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Tyla Says She "Couldn’t Stop Screaming" After "Water" Was Grammy Nominated
Today (Dec. 1), the pre-save link for Tyla’s self-titled debut album went live. She also dropped three songs from the 14-track LP: “Truth or Dare,” “Butterflies,” and “On and On.”
In tandem with the new releases, the songstress spoke with Variety about the project and her breakout track “Water,” which received a Grammy nod. She told the outlet, “In all seriousness, I didn’t really think I was going to get nominated. But my label asked me to watch the livestream announcement, and I was so nervous… And then I saw my name pop up, and I died. I couldn’t stop screaming. I called my family and my best friend who travels with me. She came to my room, and we just screamed and screamed.”
“What I like is mixing [amapiano beats] with pop and R&B, and ‘Water’ is exactly that,” Tyla shared regarding the song. “You’ll find that vibe in almost everything I do, but I’m definitely experimenting a bit [for the new record], but it all sounds like me — the music and production styles I enjoy, especially the music I heard growing up. Now, I can’t wait to properly introduce myself.”
“Water” received two remixes from Travis Scott and Marshmello, respectively, in November. The single also rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart this week, surpassing Victoria Monet’s “On My Mama.”
It earned Tyla her first Grammy nomination, joining a number of other first-timers like Ice Spice, Coco Jones, Coi Leray, and Ayra Starr.
In her conversation with Variety, the South African artist also spoke about the process of creating TYLA. She explained, “Every weekend, I was in the studio recording music, trying all different types of things, from rap to straight pop music, to R&B, dance music, everything.”