South African singer Tyla has again asserted her dominance in the African music space by scooping the highly coveted Best New Artist and Best International Act award categories at the BET Awards 2024 in Los Angeles.
Tyla called the award a gift, dedicating the prize to African stars who had come before her.
“Guys, I did not prepare anything, but I just wanna say thank you so much to my tigers, my family, my team. Thank you to BET for always pushing the culture, I’m gonna be performing soon, so get ready,” she said.
Tyla truly surprised everyone, as she is the third artist for best new artist who was not born in the U.S. She follows Nicki Minaj, who was born in Trinidad, and Sam Smith, who was born in England.
The BET winner in this category often goes on to grab a Grammy nomination for best new artist, but that won’t be possible this year.
Tyla won a Grammy on Feb. 4 (best African music performance for “Water”), which makes her ineligible for best new artist next year.
African acts that have won the BET Best International Act award #BETAWARDS
• Davido (2018) 🇳🇬
• Burna Boy (2019, 2020, 2021) 🇳🇬
• Tems (2022) 🇳🇬
• Burna Best New Artist next year.