TYLA rocked the boat at her Coachella debut with a tribute to Aaliyah.
The “pretty girl from Joburg” made her first ever appearance at the popular music festival in California at the weekend.
And she didn’t disappoint with her show on Friday’s opening night.
Sharing the stage with the likes of headliners Lady Gaga and Missy Elliott, BlackPINK’s Lisa and FKA Twigs also performed on a big night.
But it was South African "It Girl" Tyla who made the headlines with her Aaliyah tribute.
Performing her hit On and On, Tyla used the late American singer’s R&B classic Rock the Boat backing track.
Tyla has made it known that the Back and Forth hitmaker is one of her biggest influences on her music and style.
Rock the Boat was also the last music video the star shot before she tragically died in a plane crash travelling back to Miami from The Bahamas in 2001.
With the rest of her set backed with a live band, the choice to use Aaliyah’s track stood out in the performance.
She was also performed a duet with American singer Becky G, who recently presented Tyla with the Impact Award at the Billboard Women in Music ceremony.
Tyla continues to win admirers within showbiz and Goodies singer Ciara is the latest star to make her stem dik for a collaboration, after Sean Paul appeared on her remix of Push 2 Start.
Last week, Ciara told L’Officiel: “If I could collab with someone, I think it would be super cool to maybe work with Tyla. I think what she does is just; her music is really infectious, and she makes people dance through her music. And for me, it’s really important to make the world dance.
“I think me and Tyla could wind it up a little bit, you know, do a little song, something together, maybe. It could be cute,” she added.
Saturday’s headliners included recent Cape Town visitors Green Day, while the event was curated with the vision of with Tyla’s guest feature on her Water remix, rapper Travis Scott.
