Last night, Tyla received her first-ever VMA at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards. After the South African pop star received the award for Best Afrobeats Video for Halle Bailey and Lil Nas X’s “Water,” she asked the rapper to hold the heavy trophy while she gave her speech. A brief moment of confusion over who she was asking for help left some viewers searching for crumbs of drama – but Tyla was quick to dismiss their speculation.
“Y’all making everything weird… I didn’t ask my friend Halle… we’re just girls,” Tyla wrote on X (formerly Twitter) a few minutes after the show ended. “Shut up I WON a VMAAAA.” When the singer first stepped behind the microphone for her speech, she said, “I’m not strong enough please hold it for me,” before Lil Nas X took it from her hands. “Thank you I’m sorry,” she added. In a reply to her post, Bailey wrote, “Exactly ♥️♥️ love you babes congratulations.”
The time we spend analyzing the small miscommunication could be better spent highlighting the important distinction Tyla made about genre in her acceptance speech. “The global impact that ‘Water’ has had on the world just proves that African music can be pop music too,” she said. “That’s just so special, but also bittersweet because I know there’s a tendency to categorize all African artists under Afrobeats.”
She added: “It’s one thing, and although Afrobeats has dictated things and opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse. It’s more than just Afrobeats. I’m from South Africa. I represent Amapiano, I represent my culture.”
Tyla released her self-titled debut album earlier this year, making her the perfect ambassador to bring amapiano into the mainstream pop conversation. “As soon as I heard ‘Water,’ I said, ‘It’s over.’ We have the song,” she said Rolling Stone last year. “I would say ‘Water’ is the song of the year… it’s the sound of Africa. It’s not just for Africa, it’s for the world… I’m literally bringing Africa to the world.”
And although Tyla wasn’t onstage at the VMAs, she has an understanding and appreciation for the art of pop that once made the awards show a minefield of iconic moments. “When I was younger, I always wanted to see a pop star from South Africa alongside the Rihannas, Britney Spears and Michael Jacksons,” she added in the same interview. “I always wanted to see someone who was from where I’m from. I want to be the biggest pop star for the people back home… I always felt like that was going to happen to me, but there was always a certain level of doubt because I never had that person to open that door for me. Basically, I’m trying to be the girl who opens that door.”
