Tyla shut down speculation about tension between her and Halle Bailey after their appearances at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.
Bailey, 24, and Lil Nas X presented Tyla, 22, with the Moonperson for Best Afrobeats for her song “Water” at the awards show on Wednesday, September 11. After Tyla walked on stage, she said the trophy was too heavy to hold.
“Oh my gosh, you guys know me and holding awards. I am not strong enough,” Tyla said in her speech, handing the trophy over to Lil Nas X, 25.
Fans immediately theorized that there was a reason that Tyla sought to give the Moonperson to Lil Nas X instead of Bailey.
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“Y’all make everything weird,” Tyla wrote via X several hours after the ceremony. “I was not asking my girl Halle. We just girls.”
She added, “STFU I WON A VMAAAA.”
After she passed her trophy to Lil Nas X, Tyla continued on with her speech.
“Thank you so much,” the singer gushed while wearing a yellow Area Couture gown with Saulé jewelry. “Thank you my tigers, MTV, my team [and] everyone. This is such a big moment for Africa [and] African music. Guys, the global impact that ‘Water’ has had on the world just proved that African music can be popular, too.”
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She continued, “This is just so special, but also bittersweet because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under ‘afrobeat’ and it’s a thing. Even though Afrobeats has run things and opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse. It’s more than just Afrobeats.”
Tyla, who hails from South Africa, further noted that she proudly represents “[her] culture” in her music.
“Love you guys! Africa to the world,” Tyla concluded. “Stream my album, Tyla.”
Tyla also gave a shout-out to her fellow nominees Arya Starr, Burna Boy and Tems. Chris Brown and Usher were also included in the category.
Tyla’s popularity exploded with the July 2023 release of “Water,” which soon made waves on TikTok.
“I never thought, ‘This song is going to blow up.’ And then I started performing it and seeing everyone singing every word,” she told Cosmopolitan in an April profile. “I knew it was something bigger than what we thought. People from everywhere are listening to it and dancing to it, no matter their age. There’s babies, there’s old people. I just love that it’s an African sound that is so universal.”
