Tyla’s Water certified platinum in SA

RiSA is the sole authority responsible for issuing gold, platinum and multi-platinum certification in South Africa. The certification was announced ahead of Tyla’s trip to Los Angeles for the 66th Grammy Awards taking place on 5 February, where she is nominated in the Best African Music Performance category.

The past year has seen Tyla cement herself as one of Africa’s brightest stars. Aside from earning top 20 placements on several global Billboard charts, ‘Water’ was certified platinum in Brazil, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. It has achieved gold status in France, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, Turkey and Belgium, among others.

Tyla became the highest charting African female soloist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 when ‘Water’ reached No 7 on the chart. Additionally, ‘Water’ spawned two remixes from American artists Travis Scott and Marshmello.

In October, Tyla made her national TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and in March she is set release her eponymous debut album, which is currently available for pre-order. The album will feature ‘Water’ as well as focus tracks ‘On & On’ and ‘Truth Or Dare’, which began gaining their own momentum towards the end of 2023.

“I’m very excited. Because when I listen back to the album, I’m like, the people are not ready,” Tyla said about the upcoming collection.

The 21-year-old Tyla’s music offers an innovative take on pop, R&B, amapiano and Afrobeats. She began showing an interest in music at the age of 12 and started singing more seriously in high school. She is signed to Epic Records through a joint venture with Johannesburg-New York-based Fax Records, and is co-managed by We Make Music and Africa Creative Agency.