It looks like Tyla’s self-titled debut album will no longer be vying for R&B recognition at the upcoming 67th Grammy Awards. Instead, the South African songstress is expected to compete across the pop categories, The Hollywood Reporter shared on Monday (Oct. 21).
According to the publication, TYLA was “kicked to Best Pop Vocal Album” by The Recording Academy’s R&B screening committee, which includes other artists, songwriters and producers. If the “On and On” artist secures a nomination, she could possibly go up against Sabrina Carpenter’s chart-topping Short n’ Sweet, Ariana Grande’s eternal sunshine and Taylor Swift’s THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT — most notably, the last-mentioned project spent 15 weeks atop the Billboard 200.
Amid the news, Tyla took to X, where she posted, “I make it all,” alongside a face blowing a kiss emoji. Across the 14 initial tracks, the musician’s studio debut incorporated pop, R&B and amapiano elements on records like “Truth or Dare,” “On My Body” with Becky G and “Butterflies.”
It’s also worth mentioning that “Water” secured Best African Music Performance at the 66th Grammy Awards in February.
At September’s MTV Video Music Awards, Tyla emphasized that “African music can be pop music, too.” While accepting the award for Best Afrobeats, she further explained, “There’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats. It’s a thing, and even though Afrobeats has run things and opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse.”
TYLA + came out earlier in the month with three new tracks. It welcomed “PUSH 2 START,” “BACK to YOU” and “SHAKE AH” featuring Tony Duardo, Optimist Music ZA and Ez Maestro. Tyla is expected to promote the deluxe with a slew of shows in South Africa. Fans can expect to see the singer at Cape Town’s GrandWest Grand Arena on Dec. 5 and Pretoria’s SunBet Arena on Dec. 7.