Tyla, ELLE’s October cover girl, made her MTV VMAs debut with a bright pop of color. The singer arrived at the ceremony in Elmont, New York, wearing a yellow mini dress from Area’s latest collection, which was just launched at New York Fashion Week. In an interview on the red carpet, Tyla said she was looking for an outfit that was “my vibe, colorful” and that she could “wear my natural hair with.”
The South African star is up for two awards tonight: Best Afrobeats Song (“Water”) and Best R&B Song (“Water”).
Tyla spoke to ELLE about how she fell in love with music at the age of 14. “When Subscribe (South African house music) was on, we saw everyone just change. Seeing the energy of it… it felt so spiritual,” she said. “I always wanted to mix it with other styles I like, like R&B and pop – and make it my own.”
She expressed her disappointment that more people weren’t hearing the incredible music from her home country. “I felt it was so special and needed to be shared,” she said. “I made my own version of it in the hope that people would delve deeper and discover the other artists with us and the origins of my sound.”
As Tyla became more famous around the world, she felt a change in herself. “I feel like I’ve changed a lot in a matter of months. People might not see that,” she said. “I’m excited to see that on my next album.” She also pushed back against comparisons to Rihanna and Britney Spears. “At first, that was important to me. Lately, I just feel like, ‘They’re going to say what they want to say and it doesn’t even matter because I know it’s not that.'”
She added: “This year I introduced myself. Next year I’m just going to have fun. Do whatever, wear whatever. Just play around a lot and bring a lot of my roots into my music. I’ll still be me, still sweaty vibes, but evolved.”
Alyssa Bailey is senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees celebrity and royal coverage (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). Previously, she worked at InStyle And Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she enjoys running around Central Park, having people take #ootd photos of her, and exploring New York City.
