Tyla tore the club up with her performance of “Push 2 Start” and “Shake Ah” at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards Thursday night (Dec. 12).
Tyla’s tiger motif didn’t come to play tonight, as the zebra mini skirt-wearing singer pushed open the bathroom door to start performing “Push 2 Start.” Dancers emerged from each stall, and the color-changing lights felt like the club was as much inside the ladies’ room as it was outside of it. The “Water” hitmaker and the girls recreated the choreography from her wet and wild music video released last month before they came out to where the real party was at.
Tyla keenly surveyed the scene by the DJ booth on the balcony while “Shake Ah” started playing and got the dancefloor jumping. “Too serious, too serious/ Hands on my hips, he don’t wanna let go/ Ah shake-a (Shake-a), shake-a (Shake-a),” she breathily cooed her verse before the crowd went crazy over her booty-shaking moves. Optimist Music ZA, one of the featured artists on the song, stormed onto the scene with his own posse in tow while rapping his second verse before propping himself up onto the bar with Tyla. The two eventually shut it down with confetti cannons, which rained down over viral duo Pete & Bas as they attempted to enjoy a cup of tea and a scone or two at the club.
The South African singer is a finalist eight times: Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Female Artist, Top Afrobeats Artist, Top R&B Album (Tyla), Top R&B Song (“Water”) and Top Afrobeats Song (“Truth or Dare,” “Water” and “Jump” with Gunna and Skillibeng).
Her Billboard Hot 100 No. 7 smash “Water,” “Truth or Dare” and “Jump” are all featured on her eponymous debut album, which was released on March 22, 2024, via FAX and Epic Records. It topped World Albums for five weeks, reached No. 8 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard 200. “Water” also won Tyla her first Grammy earlier this year for best African music performance during the category’s inaugural year. Tyla released the deluxe edition on Oct. 11 with three new tracks: “Shake Ah,” featuring Tony Duardo, Optimist Music ZA and Ez Maestro, “Push 2 Start” and “Back to You.”
The Billboard Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Corporation. PMC is also the parent company of Billboard.
