Tyla — Water (2023)

Tyla Laura Seethal grew up in Edenvale on the East Rand of Johannesburg, posting covers while still in school. Water arrived in July 2023 carrying amapiano log drums into a mainstream pop structure, and the dance she performed in the promo clip — rooted in South African bacardi and amapiano movement — became the challenge of the year on SA TikTok before it was anywhere else.

South Africans drove the first wave entirely. Dance crews in Soweto, Pretoria and Durban posted the water-pour move within days, SA students turned it into a matric dance staple, and only then did it cross to the US and UK. That order of events is the whole point: for the first time, global pop was following a trend that Mzansi had already validated.

In February 2024 Tyla won the first ever Grammy for Best African Music Performance, becoming the youngest South African Grammy winner and only the second SA woman to win a solo award. Across South African uploads, edits and challenge compilations, Water clears 260 million views in Mzansi and remains the reference point for every SA artist chasing the next global breakout.