Somehow, it’s already been three years since Tyla’s Water took over the world, catapulting the South African amapiano artist to international attention and acclaim. She followed it up with an intoxicating eponymous debut album and now she runs full steam into ‘A*Pop’, a second effort that sags under the weight of expectation.
Things start brightly enough with Is It Love, which fuses bright power ballad guitar chords with an easy-going and addictive chorus, while Kiss dials up the tempo for a high energy Miami dancefloor romp.
Tyla’s vocal delivery is sultry, sensual and strong and it’s easy to see how she’s found herself on such a steep upwards trajectory as she knows how to craft both club bangers and bedroom soundtracks.
There’s attitude on Is It, dreamlike splendour in Fairytale, and a Christina Milian-lite stomp to Mr. Nonchalant. In fact, ‘A*Pop’ hits practically every 21st Century R&B trope, which makes for an incredibly easy listen.
At a certain point though, the cracks start to show. Chanel seems to aim for hypnotic but just lands at lazy and grating, That Girl and Feel Something are interchangeable stalling points, and most songs end out of nowhere, devoid of the ideas that might bring them to a more natural close.
And therein, we hit another trope of the modern music industry. Perhaps ‘A*Pop’ is not an album to stand up to criticism, as ultimately, it’s a compilation of social media-friendly cuts that are more concerned with playlists and TikTok virality. And while there are several tracks that will surely succeed in this, it does start to smack of a cashgrab, and it’s probably a safe bet to predict a deluxe edition before the end of the year.
Tyla Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu October 15 2026 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
Fri October 16 2026 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
Sun October 18 2026 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Mon October 19 2026 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo
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