Tyla Graces the Cover of ELLE UK Magazine

South African music star Tyla has added another major achievement to her growing list of career milestones after becoming the cover star of ELLE UK Magazine.

The two-time Grammy Award winner has continued to make her mark on the international music scene, but her latest feature also gives fans a glimpse into the more personal side of her life.

Despite the way social media has become a source of concern for some celebrities, Tyla has a very different relationship with the platforms. For her, social media has always been a space where she can have fun and express herself.

In fact, TikTok played an important role in helping her career take off.

Long before becoming a household name, Tyla was consistently creating content and finding ways to make videos with the resources available to her.

“Eeeeeveryday,” she drawls. “I didn’t have a phone at the time, so I would borrow my father’s, and me and my sister would have to take shifts.”

That playful approach has remained part of Tyla’s online presence, even as her profile has grown significantly. Her social media feed still mixes polished content with spontaneous moments featuring her friends.

One fan recently summed up what makes her online presence so relatable, writing: “I love how Tyla posts like she’s not famous.”

Tyla says there is no complicated strategy behind it.

“I honestly do it for myself,” Tyla explains. “A lot of people try to be cool about it, but it’s fun, you know? Why not have a little fun!”

With fame has also come the experience of growing up with millions of people watching. Tyla reflected on the unusual experience of moving from her teenage years into young adulthood while being in the public eye.

“It is weird. I’m like, aaaawk-waaard,” she drawls, laughing again.

“It’s an awkward phase going from teenager to young adult. As a woman you go through so many changes – mentally, physically,” she says.

For Tyla, those changes have happened under circumstances that are very different from what many young women experience.

“A lot of women get to do that in their own space, in their own comfort zone. So the fact that I’m doing that in front of the world… At first, I felt like I couldn’t make a mistake.”

The singer has also made it clear that becoming famous does not mean every part of her life needs to become public.

Tyla says privacy has always been important to her, especially as her career continues to put her in the spotlight.

“I’ve always been the type to keep things private, because I think it’s cute to have this relationship with yourself,” she says.

Having independence is equally important to the star. She enjoys being able to experience ordinary moments without constantly being reminded of her celebrity status.

“I think you take for granted the importance of doing things for yourself,” she says. “And how good it feels to do things for yourself. There have been so many times that I’ve run away from [security guards]. I’m like, ‘Leave me alone!’”

Tyla has even found ways to explore New York without drawing attention to herself. She says she sometimes disguises herself before heading out, allowing her to walk around the city, use the subway and take trips on the ferry.

When asked about the disguise, however, she keeps that part of her life to herself.

“Then you’re gonna tell,” she teases. “Right now, I could be anyone.”

Although Tyla is now experiencing the world of international fame she once watched from a distance, she has managed to maintain perspective.

“When you’re a celebrity, you sometimes get lost in it. You think that that’s the real world, but it’s not,” she says.

“Because I was able to watch the industry from afar – very far, from the bottom of Africa – I saw it as this untouchable realm.”

Her experience has since changed the way she views celebrity and the entertainment industry.

“Now that I’m in it, I know the difference. I know what’s real and I know what’s not.”

Tyla believes that understanding the difference has allowed her to enjoy her success without becoming consumed by it.

“And I think that’s why I’m able to be more playful about it now and not take it as seriously. Because it isn’t that serious. There are way more serious things happening in the world, you know.”