- 2 days ago
GRAMMY-winning singer Tyla has returned with her sophomore album, 'A*POP,' making good on the promise of an industry-shaking superstar and somehow still marking another leap forward for 24-year-old South African artist. A few days before the release, Tyla joined Brooke Morrison inside our Los Angeles studios to talk about her own evolution since first finding success, and the driving force behind 'A*POP.'
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00:00I think you're taught to be confident.
00:02Okay.
00:02I think anybody can be confident.
00:04Yeah, true, true, true.
00:05I don't think you're bored with it and then you're not.
00:07You know, anybody can be confident.
00:10It's just like being 100% you and being so, like leaning fully into it.
00:16Like, I just love people that lean into themselves.
00:19Like, whether you're the nerd, whether you're like the popular girl, like the geek, like whatever you are.
00:25Like, if you lean fully into it, you're the coolest person ever.
00:30Hey, guys, what's up?
00:31It's Brooke Morrison.
00:32We're in the Odyssey Studios here in L.A.
00:34And I'm going to read this off because it's a lot for you.
00:37You are a two-time Grammy-winning, multi-platinum.
00:41You are the highest-charting African female soloist in Billboard Hot 100 history, global superstar.
00:46We have Tyler here.
00:48Welcome.
00:49Hello.
00:49Hello.
00:50I think the last time you were here, actually, you were talking to Brew.
00:53That was like three years ago or over three years ago.
00:55And it was around the time that water had come out.
00:57How crazy has life been since then?
01:01It's been a lot.
01:02It's been, like, just fun to experience and to learn.
01:09You know, it's a completely different life, a different world that I'm in now.
01:12So it's interesting.
01:14Yeah.
01:15Yeah, I'm sure life has been moving really fast.
01:17You're about to drop a sophomore album.
01:19Yeah.
01:19A-pop is coming July 24th, right?
01:22But it's on the way.
01:23Does anything feel different this time around?
01:27Everything feels different.
01:28Like, I feel different.
01:30Yeah.
01:30The creation of this album felt different.
01:33Like, the way I feel now leading up to it is like, mm, like a lot of butterflies and excitement.
01:40Yeah.
01:40So, yeah, it's very different and I'm excited to experience it.
01:45We're all very excited.
01:46Like, this is so much fun.
01:47Just seeing everything that you've done since your debut album.
01:51I mean, this album, though, I feel like since we've gotten a few tracks, right?
01:55We've gotten Chanel, we've gotten She Did It Again.
01:57You know, it sounds unmistakably you.
02:00But at the same time, like, I feel like you're being pushed into, like, this new era of who Tyla
02:04is.
02:05How do you know when you've pushed it just far enough while still keeping it very Tyla?
02:10You know, everything I do is based off a feeling.
02:14So, I don't know.
02:16Like, it wasn't really intentional.
02:17I just didn't sing what didn't feel like me.
02:19Right.
02:20And I didn't make what didn't feel like me because I know listening to A-pop, it feels exactly like
02:25how I feel right now.
02:26So, it's like, mm-hmm.
02:28It's fun, like, growing up in front of the world.
02:31Right.
02:31And letting the world see all these different versions of me.
02:34And, yeah, it's just weird at times because I'm like, damn, like, you guys have seen me grow up.
02:41Yeah.
02:41But it's also interesting to, for me also, to sometimes look back and see who I was and now who
02:48I'm becoming.
02:49Yeah.
02:50I mean, you said the feelings are different.
02:51Could you describe it?
02:52What are the words?
02:56Just a lot of experiences, you know.
02:58I've just gone through so many different experiences that have led me to be this girl that I am right
03:08now.
03:10And, yeah, like, I've just grown so much.
03:13Like, a lot of things that mattered to me in the beginning don't matter as much now.
03:17And, yeah, vice versa.
03:20So, it's interesting to see me becoming more myself.
03:26Yeah.
03:27So, yeah.
03:27I mean, we love to see that.
03:29That's amazing that you feel that way.
03:30And I think it's shown a lot through what we've gotten to see so far.
03:34Especially with your collab with Zara Larsson.
03:36Yes.
03:36Which, huge deal.
03:38Video is amazing.
03:39You guys both look so good in this.
03:41She did it again.
03:41It feels effortless.
03:43What was something about this collaboration that connected immediately?
03:45Or maybe something that felt a little bit new?
03:47I don't know.
03:48Like, Zara and I, like, we get along so well.
03:50Yeah.
03:51Outside of everything that it just made sense for us to have a song and for it to be this
03:57song and the video.
03:59Like, everything just felt so easy.
04:01Yeah.
04:01You know, so, it just made sense.
04:04Right, right, right.
04:05And I'm sure there were songs on this album that, you know, didn't make the final track list, you know,
04:09whether it was a collaboration or not.
04:10But what, for you, separates a good song from one that you just need to have on a project of
04:15yours?
04:19I base everything on feeling.
04:21It's kind of weird.
04:22It's like a superpower.
04:24But, like, girl, like, when I hear a song, when I hear a beat, when I hear a lyric, like,
04:29it rings in me when it feels right.
04:31Oh, yes, okay.
04:33Yeah, like, girl, I can't explain it.
04:34But I just know when something is for me and when it's just not.
04:38Like, it could be a hit song.
04:41Yeah.
04:41But if it's not for me, I just, I don't even pay mine to it.
04:45Right.
04:46You know?
04:46Do you feel like it's a spiritual thing?
04:48Probably.
04:49Yeah, a little bit more of, like, are you into those kind of things, like, spiritual kind of, like, manifest
04:53-y type things?
04:55I always, I don't know if I call it manifestation.
04:59Yeah.
04:59You know, because I feel like I've always just said what I wanted and knew what I wanted and believed
05:05that it was going to happen.
05:07Mm-hmm.
05:07You know, before I knew what manifestation was and all of that, like, since I was young, like, I was
05:12always just, if I want something, I'm going to get it.
05:14And there's no doubt that I'm going to get it.
05:16You know what I mean?
05:16Yeah.
05:16Hey, I mean, that's literally, it's that mindset, you know?
05:19It really is.
05:19I feel like your music is that, though.
05:22I was actually going to ask this, like, later on in the interview because I've always wanted to know.
05:25I feel like listening to your music, by the way, I'm a huge fan.
05:27I don't know if I've said that yet.
05:28I'm a huge fan.
05:29But has manifested a lot of, like, really great things into my life.
05:32For real?
05:32Yes.
05:33Oh, my gosh.
05:34Lyricism is all about, like, confidence and superpowers and being placed on a pedestal and trusting your instincts and a
05:40lot of that.
05:40Has that ever really been a forefront of the creative process for you?
05:44Or is it just, like, this innate kind of, like, it's just who I am.
05:48This is how I speak.
05:48This is what I do.
05:50Yeah.
05:50Like, honestly, like, when I began becoming this pop star, like, I was not intentional.
05:57You know, I feel like along the way I found my purpose and my reason for making the music I
06:02do and doing what I do.
06:03Yeah.
06:04Because I remember early in my artistry being like, why do I need to be an artist?
06:11You know what I mean?
06:12Because I feel like everyone that's an artist has something to offer.
06:15Okay.
06:15You know?
06:16And I feel like as I've grown, I like to think that the way I feel about myself and when
06:25I make music and when I achieve all these crazy things, I want the people that listen to my stuff
06:31and my support to just feel limitless.
06:33And to feel like anything you want to do, you can do.
06:37Like, I'm literally a girl from South Africa.
06:39Yeah.
06:39Like, this does not happen ever.
06:42And I got two Grammys off one album and all these crazy things.
06:45And I don't like bringing it up because I'm like, you know?
06:48You should.
06:49You should bring it up.
06:50But it's just kind of, like, limitless.
06:53Yeah.
06:54As humans, we're just so limitless.
06:56And it's just exciting to share that feeling with people.
07:01That's such a good word.
07:03Honestly, limitless is so good.
07:04So I feel like that is just, like, a core of who you are.
07:06I can feel it.
07:07You can see it when you perform.
07:08And you have kind of grown up in the public eye, like you said.
07:12It's like, I wouldn't say it's so weird.
07:13You were, like, you know, kind of like, oh, my gosh, you know, I've grown up in the public eye.
07:17I think it's beautiful, and I think you've shown us so many different sides of you already.
07:21And there's so much to see.
07:22But when it comes from, like, your debut album to now, what have you learned?
07:26What's different?
07:27Not just, like, oh, I sound different, the production's different, but maybe just about who you are as an artist.
07:32I just feel like more of an artist, if that makes sense.
07:36Like, it sounds dramatic, but, like, it's, like, it's so true.
07:41Like, I just feel more of an artist because I feel like I have more to say.
07:45I have more just ideas that come from me, you know, and I just am more into being, like, a
07:56vessel and creating what I need to create rather than, like, thinking of the right thing to create.
08:01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:02So what's something that, like, recently happened that kind of gave you that vibe where it's just, like, this has
08:06changed me as an artist a little bit?
08:08Like, I don't know, it's been so many different things, like, so many different things.
08:16But I just, I just, I think it's the people that I admire, you know, the artists I admire are
08:22the ones that aren't always loved by everyone.
08:25Okay.
08:25You know what I mean?
08:26Like, I don't really think that's the coolest thing.
08:29You know what I mean?
08:30It's cool, like, if you like by everyone, that's cool.
08:32But for me, I love being for people that are for me.
08:37You know what I mean?
08:38I love being myself and the people that rock with it, rock with it, the people that don't, like, cool.
08:43And when I watched, I watched Disclosure perform at Coachella.
08:48Wow, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:50I don't know how this makes sense in this question, but that performance changed my whole brain.
08:55That's exactly what I mean.
08:57Yes.
08:57No, that's, yes.
08:58I was just in the crowd of, like, a sea of people.
09:02Right.
09:03And, like, listening to the song Latch.
09:06And I'm like, wow, like, I always wanted to hear the song live.
09:10And when I heard it live, like, it just changed something for me.
09:13And, yeah, it just really did.
09:16Did you want to, like, automatically create a song that was, like, Latch level?
09:19That's, like, such a huge moment.
09:21That would be a dream.
09:22That would be a dream to make a song that feels, like, the way I felt that day.
09:26It'll happen.
09:27It will happen.
09:28I mean, your Coachella performance, too, by the way.
09:31Congratulations.
09:32That was amazing.
09:32I saw it in person.
09:33Oh, you were there?
09:34Yes, I was there.
09:35I could not miss that.
09:36Like I said, a huge fan.
09:38But then the next weekend, I also watched it.
09:40And I also thought, like, watching it on screen was such a huge, just, like, moment.
09:44Like, your dance styles, your choreography, how you're, you know, putting your South African roots into everything.
09:49It's just so beautiful to see.
09:51So just congratulations on being able to do that, you know?
09:54And I think we're seeing that a lot in this sophomore album already with what you got out.
09:58What's one song in the album that you can't wait to perform in that way?
10:03Hmm.
10:04I have this song called Double Blind.
10:06Okay.
10:07It's so different for me.
10:09Like, I don't have a song like this, you know?
10:12So I'm just, I just want to sing the song.
10:15Like, I really just want to sing the song and, you know, show that side of me a little bit.
10:20It's kind of different, but it's still me.
10:22Are we allowed to say what it's about, the song?
10:27Not yet.
10:28Okay.
10:28Not yet.
10:29Like, I want people to hear it and just, like, let it take them some way.
10:33Because when I hear it, it takes me some way differently to where it takes, like, the people I've played
10:38it for.
10:39Yeah.
10:39So I think that's cooler than giving you the answer.
10:43Right.
10:43I feel it.
10:43I do.
10:44Do you ever get stage fright?
10:49Depends.
10:50Depends on, like, the venue or.
10:52Yeah.
10:52I feel like I feel a bit more, like, when it's less people.
10:57Really?
10:58Oh, yeah.
10:58It's kind of weird.
10:59Like, hey, when there's a lot of people, it's nice.
11:03Hey, I don't care.
11:04Like, it's like, woohoo.
11:05I know.
11:05But when it's less people, I'm like, hmm.
11:08Yeah.
11:09It's kind of like, ooh, I get a little bit more fluttery because it's like, y'all are in my
11:13face.
11:14Right.
11:14Like, you can see their reaction to stuff.
11:16It might be weird.
11:17Then, like, you get sad.
11:19No.
11:20It's not that.
11:21It's just like, it's kind of like, I don't even know how to explain it.
11:26It's kind of like the opposite.
11:27Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:28You know, it's like, you're right here.
11:29It's like, so intimate.
11:31Like, ooh.
11:33Like, we really on a different, it just feels so different.
11:35And I don't do it as often.
11:37That's probably why.
11:38Okay.
11:38Okay.
11:38That makes sense.
11:39It's like, probably an energy thing, too.
11:40I feel like you could probably feel a sense.
11:42A lot of things.
11:42You just seem like a very, like, energy person.
11:45Yeah.
11:45Like, you can feel a lot of things.
11:46I don't know.
11:47But you do radiate confidence.
11:48I feel like you always have.
11:49But that's not something that everyone is born with.
11:52Do you think that you were just born naturally confident?
11:57I think you're taught to be confident.
12:00Okay.
12:00I think anybody can be confident.
12:02Yeah, true.
12:03True, true, true.
12:03Yeah, I don't think you're born with it and then you're not.
12:06You know, anybody can be confident.
12:07It's just like, being 100% you and being so, like, leaning fully into it.
12:14Like, I just love people that lean into themselves.
12:17Like, whether you're the nerd, whether you're, like, the popular girl, like, the geek, like,
12:22whatever you are, like, if you lean fully into it, you're the coolest person ever, you know?
12:27Agreed.
12:28It's so cool.
12:29And also just, like, self-respect and, like, keeping your own promises and all those deep
12:34things, like, that builds your confidence.
12:35Yes, it really, really does.
12:37I love that you just said that.
12:38That's amazing.
12:39Do you think that's something you've learned as time has gone on?
12:41Like, is there something that current Tyla would want to tell maybe four years ago Tyla
12:47that she might have needed to hear?
12:51I, that girl just needed to experience.
12:53Like, I wouldn't tell her nothing.
12:56Like, she needed to go through everything and feel it, you know?
12:59Yeah.
12:59Yeah.
13:00Just move forward.
13:01Do what you got to do.
13:02I mean, you carry South Africa with you everywhere you go as well, which I love seeing personally.
13:06Does that ever feel like a responsibility or is it something that you just find a lot of
13:11pride in?
13:12Definitely a lot of pride because it's crazy.
13:16Like, I'm here, like, from South Africa, like, hey.
13:20Hey.
13:20So it's a lot of pride.
13:21Yeah.
13:22Um, sometimes I do feel a bit like, damn, like, this is all on me.
13:25Like, girl, like, I'm just a 24-year-old girl.
13:28Like, you know?
13:30But at the same time, I'm sure that, um, you know, the best thing I can do is just do
13:37me.
13:38Right.
13:38You know, I'm not trying to be a whole professional, like, that's just unrealistic.
13:43So I'm just here to be me and whatever happens, happens.
13:47Definitely.
13:47We're just here.
13:48I mean, it must be crazy to have people all over the world, like, know your name and know
13:52who you are and feel like they can have, like, any kind of opinion about you.
13:55Does that ever bother you or just, like, that's a part of the job?
14:00Um, I used to read into it and be like, oh, cool.
14:03Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
14:05Now I'm kind of like, like, I don't know.
14:10Like, I kind of like it.
14:11Okay.
14:12I kind of like it.
14:13Because you're a star.
14:14That makes sense.
14:15You know?
14:15I mean, not even that, but it's just like, I just enjoy art.
14:20And like, how it's just like, yo, like, as an artist, like, you, you, you bring, like,
14:27you make people feel things, whether it be good or bad, whatever it is.
14:30It's just like, you're an artist.
14:31And it's like, just really cool to, um, be free and just like, let go and allow the world
14:40to take in your art, however they do.
14:43Right.
14:44You know, it sounds so dramatic.
14:45Like, it doesn't, it doesn't.
14:47That's exactly it.
14:48I mean, you're, you're here as an icon, kind of, you know what I mean?
14:52Like, you're here to like, share art with the world and people are allowed to feel a
14:56certain way about that.
14:57And like, talk back to you in certain ways.
14:59It's just a part of what it is.
15:00It's like a virtual world.
15:01It is.
15:02You know what I mean?
15:02Like, I'm in Sims or something.
15:04So it's fun.
15:05Is there anything that people misunderstand about you a lot that maybe bothers you?
15:09I don't know.
15:10I don't feel like I've shown myself enough for people to, for me to feel like people are
15:14misunderstanding me.
15:16Actually, yeah, that's true.
15:17That's a really good answer.
15:18Yeah.
15:18What is the best thing that you hear from fans?
15:20Is it that you are a fashion icon?
15:22Is it like, you've taught me so much about a mapiano?
15:24You know, like, what do you love to hear?
15:26I don't know.
15:27I just like, love meeting them and then hearing what their favorite song is.
15:31Okay.
15:32And what their favorite performance is.
15:34Like, I'm so curious to hear because sometimes I hear random songs that I don't like.
15:37And I'm like, really?
15:38Really?
15:39You like that song?
15:40Wow.
15:41Yeah.
15:41Or, yeah, I just like hearing what they're into.
15:46Is there like a favorite song people say the most?
15:50No.
15:50No?
15:51No, it's just always different and random.
15:52Like, everybody has their own favorites, you know?
15:55Yeah, my favorite is Is It.
15:56Is It?
15:57Yeah.
15:57Is It?
15:59That's nice.
15:59It's so good.
16:00It just makes me feel good.
16:01I like it.
16:02That's nice.
16:02It's amazing.
16:03Is it strange sometimes, though, to kind of like represent that sound and culture of a
16:08mapiano?
16:08And then in a year of 2026, you're like, that's been a part of my life forever.
16:12How is this new to you?
16:13But people are like, I'm just discovering it through you and your peers.
16:16Is that like a strange feeling?
16:19You know, I don't know, because like my music is not straight Amapiano, you know, like my
16:24music derives from Amapiano.
16:26There's like hints of it here and there, but there's actual true like Amapiano and Afro
16:30Beats artists that make that music.
16:33Right.
16:33So if people tell me, oh, you represent Amapiano, I'm like, I guess.
16:39Yeah.
16:40To me, I feel like I represent A-pop.
16:43Oh, true.
16:43You know what I mean?
16:44Like, I do because it's like, I just love the idea of African music evolving and it just
16:51being whatever we want it to be.
16:53Yeah.
16:53And that's exactly what I do with this album, Girl.
16:55Right.
16:56I feel it.
16:57I mean, what is the most exciting thing about your sophomore album other than the sounds,
17:02other than, you know, collaborations you might have on the album?
17:04Like, what are you most excited about this time around?
17:07I'm excited that I made this album during a time where I was so confused.
17:13Okay.
17:14I was so confused with a lot of things.
17:16And I was like, I didn't know what I wanted it to sound like.
17:19I didn't know what it was going to look like.
17:22I didn't know anything.
17:22And it kind of made itself.
17:25Like, it feels like the album made itself.
17:27It made its own look.
17:28And I love that that's how it was made because it's like, the songs are somewhat confusing.
17:41Okay.
17:42I feel like you don't understand, but it's like, hmm.
17:43Yeah, well, you know why?
17:44I'm like, hmm, because I know you can't really say much.
17:46And I'm like, okay, well, we'll hold that.
17:48But if you confuse, girl, it's on brand.
17:50Yeah, hey, we're all confused.
17:52I love that.
17:53But again, it's like, I feel like when people are watching this, they're also going to get it
17:56because they're going to have listened already, especially people that are like,
17:59oh my God, got to press play on this Tyler right now.
18:01Like, they're already going to get the vibe and the feeling.
18:03Like, it's all, honestly, it's all a feeling.
18:06Like, when I see some artists, like, explain their album on podcasts and interviews
18:12and they're so, like, perfect and they have the right answer and all those things,
18:16I'm like, great.
18:17But for my album with A-pop, everything is a feeling.
18:20Like, I don't have a deep answer.
18:23I don't have, like, a deep reason behind why this and that and this and that.
18:28Like, honestly, this album is a feeling.
18:30It's about dancing.
18:31It's about being limitless and sexy and hot and fun and young.
18:37You know what I mean?
18:38That's just what it is.
18:39Love it.
18:40Love it.
18:40Last question because, I mean, we're going on into, like, 20 minutes right now
18:44just talking about A-pop and everything you've got going on.
18:46The rest of 2026, we're halfway through the year, almost halfway through the year now,
18:50halfway when this drops.
18:52What are your short-term goals?
18:53What are your long-term goals?
18:55What are the vibes heading into the second half of this year?
18:58I really want to do a proper tour.
19:00I've never done a proper tour.
19:03Okay.
19:03Like, my own tour where people buy tickets to see me.
19:07Like, I'm excited to do that around the world and just connect more with, like, the real, like, tigers.
19:17And, yeah, I really want to do that.
19:21Okay.
19:21Love to see it.
19:22Anything else you want to say to your fans before we head out?
19:28Buy A-pop now.
19:31Do it.
19:32That's it.
19:32Thank you so much, Tyler.
19:33Appreciate it.
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