What Would Tyla Be Doing If Music Didn’t Work Out?

Grammy-winning South African star Tyla recently revealed an interesting backup plan she once had before becoming a global music sensation.

The 24-year-old artist, who has built an impressive international career, attended the prestigious NAACP Image Awards where she celebrated yet another achievement. On Tuesday, 24 February 2026, Tyla won the award for Outstanding International Song for her hit track Is It.

While walking the red carpet, Tyla took part in an interview that was later shared on Instagram by REVOLT. During the conversation, the singer spoke openly about what career she might have pursued if music had not worked out.

Surprisingly, Tyla revealed that she once considered becoming a mining engineer. In the clip, she explained that the idea mainly came from the expectations many parents have for their children to follow traditional careers.

“I always wanted to be a musician. The mining engineering because you know African parents, they want you to become a doctor, a lawyer all these things which is amazing , but, honestly it was kind of my plan B. Incase this didn’t work out at least I must be making money and mining engineering they make money. So that was the only motivation. I’m not trying to be in the mines. No, imagine me in the mines.”

Although mining engineering was her backup plan, Tyla ultimately decided to take a risk and follow her true passion.

After finishing high school in 2019, she initially enrolled to study mining engineering. However, she convinced her parents to allow her to take a gap year so that she could focus on building a music career instead.

That decision quickly changed her life. In 2021, Tyla signed a record deal with Epic Records, which opened the door to global opportunities in the music industry.

Her career reached new heights in 2023 when she released her viral hit Water. The song became a worldwide success and introduced the South African star to millions of listeners across the globe.

Today, Tyla’s bold decision has clearly paid off. According to reports, the singer has won over 35 industry awards throughout her career so far. Her achievements include two Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance for the songs Water and Push 2 Start.

She also enjoyed a massive year in 2024, taking home more than 20 awards from major platforms such as the MTV Video Music Awards, BET Awards and MTV Europe Music Awards.

In addition, Tyla currently has over 36 million monthly listeners on Spotify, proving just how far her music has travelled beyond South Africa.

While mining engineering can be a highly paid profession in South Africa, with salaries ranging from around R713,000 to over R1 million per year, Tyla’s success in music shows that following her dreams was the right choice.