Songfacts®:

• "Water" is a sensual and seductive Afrobeats song with elements of pop and R&B. Producer Sammy Soso joins forces with Tyla to craft a seductive soundscape.
  
  "I just wanted a summer song that everybody could vibe to and have fun to," Tyla told Rolling Stone.
• Starting with dreamy synth chords that envelop her vocals, Tyla oozes desire as she longs for the thrill of a new romance.
  
  Make me sweat
  Make me hotter
  Make me lose my breath
  Make me water
  
  When the drums kick in, the rhythm takes over as Tyla coaxes her lover to turn up the heat. Tyla's seductive voice cajoles and teases as she implores him to increase the intensity. She's clearly in the mood for some serious passion.
  
  "The meaning of the song is frisky," she explained to Rolling Stone. "It's me letting a guy know, 'Show me what you got to offer. I'm done with all the talk."
• Tyla and Sammy Soso co-wrote the song with Tricky Stewart, an American producer and songwriter who has worked with some of the biggest names in music, including Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey. The other songwriters are Ari PenSmith, Mocha Bands, Jack LoMastro, Olmo Zucca, Rayo and Believve.
• Tyla released "Water" via Epic Records on July 28, 2023. After it spawned a viral dance challenge on TikTok, it entered singles charts worldwide.
  
  The dance routine, created by the South African dance choreographer Litchi, involves shaking of the hips, belly dancing, twerking and kicking one's legs before pouring water down their back in time to the lyrics.
• When "Water" debuted at #67 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated October 14, 2023, Tyla became the first South African musician to appear on the chart since jazz legend Hugh Masekela reached #1 with "Grazing In The Grass" in 1968.
• Tyla had been recording music for over two years since signing to Epic, but hadn't yet done a summer dance song. "I felt like I was missing that," she told Billboard. "I said, 'OK, I need it to sound like this. I need it to have African influence. It needs to sound like 'popiano,' Afrobeats, amapiano, R&B all in one. It needs to live in the clubs. It needs to be a banger.'"
  
  As soon as she heard "Water," Tyla knew she'd found that summer dance song. "I was literally like, 'It's over. It's over for everybody!' I just fell in love with it," she said. "I played it for everybody I could, and everyone fell in love with it. So I just knew in my soul that this was the one."
• Tyla dropped two remixes on November 17, 2023. The first remix features American rapper Travis Scott, and the second features electronic music producer and DJ Marshmello.
  
  The "Water" remix with Travis Scott is a more hip-hop-oriented track, with the Houston rapper adding his signature rapping style to the song. The remix with Marshmello is more electronic-dance-music-oriented, with the DJ adding his signature synthesizer sounds and beats to the song.
  
  Initially, Tyla didn't want to have a "Water" remix. "I was like, 'Nah, like, let's just have 'Water,' it's cool, whatever.' But then people were reaching out and I was like, 'oh my word, oh my word,'" the African pop star told Complex.
  
  "And I started getting excited and then Travis reached out and I literally couldn't... like, I could not say no; his music is crazy. So after he reached out, we sent him that open verse and he came back and he killed it, you know, he killed it."
  
  Scott's version of the African smash hit made its live debut on November 16, 2023, at GQ's Man of the Year party in Los Angeles.
• "Water" won for Best African Music Performance at the Grammy Awards in 2024, the first year the award was given.
• The video for the Travis Scott remix bathes Tyla in cool blue hues as she dances freely in the rain. She creates a sense of longing as she interacts with a shirtless Scott, separated by a glass barrier.
• "Water" won Best Afrobeats at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards. Tyla used her speech to talk up the genre. "The global impact that 'Water' had on the world proves that African music can be pop music too," she said. "African music is so diverse. It's more than just Afrobeats."
• The choreography for the dance routine wasn't originally created for "Water." Tyla and her choreographer had prepared it for another track and decided to try it during a performance.
• Before creating "Water," everyone in the room prayed together. Co-writer Ari PenSmith led the prayer with the team, "allowing God in the room" before they started working. Sammy SoSo credits that spiritual moment for what followed, saying plainly: "There's no difference. It's God."