No one does a homecoming with quite as much grandeur as Tyla, and rightfully so. Just a few years into her global advent and superstardom, the South African popstar jetted back home to receive the prestigious Afripure International Achievement Award, in recognition of her meteoric rise and ultimate global takeover.
This marks the second time she has received this specific accolade (having previously won it at SAMA30). With this feat, she joins global powerhouse Black Coffee as the only other artist in SAMAs history to win the International Achievement category twice.
While the Push 2 Start hitmaker dominated previous editions of the awards from afar while touring internationally, SAMA32 marked her first time attending and accepting the trophy in person on home soil. After strutting her stuff on the glitzy red carpet, Tyla was presented with the award by media icon Bonang Matheba and AfriPure co-founder Grant Heynes, after which the singer delivered a deeply reflective and candid acceptance speech that resonated heavily across the continent.
She opened on the pressures of being a trailblazing African popstar telling the crowd: “There’s never been a Tyla before me, and I don’t have a roadmap. I don’t have someone to call and ask how they did things… as I stumbled through my career and my life now growing up as a woman and an artist in front of the world, I just thank South Africa for being there for me.”
Homage
Tyla aptly credited her roots, shouting out the Pretoria Bacardi music movement that heavily influenced the infectious rhythms of her global smash hit “Water,” noting that executing those dance elements on global stages changed her life.
While the win and speech were a major event of the night, Tyla’s quest to go against conventional award show protocol proved an even bigger highlight. The Chanel singer paused her speech to invite a host of fellow African and South African artists onto the stage. Music stars including Makhadzi, Cassper Nyovest, Zee Nxumalo, Maglera Doe Boy, Langa Mavuso, Babalwa M, Lordkez, and Xduppy joined her. Surrounded by her contemporaries, she used the collective platform to champion continental collaboration: “I wanna take this moment to celebrate all the artists from here… I pray one day to see a unified Africa; it’s so important, and I just thank you, guys.”
Homecoming
The ceremony anchored a massive homecoming weekend for the star. Beyond Sun City, Tyla rolled out her A*POP takeover at Gold Reef City, shutting down parts of Johannesburg to give local fans an immersive celebration of her music, fashion, and lifestyle identity.
SAMA32 was held at the iconic Sun City Superbowl in the North West Province, South Africa.
