African pop stars do not have to fit one sound, appearance or category. That argument is at the centre of A*POP: African music can be rooted in a particular place while still functioning as global pop.
Tyla’s ethnicity and South African identity
Questions about Tyla’s ethnicity require South African context.
Tyla has said that she has Black and Zulu, Irish, Mauritian and Indian heritage. She identifies as both a Black woman and a Coloured South African.
In South Africa, “Coloured” is the name of a recognised mixed-heritage community and identity shaped by the country’s history. The word carries a very different meaning in the United States, where a similar term has a racist and offensive history.
Tyla has said she understands why people outside South Africa may be uncomfortable using the term. At the same time, she has defended her right to describe herself through the language and history of her home country.
The distinction matters because international discussions have sometimes tried to force her South African identity into American categories. A clear Tyla biography should report her own description without erasing the history behind it. The Guardian’s report on the debate and her later British Vogue interview, reported by People, provide useful context.
Who are Tyla’s parents?
Tyla’s parents are Sharleen Seethal and Sherwin Seethal.
They raised her in South Africa and initially wanted to know that she had a stable plan for her future. Tyla has said that she persuaded them to give her one year to focus seriously on music.
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That period became decisive. She released music, attracted industry attention and moved closer to an international recording deal. Her parents later supported her at major career moments, including the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Tyla is close to her parents and siblings, but most members of her family live outside the level of public attention surrounding her career. Reliable profiles should avoid turning limited public comments into unsupported claims about the family’s private lives.
People’s profile of Sharleen and Sherwin Seethal confirms their names, their support for her career and their attendance at the Grammys.
Tyla’s childhood, school and early musical interest
Tyla grew up listening to music from South Africa and abroad. Aaliyah, Rihanna, Michael Jackson and other international stars influenced her interest in performance, while amapiano, kwaito and house gave her music a clear South African foundation.
She began posting singing videos online while still young. She used social media, competitions and performance platforms to make herself visible, even before she had a professional recording career.
After finishing high school, Tyla considered studying mining engineering. She later explained that the choice was more connected to the possibility of earning a good income than to a deep interest in mining.
Music remained the stronger ambition. Convincing her family to let her take a serious chance on it gave her the space to move from social-media covers to original releases.
“Getting Late” and the start of Tyla’s career
Tyla released her early single “Getting Late,” produced by Kooldrink, in 2019. The song introduced the basic idea that would later define her career: a smooth pop vocal style moving over South African dance production.
The music video was created over time as COVID-19 restrictions complicated production. When it arrived in 2021, it helped the song reach a much larger audience and was later nominated for Music Video of the Year at the South African Music Awards.
“Getting Late” did not immediately make Tyla a global star, but it was an important proof of concept. It showed that her music could feel recognisably South African while remaining accessible to pop listeners.
In 2021, she signed with Epic Records through FAX Records. Follow-up releases such as “Overdue” and “To Last” helped her continue building an audience as she searched for the song that would carry her sound internationally.
How “Water” changed Tyla’s career
“Water” was released in 2023 and became Tyla’s international breakthrough.
The song combines a restrained R&B vocal with amapiano-influenced percussion and log-drum patterns. Its dance challenge became popular on TikTok, but the record travelled beyond social media. It entered charts across several countries and reached No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
That result made Tyla the highest-charting African female solo artist in the Hot 100’s history at the time, according to the Recording Academy.
“Water” also reached No. 1 on Billboard’s US Afrobeats Songs chart. Its success showed that a South African-rooted record could move from dance challenges to radio, streaming playlists, awards and mainstream pop charts.
The song became bigger than a viral moment because its identity was easy to hear. The rhythm came from a Southern African musical language, while Tyla’s concise vocal delivery made it work as an international pop single.
Tyla’s Grammy win
On February 4, 2024, Tyla won the first Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance for “Water.”
The category was new that year. She won against a field that included established African stars such as Burna Boy, Davido, Ayra Starr, Asake and Olamide.
The victory was historic for Tyla and significant for South African music. It placed amapiano-influenced pop on the Grammy stage and made “Water” the first winning recording in the category.
Tyla was 22 at the time. During her acceptance speech, she celebrated the surprise of winning at such a young age and presented the award as a proud moment for South Africa.
The Grammy did not create her success, but it confirmed that “Water” had moved beyond internet popularity and become an internationally recognised recording.
Tyla’s self-titled debut album
Tyla released her debut studio album, TYLA, on March 22, 2024.
The original version contains 13 songs and runs for 35 minutes, according to Apple Music. It includes “Water” and collaborations with artists such as Tems, Gunna, Skillibeng and Becky G.
The album expanded the sound of her breakthrough single. Rather than copying “Water” repeatedly, Tyla moved between amapiano, pop, R&B and Afropop while keeping her soft, controlled vocal style at the centre.
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Songs including “Truth or Dare,” “ART,” “Jump” and “Breathe Me” helped establish that she could build a broader project around her sound.
A deluxe edition, TYLA +, followed later in 2024 and included additional songs, including “Push 2 Start.”
The WWP project
In July 2025, Tyla released WWP, a four-song project whose title refers to “We Wanna Party.”
The short release included “Bliss,” “Is It,” “Mr. Media” and “Dynamite” with Wizkid. It gave Tyla room to experiment after her debut album without immediately committing to another full-length record.
The project also sharpened the confident, party-facing side of her music. That energy became part of the bridge between TYLA and A*POP.
What to know about Tyla’s A*POP album
A*POP is Tyla’s second studio album. It was released on July 24, 2026, through FAX and Epic Records.
The album has 14 tracks and a running time of 44 minutes. It includes previously released songs such as “CHANEL” and “SHE DID IT AGAIN,” a collaboration with Swedish singer Zara Larsson.
Other songs highlighted around the release include “THAT GIRL,” “IS IT LOVE,” “MR NONCHALANT,” “KISS,” “HOT TUBS” and “FAIRYTALE.” The last of these reworks material associated with the South African house duo Liquideep.
Apple Music’s album notes say Tyla worked almost entirely with South African artists on the project, with Zara Larsson as the exception. That choice gives the album a more deliberate connection to home even as its presentation reaches toward international pop.
The title can be read in more than one way. It places the word “pop” beside an “A” that points toward Africa, while the album’s campaign described its mood through ideas such as African, unapologetic and confident.
Tyla has described the album as an attempt to expand what an African pop star can look and sound like. The goal is not to leave amapiano behind. It is to use her South African foundation without accepting narrow expectations about what counts as African enough.
The early critical response has focused on the album’s mixture of amapiano, R&B, Afrobeats and polished pop. Its style also reaches toward the visual confidence and glamour associated with early-2000s pop stars.
What does “popiano” mean?
“Popiano” is the term Tyla uses for her blend of pop and amapiano.
Amapiano is a South African genre built from house music, jazz, lounge influences, percussion and the deep log-drum sound that has become one of its most recognisable features. Many amapiano records develop gradually and are designed for clubs and dance spaces.
Tyla’s music usually uses shorter pop structures, direct hooks and R&B vocals. Popiano describes the point where those approaches meet.
The term does not mean that Tyla invented amapiano. The genre existed and grew through many South African producers, DJs, singers and dancers before her international breakthrough.
Her role has been different: she has carried amapiano-influenced ideas into mainstream pop spaces and made some new listeners curious about the wider South African scene.
Tyla’s musical style and influences
Tyla’s voice is light, controlled and often intimate. She rarely needs to overpower the production. Instead, she uses rhythm, repetition and melody to make her songs feel effortless.
Her music combines:
Amapiano percussion and log drums
Pop hooks and short song structures
R&B vocal phrasing
Afropop and Afrobeats influences
South African house and kwaito references
Her artistic influences include Aaliyah, Rihanna, Beyoncé and Michael Jackson, alongside the South African music she heard while growing up.
Dance and fashion are also important parts of her work. The “Water” choreography helped the song travel online, while her performances and red-carpet appearances have made her image part of the wider Tyla brand.
Tyla albums and selected songs
Studio albums
Year | Album | Notes |
2024 | TYLA | Debut studio album featuring “Water,” “Truth or Dare,” “ART” and “Jump” |
2026 | A*POP | Second studio album featuring “CHANEL” and “SHE DID IT AGAIN” |
Other project
Year | Project | Notes |
2025 | WWP | Four-track release featuring “Bliss,” “Is It,” “Mr. Media” and “Dynamite” |
Selected Tyla songs
“Getting Late”
“Overdue”
“To Last”
“Water”
“Truth or Dare”
“ART”
“Jump”
“Breathe Me”
“Push 2 Start”
“Bliss”
“Is It”
“Dynamite”
“CHANEL”
“SHE DID IT AGAIN”
Major awards and achievements
Tyla’s achievements include:
Winning the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance in 2024
Reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Water”
Becoming the highest-charting African female solo artist in Hot 100 history at the time
Winning Best New Artist at the 2024 BET Awards
Taking South African-rooted pop to major international stages
Releasing two studio albums before turning 25
The awards are important, but her wider impact is cultural. Tyla’s success has helped move South Africa into global pop conversations that had often focused more heavily on West African Afrobeats.
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Tyla’s international impact
Tyla’s career shows how African pop is becoming less dependent on one regional sound.
For much of the previous decade, global conversations about contemporary African music were dominated by Nigerian and Ghanaian Afrobeats. Amapiano’s international rise changed that balance by drawing more attention to South Africa.
“Water” gave that movement a highly visible pop face. Listeners who had never searched for amapiano encountered its rhythms through a song that worked on TikTok, radio and the Billboard charts.
At the same time, Tyla has faced pressure to explain her nationality, racial identity and musical choices to audiences using categories formed outside South Africa. Her response has generally been to keep her identity rooted at home while allowing the music to travel.
A*POP makes that position more explicit. It presents African music as part of pop’s centre rather than as a side category that needs permission to enter.
Frequently asked questions about Tyla
What is Tyla’s real name?
Tyla’s full real name is Tyla Laura Seethal. She uses her first name as her stage name.
How old is Tyla?
Tyla is 24 years old as of July 2026. She was born on January 30, 2002.
What is Tyla’s nationality?
Tyla is South African. She was born and raised in Johannesburg.
Who are Tyla’s parents?
Her parents are Sharleen Seethal and Sherwin Seethal.
What is Tyla’s ethnicity?
Tyla has publicly described her heritage as Black and Zulu, Irish, Mauritian and Indian. She identifies as both a Black woman and a Coloured South African, a term with a specific historical and cultural meaning in South Africa.
Is Tyla the singer of “Water”?
Yes. Tyla released “Water” in 2023. The song became her global breakthrough and won the first Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance.
When did Tyla release A*POP?
Tyla released A*POP on July 24, 2026.
Is A*POP Tyla’s second album?
Yes. A*POP is her second studio album after TYLA, which was released in March 2024.
How many songs are on A*POP?
The album contains 14 songs and runs for approximately 44 minutes.
What genre does Tyla sing?
Tyla blends pop, R&B, Afropop and amapiano. She calls her amapiano-pop fusion “popiano.”
Did Tyla win a Grammy?
Yes. She won Best African Music Performance for “Water” at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Does Tyla have a husband?
Tyla has not publicly announced a husband. Claims about her private relationships should not be treated as fact without confirmation from her or an authorised representative.
Conclusion
Tyla Laura Seethal’s rise is often reduced to one viral song, but her career began years before “Water.” “Getting Late” established the musical direction, an Epic Records deal expanded her reach, and “Water” turned that preparation into an international breakthrough.
Her Grammy win and self-titled debut album confirmed that she was more than a social-media moment. A*POP now gives her a second full-length opportunity to define herself: not simply as an African artist crossing into pop, but as a South African star arguing that African music already belongs at the centre of global pop.
At 24, Tyla has built a career that links Johannesburg dance culture, R&B restraint, internet-era choreography and international pop ambition. The next question is no longer whether “Water” can be repeated. It is how far the larger world behind it can grow.
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