Tyla Talks 2026 Grammy Nerves, New Album ‘A-Pop’

Tyla let Rolling Stone tag along as she got ready for the 2026 Grammy Awards, with the South African superstar chatting about her hit single “Push 2 Start,” her next album, and the magic of the creative process. 

As she got her hair and makeup done, Tyla shared her excitement for that night’s performances — especially Justin Bieber — and opened up about being nominated again for Best African Music Performance for “Push 2 Start.” Tyla said she knew the song was “special” from the moment she finished it, and joked about how she couldn’t wait to just find out the results of the category, win or lose.

Tyla did go on to win last night, but at the time all she could do was think back to 2024, when she won her first Grammy in the Best African Music Performance category for her breakthrough song, “Water.” “I was surprisingly very calm, and when they called my name, I just felt like I blacked out almost,” she remembered. “All of a sudden I was onstage and I said the first thing that came to my head. That moment was so special.” 

Along with picking up her second Grammy last night, Tyla also confirmed that her long-awaited second album, titled A-Pop, was on the way. Teasing the record, Tyla said, “I feel like the first album, it was very hectic, it was a rush. It was like, all of a sudden, overnight craziness. So now that I’m settled in, I feel like I know more about my direction and what I want to do, what I want to say.” 

As Tyla explained, she started working on the follow-up to her 2024 self-titled debut last year, and at first she  “did not know what [she] wanted it to sound like.” But, she continued, “I just knew that as I lived through the making of the album, it was going to fall into place, which it did. I feel like I just did something really fresh and so Tyla.”

A big part of getting the album right, Tyla noted, was allowing herself to “dive into things and try whatever.” While she still maintains her “perfectionist” instincts, Tyla said, “Now that I’m doing it more often, I’m more open to whatever comes and letting it be that. Because whatever happens, is meant to happen at that time.”

The experience of making A-Pop, Tyla said, has made her “feel like a real artist, which is so special.” She continued: “When you’re in the rush of everything … you just only feel the glamour of it all. Which is amazing, but making something is so fun, and seeing it through, from beginning to end … I love building the world around things and just making it fun.”