It was a coronation night for South Africa’s global breakout star, Tyla, who officially secured her second Grammy Award at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Stepping onto the stage just days after celebrating her 24th birthday, the singer claimed the trophy for Best African Music Performance with her genre-blurring hit, “Push 2 Start.”
The win marks a historic first. Since the category’s introduction in 2024, Tyla is now the only artist to have won Best African Music Performance twice, further cementing her status as a defining voice of Africa’s new musical era.
This year’s category was one of the most competitive of the night, spotlighting the continent’s sonic diversity and global reach. Tyla triumphed over an elite field that included Burna Boy (“Love”), Davido featuring Omah Lay (“With You”), Ayra Starr featuring Wizkid (“Gimme Dat”), and Eddy Kenzo & Mehran Matin (“Hope & Love”). The lineup alone signaled just how fiercely contested and culturally significant, the category has become.
Released on 11 October 2024, “Push 2 Start” quickly emerged as a defining record in Tyla’s catalogue. Introduced as the lead single for TYLA +, the deluxe edition of her self-titled debut album, the track is a sleek, assured expression of Popiano, a hybrid of Amapiano, pop, and R&B that Tyla has helped push into the global mainstream. Produced by Sammy Soso, Ari PenSmith, and Mocha, the song balances rhythmic precision with pop immediacy, a formula that has become her calling card.
Its ascent to Grammy recognition was carefully built. A viral teaser at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards first ignited anticipation, followed by a polished, high-fashion music video directed by Aerin Moreno, which debuted in November 2024. From there, the track enjoyed sustained chart success, holding strong positions on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs Chart and the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart throughout late 2024 and into 2025.
With this second Grammy win, Tyla’s trajectory feels less like a moment and more like a movement. In redefining what African pop can sound like and how far it can travel, she isn’t just winning awards; she’s quietly reshaping the global pop landscape.
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