Tyla Hails TikTok as Artists' "Best Source of Promo Right Now"
"I know some people are hesitant about TikTok, they’re not sure about it but I’m telling you, it is your best source of promo right now" - Tyla, as she urges creatives to get with the program
Tyla’s hit "Water" recently beat tracks such as "Unavailable" by Davido & Musa Keys, "City Boys" by Burna Boy, "Rush" by Ayra Starr, and "Amapiano" by Asake & Olamide, to win the inaugural Best African Music Performance award at the 66th GRAMMY Awards.
During an interview with AP News Entertainment at the GRAMMYs, the singer unequivocally expressed her inclination towards TikTok over other social media platforms, while urging other artists and creatives to get with the program.
In her words:
I know some people are hesitant about TikTok. They’re not sure about it but I’m telling you, even if you’re creative, if you are an artist, TikTok is probably your best source of promo right now.
Like, I love making videos organically. Like really, I love it. Even before I started really making music, I’ve been a social media girl. So I’ve just been using it to help with what I’m doing and I’m just happy that I’m now shifting and I’m now a Grammy-winning artist from South Africa.
Tyla's "Water" challenge became one of the standout moments on TikTok in 2023. The viral dance challenge was initiated by Tyla's choreographer, Litchi.
The "Water" challenge involves TikTok users shaking their hips, kicking their legs, and then pouring a bottle of water down their backs to the lyrics, "Make me sweat, make me hotter, make me lose my breath, make me water."
"Water" was released in July and started gaining popularity on TikTok in August. By October, the hashtags #TylaWater and #TylaWaterChallenge had gotten millions of views, and the song had been featured in over 500,000 TikTok videos as users continued to mimic the choreo.
The trend subsequently evolved to include women using the "Water" dance to test their partners. "Water" has now garnered nearly 500 million combined Spotify streams, over 100 million views on YouTube, and peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
According to Luminate, "Water," and "Rush" by Ayra Starr, accounted for 2.1 billion out of the 2.9 billion worldwide streams collectively generated by all the songs nominated in GRAMMY’s Best African Music Performance category.
