While there are certainly far worse people to be compared to than Rihanna, Tyla wants to make it clear: She's only interested in carving her own path.
Inside her Cosmopolitan Cover published on Tuesday (April 30), the South African star shared her thoughts on recent comparisons to Barbadian singer-turned-billionaire Fenty — which, while flattering, aren't indicative of her entire story.
“Rihanna is Rihanna. It's a compliment,” he told the publication. “But at the same time, I am my own artist. I'm Tyla. And I know that as people get to know me and my music, they're going to see me as Tyla. So I'm fine with that now.”
“People want to associate me with something familiar to them, cool,” added the musician. “But at the end of the day, we're doing something that nobody's ever done before and it can't really be compared to anybody.”
The 22-year-old singer is fresh off the release of her self-titled debut album, which dropped on March 22 and features collaborations with Tems, Travis Scott and more. The set debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 and has spent five weeks on the chart so far, headlined by the mega-viral hit “Water,” which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January.
Speaking about “Water,” Tyla also looked back on the slightly awkward process of getting her parents on board with the track — specifically, the NSFW lyrics. On the steamy, poppy track, which inspired a surprising dance trend that set TikTok fires last year, she sings, “Make me sweat, make me hotter/ Make me breathless, make me water.”
“My mom was the person who saved me because my dad was like, 'What are you singing?' recalled the song, which won the first African Music Performance Grammy Award in March. “I said, 'Nah, it's nothing bad, Dad. It's just carefree fun.' It's like, “Oh, okay.” And my mother was the person who said, “Relax, relax. Relax.'”
