Because Tyla's debut album is an event in pop

Because Tyla's debut album is an event in pop

The predictions that announced her as the winner of the Grammy Award for “Best African Music Performance” were not wrong: in the end last February, on the stage of the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Tyla won the statuette. Setting a record, inevitably. Yes, because the voice of “Water” she became the first artist in history to win the prestigious award which starting from this year's edition of the “Music Oscars” the organizers wanted to include among the various categories, to underline thecommitment to making the Grammy Awards increasingly inclusive “African music is going global and I'm so happy to be one of the artists driving the market.

I've been working on my sound for two years now and I'm ready for the world to hear it: .I can't wait for everyone to meet an African pop star”, the 22-year-old South African singer-songwriter said shortly before flying to Los Angeles. If the Grammy was an (overly phoned) recognition for a hit that has achieved more than last July 480 million streams worldwide on Spotify (a success that doesn't end here: the remix of the hit, recorded by Tyla together with Travis Scott), L'Debut album out this Friday, March 22nd, will represent a consecration for Tyla.

Simply titled “Tyla,” the record will be released despite some Health problems have pushed the pop star to in recent days postpone the tour which would have also seen her perform in some large European cities such as Oslo, Stockholm, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, Amsterdam and London: “I would have liked to keep everything private, but it is important to share with you that in recent years I have been silently suffering from an injury which has tragically gotten worse. I saw doctors and specialists. I had hope, but the pain became unbearable. I am unable to go ahead with the tour. And I can't describe to you how frustrated I am that all of this is happening at this turning point in my career”, she announced via social media.

The album could not remain closed in a drawer any longer. Tyla Laura Seethal, this is the real name of the singer-songwriter, who was born in 2002 in Johannesburg, the South African capital, and has Irish, Dutch and Zulu origins, has worked on the thirteen tracks included in the album in the last twenty-four months at least, with the aim – explicitly stated – of “.become the biggest pop star and champion African music everywhere”.

After all, the new African music, Afrobeats, is experiencing an unprecedented moment, a wave of creativity, with the entire continent seeking redemption in music. “I would like to reward more music from Africa and other areas of the world. The future of the Recording Academy must be based on equity: we must celebrate music from all over the world“, he said Harvey Mason Jr., the patron of the Grammy Awards, commenting on the decision to include a category dedicated to African music in the awards. Regardless of the performances in the various rankings, Tyla's mission has already succeeded. The album was released by a multinational record company such as Sony Musicthrough the subsidiary Epic Recordsand inside there are guests who generally populate the records of the great American pop stars: from Travis Scott himself to the Latin star Becky G (who duets with Tyla on “On my body”) and among the producers they pop up Ariowa Irosogie And Sir Nolanalready alongside Beyoncé, Pitbull, Justin Bieber and Doja Cat.

Manuel Nicoli, Head of International Frontline at Sonyhe is convinced: “The release of Tyla's album it is another important moment for contemporary African music which is increasingly entering the global pop scene with its distinctive sounds There are more and more collaborations between Afrobeats artists and pop and rap superstars.

The album is driven by a global hit like 'Water' which has over 744 million audio streams and has been in Spotify's Top 50 for over 170 days. Furthermore, in addition to the Grammy, Tyla also received a nomination at the Brit Awards and is confirming himself as one of the most important names in a scene that increasingly offers quality repertoire, produced by a company.new generation of artists who now think and act on a global scale”.

The numbers speak for themselves: according to Spotify, since 2017, listeners of African music have grown by 550% worldwide, thanks to the productions of artists such as Nigerians Wizkid, Davido and Burna Boy and Tyla herself. There are countries that arrived at the phenomenon earlier than Italy, such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, France and the USA, due to geopolitical factors. But Italy does not stand idly by: “Something is moving here too in terms of collaborations – underlines Nicoli – in fact, in Rhove's new album, we learned that there will be a song with the Nigerian artist Oxladesigned with Sony France”.