South African born and internationally renowned superstar Tyla plans to dominate world music.
Chatting to globally acclaimed personality and comedian Trevor Noah, also a fellow Joburger, for Interview Magazine, the songstress admitted that she has big plans for her future.
“I want to be the biggest pop star of my generation. That’s always been the goal, and it still is,” the musician, whose real name is Tyla Laura Seethal, said.
“I never wanted to just be a local South African artist. I always wanted to be on the biggest stages, travelling the world.”
It has been an extraordinary breakthrough year for the 21-year-old. She has been nominated for a Grammy award for her hit song, “Water”, which continues to climb the charts and break records across the globe.
She has also become a TikTok sensation as her “Water” dance challenge has close to 100 million views on the social media platform.
These are all accolades that the pop star is proud of, and she told Noah that she “felt in her spirit that it (“Water”) was going to be crazy.”
“It sounds very dramatic, but I literally had a dream where I was watching my Spotify streams climb by the second, and this was before the song started doing well.”
“I don’t know, maybe I have a superpower because I saw it in a dream.”
And while she recently released three new songs, "Truth or Dare,” “On & On”' and “Butterflies" - as well as the “Water” remix with Travis Scott - the pop sensation has even more music in the works.
“The plan is for the album to come out next year,” Tyla told Noah.
On her EP, she added: “I’ve never released a project before and I’m so excited for it because the music that I’ve been making feels like a new era of pop music that incorporates an African sound.”
“I love African music so much. I’ve always wanted the world to tap in.”
During the chat, the South African sensations gushed about their country.
The Joburg pride also extended to each other, with Tyla telling Noah during their discussion: “I really look up to you and so does everyone in South Africa. How does it feel having another South African coming up in the game?”
Noah responded: “I absolutely love it. Especially generationally, because it’s amazing to see South Africans that do really well in different spheres.”
The musician also spoke about the explosive rise of amapiano in South Africa.
“I know people are loving the sound, which is amazing, but to South Africans, it’s not just a genre. It’s in our souls. It’s literally changed South Africa,” she added.
Tyla also joked about collaborating with her musically gifted grandmother, her love for roller coasters, her pride over South African dance styles being replicated by big artists, her dream of collaborating with Drake, as well as how she is handling fame.
“It feels like it happened very quickly. Whenever I get a new DM, I’m shocked. It doesn’t feel real yet,” she admitted.
And while the love for her music continues to grow, when asked by Noah: if she gets called “Tyla Water”, she comically responded: “People even saying in headlines, ‘Tyla of Water,’ like I’m the ‘Last Airbender’. It’s crazy.”