Tyla Hilariously Asks Lil Nas X To Hold Her VMAs Award: “I’m Not Strong Enough”
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Lil Nas X and Tyla
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On Wednesday (Sept. 11) night, Tyla took home Best Afrobeats at the 2024 MTV VMAs. Presented by Halle Bailey and Lil Nas X, the “On and On” singer accepted her award in arguably one of the most hilarious ways possible.
Shortly after being handed the iconic Moonman statuette, Tyla said, “I’m not strong enough. Are you able to hold [the award] for me? Thank you, I’m sorry.” Afterward, Nas X — who wore a Power Rangers-esque leather ensemble for the occasion — took possession of the trophy while she delivered a powerful speech about African music.
Amid the incident going viral on social media, Tyla jumped on Twitter to clarify that her comment wasn’t directed at Bailey. “Y’all make everything weird. I was not asking my girl Halle. We [are] just girls. [Shut the f**k up], I won a VMA,” she wrote.
“The global impact that ‘Water’ has had on the world just proves that African music can be pop music, too. This is just so special but also bittersweet because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats,” Tyla said during her speech. “It’s a thing, and even though Afrobeats has run things and opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse.”
“I just want to [give a] shout-out [to] all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me. Shout-out [to] Tems, Ayra Starr. Shout-out [to] Lojay. Shout-out [to] Rema, Wizkid, Burna Boy, all of us. Love you guys,” she concluded.
Notably, Tyla’s “Water” won over Tems’ “Love Me JeJe,” Chris Brown’s “Sensational,” Burna Boy’s “City Boys,” Ayra Starr’s “Last Heartbreak Song,” and Usher’s Pheelz-assisted track “Ruin.”
Tyla’s outfit for the VMAs was equally impressive. The musician wore a strapless neon yellow dress from AREA, which she paired with turquoise briefs that peeked through the cutouts.
