Tyla shines at 2025 Global Citizen Festival
"The fact that I'm on this stage is amazing."
Tyla had a full-circle moment at the 2025 Global Citizen Festival in New York.
In 2018, the 'Push 2 Start' singer was one of over 70,000 people who packed FNB Stadium in Johannesburg for the festival's Mandela 100 concert.
She watched in awe as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Usher and Ed Sheeran brought the city of gold to a standstill.
Seven years later, the 23-year-old is headlining the festival alongside artists such as Cardi B, Shakira, Ayra Starr, and Blackpink's ROSÉ.
"It's actually crazy that I'm performing here," she told the Central Park audience.
"The first time I came to Global Citizen was when they came to South Africa. And I'm telling you it was a bargain. All I did was fill in a survey, and I saw Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Pharrell [Williams]."
The Grammy Award winner joked that she also saw Usher's buttcrack in 3D.
"And the fact that I'm on this stage is amazing. We're here for a good cause, so I want to see some hands. I want to see you guys make some noise. "
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Tyla performs “Thata Ahh” at the Global Citizen Festival.pic.twitter.com/W7DlJ1rNX1
— Mukesh Kumar (@ermukeshkv) September 28, 2025
Tyla performed several songs, including 'Is It', 'Mr. Media', 'Truth or Dare', 'Shake Ah', 'Water' and more.
She was praised for briefly stopping her 'Water' performance to check on an audience member who appeared to need help.
"I think someone needs help here. Are you guys okay? Guys, they need help over there," a concerned Tyla said.
Her show was paused for less than a minute before she resumed.
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Tyla stopped her performance to make sure an audience member who was fainting received help. pic.twitter.com/pchVmMMXM0
— Tygers Access 🚧 (@TygersAccess) September 27, 2025
Near-fainting episode aside, Tyla was one of the most talked about performers on the night.
"Her mic was on and I love that for her," one Instagram user said. "Vocals are on point," a second wrote. A third commented, "Damn, she can sing."
Tyla also previewed a new song called 'Chanel' at the festival.
Some social media users said they could hear Drake's voice in the background. Tyla has not announced the song's release date yet. Listen to the snippet below.
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