It is Tyla’s time. She has skyrocketed from South Africa to worldwide stardom in 2023 thanks in large part to her catchy smash hit “Water” that is still burning up charts and dance floors around the globe and snagged her a GRAMMY Award nomination for Best African Music Performance. The petite beauty is just warming up, however. She has plans to level up in 2024 with the release of her self-titled debut album, and she’s beginning TYLA’s rollout with three new singles and a performance at the world-famous COLORS Studios.
Tyla originally shared in a recent interview that her first album would be released in November, but her label Epic Records decided to drop a pair of “Water” remixes instead. She also ended the month by teasing her trio of new songs across her socials with audio and video previews of “Truth Or Dare,” “Butterflies” and “On And On.” The tracks are now here, and they sound even better than the samples that sent her Tygers into a frenzy.
“Truth Or Dare” is another Amapiano-style track with a shuffling beat and hip-shaking groove. Tyla may be back on the dance floor, but she confronts an ex about why he’s circling the block now that she’s on top. Meanwhile, on “Butterflies” she slows it down and laments the one who has her heart dazed and confused over an acoustic guitar-driven sound bed. The last of the new songs, “On And On,” is a mid-tempo bop that has her reminiscing about that ’90s R&B kinda love and she wants to keep that feeling going all night long with her dance partner.
She debuted “On And On” on the COLORS platform a day before the song’s official release, and her performance was quite a delight. It was just Tyla on a cafe au lait-colored set singing into a mic suspended from the ceiling, and said mic was on. We’ve grown accustomed to her high-energy “Water” performances full of dancing and carrying on, so this was a nice change of pace to watch her simply singing the laid-back tune into the mic – although she couldn’t help herself from ending her COLORS performance with a little body roll and seductive glance into the camera.
Expect to see way more of Tyla in the coming weeks and months. Her debut album TYLA is due in the new year, although a release date hasn’t been announced yet. The project will feature a total of 14 songs – these three new jams, “Water” and the Travis Scott-featuring “Water (Remix),” and it is currently available for pre-save/pre-order from various digital music outlets. While we all try to exercise patience for this highly anticipated release, get into the TYLA five-pack and Tyla’s appearance on COLORS below.
