Grammys 2026: Again, Tyla defeats Davido, Burna Boy, Ayra Starr to win best African music performance
South African pop sensation, Tyla, has once again clinched the Best African Music Performance award at the 2026 Grammy Awards, edging out Nigeria’s biggest stars.
Tyla won the award with her viral hit “Push 2 Start,” triumphing over Burna Boy’s “Love,” Davido and Omah Lay’s collaboration “With You,” Ayra Starr and Wizkid’s “Gimme Dat,” as well as Eddy Kenzo and Mehran Matin’s “Hope & Love.”
The category, created to celebrate African musical excellence, continues to attract worldwide attention as African sounds gain deeper roots in mainstream global music.
The win further cements Tyla’s rapid rise on the international awards circuit and underscores South Africa’s expanding influence within Africa’s creative space and the broader global music industry.
For Nigeria, however, the 2026 Grammys proved disappointing.
Despite multiple nominations across key categories, none of the Nigerian artistes — including Burna Boy, Davido, Omah Lay, Ayra Starr, and Wizkid — secured a win.
It marked a rare year in which Africa’s most commercially dominant music nation left the Grammys without a trophy.
Burna Boy also missed out in the Best Global Music Album category, where his album “No Sign of Weakness” lost to Brazilian icons Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia, whose joint live project “Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo” took the award.
Tyla’s latest Grammy triumph carries significant historical importance.
She is now a two-time winner of the Best African Music Performance category, having made history in 2024 as its first-ever recipient with her breakout hit “Water.”
Her back-to-back success highlights her consistency, global appeal, and the growing visibility of African female artistes on the world stage.
As African genres such as Afrobeats, Amapiano, and African pop continue to dominate international charts and playlists, Tyla’s ascent reflects a broader transformation in how African music is received and celebrated globally.
With competition among African stars at the Grammys becoming increasingly intense, the continent’s presence on the world’s biggest music stage is clearly entering a new and more dynamic era.
