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Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Tyla hits the big time with Water

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South Africans are again beaming with pride after the viral hit song ”Water” by 21 year old South African music star Tyla has debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, after trending for several weeks on TikTok.

 

Water is the first solo song by a South African musician to appear on the chart since jazz legend Hugh Masekela’s Grazing in the Grass 55 years ago!

 

US music and entertainment magazine Billboard announced on Monday that Tyla debuted at number 67 on this week’s Hot 100.

 

Tyla shared her excitement of the news on X.

 

 

Water has so far surpassed 4 million views on YouTube and attracted over 11 million monthly Spotify listeners for Tyla.

 

Born and raised in Johannesburg, Tyla signed to Epic Records in 2021 after the domestic success of her debut single “Getting Late” featuring Kooldrink.

 

Water has also ranked on other music charts in the US and UK, including the Billboard Afrobeats and R&B charts.

 

Tyla also opened for Chris Brown during his Under the Influence music tour in Europe earlier this year.

 

Earlier this week, she made her television debut, appearing on the Swedish talk show Bianca on Sunday.

 

She talked about her hit, Water, meeting Kim Kardashian and her career success.

 

Fans have since praised Tyla for her proudly-South African accent during the interview, which included this quote, where she spoke about the crazy moment when she met Kim Kardashian:

 

“Yoh, guys, don’t even ask me that. I’m still shocked that I was literally right next to her, it was crazy.”

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by BIANCA (@biancatalkshow)

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tyla (@tyla)

 

 

 

Liesl Smit
Liesl Smit
Liesl is the Smile 90.4FM News Manager. She has been at Smile since 2016, with nearly 20 years experience in the radio industry, including reading news, field reporting and producing. In 2008 she won the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award, Western Cape region. liesl@smile904.fm

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