The Billboard Music Awards 2024 took place on December 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it was a huge day for South African singer Tyla.
Not only did she put on an exceptional performance at the glamorous fete, but she beat out African bigwigs to win the Top Afrobeats Artiste and Top Afrobeats song awards.
The Water singer had been nominated in more categories, including the Top RnB Female Artiste, Top R&B song and Top R&B Album.
The 22-year-old had been listed alongside Asake (Nigeria), Burna Boy (Nigeria), Rema (Nigeria) and Tems (Nigeria) in the Top Afrobeats Artiste slot, and she impressively snagged the accolade.
Tyla also beat out Tems’ track Me & U to clinch the Top Afrobeats Song Award for her chart-topping hit Water.
She spoke to Rolling Stone in a 2023 interview about creating the song, and how it captivated her from the start.
“I’m usually driven by the beat. When someone plays me a beat, it has to grab me in order for me to even want to work on it,” she said.
“I love listening to beats, singing random things that come to me, and then listening back and choosing what fits best. After, the words just come.”
Billboard praises her performance at Thursday night’s award ceremony as “tearing the club up.”
The piece breaks down her smooth choreography and charm.
“Tyla’s tiger motif didn’t come to play tonight, as the zebra mini skirt-wearing singer pushed open the bathroom door to start performing ‘Push 2 Start,’” the report notes, adding, “Dancers emerged from each stall, and the color-changing lights felt like the club was as much inside the ladies’ room as it was outside of it.”
While accepting the Top Afrobeats Artiste and Top Afrobeats Song Awards, the singer was filled with gratitude, giving a shout out to everyone, from her loved ones, to her record label, Epic Records, to the African continent.
