Tyla won the first Grammy for best African music performance earlier this year, but her debut album will be in the pop category at the 2025 awards, according to an exclusive report The Hollywood Reporter.
Tyla’s team submitted her self-titled album for best R&B album but was moved to the best pop vocal album category by the Recording Academy’s R&B screening committee. This committee consists of artists, producers, and songwriters who are recognized experts in the R&B genre, rather than Academy staff, the news outlet reports.
If nominated in the highly competitive pop category, Tyla would be up against artists such as Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande and more.
It’s unexpected that Tyla’s album was moved, as the 14-track project is deeply influenced by Southern African styles like Amapiano, Afrobeats, and R&B. Rather than being placed in the pop category, her album would be more fitting in the best progressive R&B album category, which was established to recognize R&B albums that blend various genres, including rap, dance, and pop. Earlier this year, SZA’s *SOS* received this award.
Six tracks from Tyla’s album have made it onto Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart, including the viral success “Water,” which hit No. 1. The song also reached No. 7 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart and dominated the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart for 51 weeks.
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In February, “Water” won the first-ever Grammy for best African music performance. While Tyla could have submitted her album for best world music album—like many Afrobeats artists such as Burna Boy, Tems, and Ayra Starr—best progressive R&B album seems to be the most fitting category for her project, considering its sound. The album includes collaborations with Travis Scott, Tems, Gunna, Becky G, and Skillibeng.