Tyla feels as if she has "changed a lot" in her first year of global fame.

The 22-year-old pop star has garnered constant comparisons to Britney Spears and Rihanna since releasing her eponymous debut album in early 2024 but now "doesn't care" what others say and is looking forward to having "fun" in the next year of her career.

She told ELLE: "I do feel like I’ve changed a lot in the span of a few months; people may not see it. I’m excited to see that in my next album. Initially, I used to care. Recently I’ve just been feeling, ‘They’re gonna say what they wanna say, and it doesn’t even matter because I know it’s not that.

"This year was me introducing myself. Next year I’m just gonna have fun.

"Do whatever, wear whatever. I’m just playing around a lot, and bringing a lot of my roots into my music. It’s still gonna be me, still sweaty vibes, but evolved."

Away from the spotlight, the 'Water' hitmaker just likes to spend time in her native Johannesburg and admitted that the South African city was just really resilient during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 when law enforcement tried to stop residents from partying after the curfews.

She said: "That’s where the real parties are. In lockdown, you weren’t really allowed to have parties, but there’d be these parties where they would let us in, and then they’d have to close the doors until the curfew ended. You’d have to stay in there until morning. And when police would come, we’d have to be quiet, act like nothing’s happening. Then the party would come back. South Afircans just love music."