At the glittering 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards, South Africa’s Tyla took another triumph as she won the World Artist of the Year award!
If achievements were bees, South Africa’s Tyla is honey. As the 2025 winner of the iHeartRadio Music Award’s World Artist of the Year, Tyla’s trajectory into stardom continues to track significantly. Not to mention, she’s the first South African to win this title.
Tyla was nominated for three awards in total, including the R&B Song of the Year Award for ‘Water’ (which surpassed the billion stream mark recently) as well as Dance Song of the Year for which the Marshmello remix of ‘Water’ stood as a strong contender.
Despite being beat out in these categories by Muni Long and Charli XCX, Tyla still toasted other artists like Central Cee and Burna Boy to claim World Artist of the Year, which marks yet another celebratory moment within her spectacular career.
Since she grabbed the world’s attention with her talent and personality in 2023 (attention that hasn’t wavered ever since), Miss Tyla has been no stranger to hitting musical milestones like Mariah Carey hits high notes.
On many of these occasions, she made history in the process—like when ‘Water’ became the African song to achieve both Platinum status and double Platinum status in record time and when she became the first South African to win a VMA (Video Music Award).
Tyla also won her first Grammy at just 23 years old and claimed the International Achievement Award at the SAMAs!
An unapologetically proud South African, the Jozi starlet spotlights South Africa almost as much as South Africa spotlights her. Whether it’s explaining local slang or talking about home fondly, Tyla certainly hasn’t forgotten her roots.
