South African singer Tyla hasn’t taken her foot off the gas since breaking out in 2023 with her multi-platinum single “Water.” She released her self-titled debut album last year to critical acclaim and went on the road in support of the LP with The Tyla Tour, which wrapped up this June. The following month, she released the EP WWP, complete with singles like “Is It” and the WizKid collab “Dynamite.” Now, the pop star is back with another new single, “Chanel,” to remind listeners of her talents in combining Afrobeats and amapiano sounds into her own unique creations.
“Chanel,” in Tyla’s view, is about more than just the high-end fashion brand. “The song ‘Chanel’ is not only about spoiling me; it’s about being treated like luxury [and] being the gift,” the singer told Vogue. Naturally, for the music video, she had to be decked out in vintage Chanel clothes and accessories.
“Turns out, I had you turned out / What’s my mood? Try me, come find out / One more time, stop tryna read my mind / I’m not her, and she’s not me, and you’re not mine,” she sings on the track. “How you say you love me? You ain’t put me in Chanel / Say you love me, put me in Chanel / I’m a big dog, baby, and a doll, baby / Self-made b***h, yeah, you ain’t upgrade me / Waistline crazy, mandem chase me / Say you wan’ see me, where you gon’ take me?”
The song, like many of her upbeat tracks, makes for an ideal sonic backdrop to move your body even if summer might already be in the rear view mirror. At her live shows, that’s all the singer asks of her audience members.
“I want everyone to be dancing. I want nobody to be worried about what they look like,” Tyla told Glamour of her experience being on stage. “What’s the point of life if everything is based on what other people think about you?”
“When I’m on stage, I really do not care. I want people to look at me. I want everyone to be entertained. But when I’m off the stage, I’m kind of shy,” she added. “I don’t want people watching me party. I want to be in my own world. I remember in the beginning it was very weird for me, because it felt like an overnight switch. It was very drastic.”
Whether “Chanel” is tied to a forthcoming project from the singer remains to be seen. Next month, Tyla will be taking WWP across Asia with the We Wanna Party Tour, kicking off Nov. 11 in Tokyo and wrapping up Dec. 13 in Dubai.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cmalone/2025/10/24/tyla-dons-chanel-in-new-single/
