South African artist Tyla has been taking over the music world by storm. With her breathtaking beauty, angelic voice, and charm, many have called her a “breath of fresh air.” At the same time, others have also compared her to the iconic megastar, Rihanna.
In Tyla’s cover story for Cosmopolitan, the 22-year-old singer was asked to share her thoughts on the comparisons between her and the Bajan singer and Fenty billionaire. She told the publication, “It’s flattering because Rihanna is Rihanna. It’s a compliment. But at the same time, I’m my own artist. I’m Tyla. And I know as people get to know me and my music, they will see me as just Tyla. So I’m fine with it now.”
With confidence, she added, “People want to tie me to something familiar to them, cool. But at the end of the day, we’re doing something no one’s done before, and it can’t really be compared to anyone.”
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Tyla popped into the music scene with her hit song titled “WATER.” Since then she has seen great success. The track reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January and she even ended up collaborating with Travis Scott.
Although she’s fairly new to the industry, her song snagged her Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance. She went on to release of her self-titled debut album, which officially dropped March 22.
While speaking to the magazine, she joked about how she unpacked her NSFW but very catchy lyrics to her parents.
“My mom was the person that saved me because my father was like, ‘What are you singing about?’ “I was like, ‘Nah, it’s nothing bad, Dad. It’s just carefree fun.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, okay.’ And my mother was the person being like, ‘Relax, relax. Relax.’” She went on to share how the song ultimately changed her life:
“So many things have changed. I still live in South Africa, but I was able to move my parents, my family. Now they’re in a safer area. My family came to Dubai with me. I was able to bring them to Europe. I’m able to show my parents the world at this age, you know? Years back, I was crying on my parents’ bed, saying, ‘Can I sing, please? Can I just do this? I don’t want to go to university.’ Now they are watching me win and they are seeing plaques and posters. The first time my parents got to be in America, they saw their daughter win a Grammy.”