Tyla Seamlessly Marries Pop With Amapiano on Luminous Self-Titled Debut: Album Review

variety.com:

Thania Garcia Last year, Tyla established herself as a promising star with “Water,” her career-launching Top 10 single that earned her a Grammy long before she had a complete body of work in hand.

But the song was proof of a working formula: “popiano,” a twist on South African amapiano that she uses to describe her blend of the genre’s piano-driven, tech-house beats and the progressive tempos of pop and R&B.

On her self-titled debut, Tyla, born Tyla Laura Seethal, builds a world anchored by this formula, making for an enthralling first record that distinguishes her from her Afrobeats peers on a quest to pop crossover.

On “Tyla,” much of the album’s success is indebted to Tyla herself, whose delivery adds a new layer of intrigue to the quickly evolving South African genre.