Tyla made history: first Grammy nomination & first win
Tyla Wins Best African Music Performance, Beating Out Burna Boy, Davido, and Other Nigerian Stars
The song "Water" by the South African superstar beat the following: "Amapiano" by Asake & Olamide, "City Boys Miracle" by Burna Boy, "Unavailable" by Davido featuring Musa Keys, and "Rush" by Ayra Starr.
At this year's Grammy Awards, the fierce struggle for Nigerian Afrobeats musicians ended in disappointment when Tyla, a South African singer and songwriter, won the golden gramophone for Best African Music Performance.
Ayra Starr's "Rush," Davido with Musa Keys' "Unavailable," Burna Boy's "City Boys Miracle," and Asake & Olamide's "Amapiano" were all surpassed by the South African beauty's "Water."
Following Jimmy Jam's prize presentation during the awards premiere ceremony, the singer was shocked.
in her words she said “What the heck?!” she declared once on stage. “This is crazy, I never thought I’d say I won a GRAMMY at 22 years old.”
The pop song "Water," with an amapiano base, defied fierce competition to become the first single by a South African solo artist to reach the Billboard Hot 100 since Hugh Masekala in 1968.
She became the highest-charting African female solo performer in Billboard history when Water eventually peaked at No. 7. The song also reached the top of the Billboard US Hip-Hop/R&B and Afrobeats Songs charts.
During her winning speech, the 22-year-old called out her family, stating, "I know my mother's crying somewhere in here."
As the inaugural recipient of the Best African Music performance award, she created history in the newly established category that, according to Academy President Harvey Mason Jr., was designed to commemorate music from the continent of Africa.