By Rorisang Modiba
- Tyla beat Burna Boy, Davido, Eddy Kenzo and Ayra Starr but could not attend the Peacock Theatre ceremony in person.
- The song has over 440 million Spotify streams. Tyla won her first Grammy in 2024 for “Water” in this category.
South African singer Tyla won the Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
The 24-year-old won for her song “Push 2 Start”. She could not accept the award in person at the Premiere ceremony at the Peacock Theatre. Red carpet interviews delayed her appearance.
This is Tyla’s second Grammy win. She won the same award in 2024 for her song “Water”.
“Push 2 Start” has become one of Africa’s biggest international music successes. The song has over 440 million streams on Spotify. It also has tens of millions of views on YouTube.
Tyla beat several major African artists in the category. The other nominees were Burna Boy for “Love”, Davido featuring Omah Lay for “With You”, Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin for “Hope & Love”, and Ayra Starr featuring Wizkid for “Gimme Dat”.
On the red carpet, Tyla wore a Dsquared2 dress from the Fall/Winter 2013 collection. Ronnie Hart styled the look. The dress featured a feathered skirt, a dramatic train and a plunging neckline with gold embellishments.
The Best African Music Performance category was introduced to recognise the growing global influence of African music. It has become one of the Grammys’ most competitive categories.
South African comedian Trevor Noah was also nominated at the Premiere ceremony. He was up for Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording for Into the Uncut Grass. The Dalai Lama won the award for Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Pictured above: Tyla.
Image source: @tylajpg
