South African singer Tyla has voiced her opposition to the Western categorization of all African music as Afrobeats.

Tyla, who spoke while accepting her award for Best Afrobeats Song at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday night, said Afrobeats has opened a lot of doors for African music but it was wrong to categorise every music from the continent under the genre.

She explained that she is from South Africa and represents the Amapiano genre.

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She said: “The impact that ‘Water’ has had on the world proves that African music can be pop music, too. This is so special but also bittersweet. Because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats.

“Even though Afrobeats has run things and has opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse. It’s more than just Afrobeats.

“I come from South Africa, I represent Amapiano. I present my culture. And I just want to shout out all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me. Shout out to all the Afrobeats artistes Tems, Ayra Starr, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Rema and Lojay.”

Pop superstar Taylor Swift gave a special shoutout to her boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, during her acceptance speech at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, held at UBS Arena in New York on Wednesday.

Swift, who won Video of the Year for her hit song Fortnight featuring Post Malone, credited Kelce for his positive influence on the production of the award-winning video.

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In her speech, Swift expressed her gratitude, saying, “My boyfriend, Travis. Everything this man touches turns to happiness, fun, and magic, so I want to thank him for adding that to our shoot.” Kelce, known for his prowess on the football field, has apparently been a source of inspiration and joy in Swift’s life, contributing to her creative process.

The Fortnight video was a major highlight of the night, taking home multiple awards, including Best Collaboration, Song of the Summer, Best Direction, and Best Editing. Swift herself also made history by winning Artist of the Year for the second year in a row.

The couple has been making headlines recently, and Swift’s heartfelt tribute at the VMAs only further fueled public interest in their relationship.

The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) took place in New York on Wednesday night, celebrating the best in music videos over the past year.

Hosted by Megan Thee Stallion, the event was filled with exciting performances and major wins across various categories.

Taylor Swift emerged as the night’s biggest winner, taking home the prestigious Video of the Year award. Swift, who has consistently dominated charts and awards shows, added another accolade to her already impressive collection.

Despite being nominated, Nigerian music stars Burna Boy and Ayra Starr were among those who missed out on awards this year.

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The show featured electrifying performances, kicking off with Eminem, who was joined by Jelly Roll to set the tone for the night. Other performers included Camila Cabello, GloRilla, Chappell Roan, Rauw Alejandro, Lenny Kravitz, and Sabrina Carpenter, all of whom kept the audience entertained.

The full list of winners highlights some of the year’s most popular artists and songs, marking another successful edition of the iconic music awards show.

Here is the full list of winners:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Ariana Grande – “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)”
Billie Eilish – “Lunch”
Doja Cat – “Paint The Town Red”
Eminem – “Houdini”
SZA – “Snooze”
Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” *WINNER

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Ariana Grande
Bad Bunny
Eminem
Sabrina Carpenter
SZA
Taylor Swift *WINNER

SONG OF THE YEAR
Beyoncé – “Texas Hold ‘Em”
Jack Harlow – “Lovin On Me”
Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso” *WINNER
Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight”
Teddy Swims – “Lose Control”

BEST NEW ARTIST
Benson Boone
Chappell Roan *WINNER
Gracie Abrams
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims
Tyla

BEST COLLABORATION
Drake ft. Sexyy Red & SZA – “Rich Baby Daddy “
GloRilla, Megan Thee Stallion – “Wanna Be”
Jessie Murph ft. Jelly Roll – “Wild Ones”
Jung Kook ft. Latto – “Seven”
Post Malone ft. Morgan Wallen – “I Had Some Help”
Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” *WINNER

BEST POP
Camila Cabello
Dua Lipa
Olivia Rodrigo
Sabrina Carpenter
Tate McRae
Taylor Swift *WINNER

BEST HIP-HOP
Drake ft. Sexyy Red & SZA – “Rich Baby Daddy “
Eminem – “Houdini” *WINNER
GloRilla – “Yeah Glo!”
Gunna – “Fukumean”
Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA”
Travis Scott ft. Playboi Carti – “FE!N”

BEST R&B
Alicia Keys – “Lifeline”
Muni Long – “Made For Me”
SZA – “Snooze” *WINNER
Tyla – “Water”
Usher, Summer Walker, 21 Savage – “Good Good” –
Victoria Monét – “On My Mama”

BEST ALTERNATIVE
Benson Boone – “Beautiful Things” *WINNER
Bleachers – “Tiny Moves”
Hozier – “Too Sweet”
Imagine Dragons – “Eyes Closed”
Linkin Park – “Friendly Fire”
Teddy Swims – “Lose Control (Live)”

BEST ROCK
Bon Jovi – “Legendary”
Coldplay – “Feelslikeimfallinginlove”
Green Day – “Dilemma”
Kings of Leon – “Mustang”
Lenny Kravitz – “Human” *WINNER
U2 – “Atomic City”

BEST LATIN
Anitta – “Mil Veces” *WINNER
Bad Bunny – “Monaco”
Karol G – “Mi Ex Tenia Razon”
Myke Towers – “Lala”
Peso Pluma & Anitta – “Bellakeo”
Rauw Alejandro – “Touching the Sky”
Shakira & Cardi B – “Puntería”

BEST AFROBEATS
Ayra Starr ft. Giveon – “Last Heartbreak Song”
Burna Boy – “City Boys”
Chris Brown ft. Davido & Lojay – “Sensational”
Tems – “Love Me JeJe”
Tyla – “Water” *WINNER
Usher, Pheelz – “Ruin”

BEST K-POP
Jung Kook ft. Latto – “Seven”
Lisa – “Rockstar” *WINNER
NCT Dream – “Smoothie”
NewJeans – “Super Shy”
Stray Kids – “Lalalala”
Tomorrow X Together – “Deja vu”

VIDEO FOR GOOD
Alexander Stewart – “If You Only Knew”
Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For (From the Motion Picture “Barbie”)” *WINNER
Coldplay – “Feelslikeimfallinginlove”
Joyner Lucas & Jelly Roll – “Best for Me”
Raye – “Genesis”
Tyler Childers – “In Your Love”

BEST DIRECTION
Ariana Grande – “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” – Directed by Christian Breslauer
Bleachers – “Tiny Moves” – Directed by Alex Lockett & Margaret Qualley
Eminem – “Houdini” – Directed by Rich Lee
Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA” – Directed by Daniel Iglesias Jr.
Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please” – Directed by Bardia Zeinali
Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Directed by Taylor Swift *WINNER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ariana Grande – “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” – Cinematography by Anatol Trofimov *WINNER
Charli XCX – “Von Dutch” – Cinematography by Jeff Bierman
Dua Lipa – “Illusion” – Cinematography by Nikita Kuzmenko
Olivia Rodrigo – “Obsessed” – Cinematography by Marz Miller
Rauw Alejandro – “Touching the Sky” – Cinematography by Camilo Monsalve
Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto

BEST EDITING
Anitta – “Mil Veces” – Editing by Nick Yumul
Ariana Grande – “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” – Editing by Luis Caraza Peimbert
Eminem – “Houdini” – Editing by David Checel
Lisa – “Rockstar” – Editing by Nik Kohler
Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso” – Editing by Jai Shukla
Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Editing by Chancler Haynes *WINNER

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Bleachers – “Tiny Moves” – Choreography by Margaret Qualley
Dua Lipa – “Houdini” – Choreography by Charm La’Donna *WINNER
Lisa – “Rockstar” – Choreography by Sean Bankhead
Rauw Alejandro – “Touching the Sky” – Choreography by Felix ‘Fefe’ Burgos
Tate McRae – “Greedy” – Choreography by Sean Bankhead
Troye Sivan – “Rush” – Choreography by Sergio Reis, Mauro Van De Kerkhof

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Ariana Grande – “The Boy is Mine” – Visual Effects by Digital Axis
Eminem – “Houdini” – Visual Effects by Synapse Virtual Production, Louise Lee, Rich Lee, Metaphysic, Flawless Post *WINNER
Justin Timberlake – “Selfish” – Visual Effects by Candice Dragonas
Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA” – Visual Effects by Mathematic
Olivia Rodrigo – “Get Him Back!” – Visual Effects by Cooper Vacheron, Preston Mohr, Karen Arakelian, Justin Johnson
Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Visual Effects by Parliament

BEST ART DIRECTION
Charli XCX – “360” – Art Direction by Grace Surnow
Lisa – “Rockstar” – Art Direction by Pongsan Thawatwichian
Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA” – Art Direction by Brittany Porter *WINNER
Olivia Rodrigo – “Bad Idea Right?” – Art Direction by Nicholas des Jardins
Sabrina Carpenter – “Please Please Please” – Art Direction by Nicholas des Jardins
Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Art Direction by Ethan Tobman