Tyla Makes History, Beats Tems and Burnaboy for IHeartRadio World Artist of the Year

South African singer Tyla Laura Seethal, popularly known as Tyla, has made history by winning the World Artist of the Year at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

At just 23 years old, Tyla edged out global stars like Tems, Burna Boy, Central Cee, and YG Marley to become the first-ever recipient of the newly introduced category.

A Milestone Moment for Tyla

The award ceremony, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 17, 2025, marks another major milestone in Tyla’s skyrocketing career.

Her breakout hit, “Water”, catapulted her to international stardom, dominating the charts and even earning her a Grammy for Best African Music Performance. The track topped the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Chart, went platinum, and got a high-profile remix with Travis Scott.

With this latest achievement, Tyla continues to cement her status as a global music force.

Biggest Winners at the iHeartRadio Music Awards 2025

Aside from Tyla’s historic win, the night saw some of the biggest names in music take home prestigious awards:

• Taylor Swift won Artist of the Year and was honored for her record-breaking Eras Tour, dubbed the Tour of the Century.
• Mariah Carey received the iHeartRadio Icon Award, while Lady Gaga was recognized with the Innovator Award.
• Sabrina Carpenter won Pop Artist of the Year, while GloRilla took home Hip-Hop Artist of the Year.
• Teddy Swims was crowned Best New Artist (Pop), and Muni Long’s “Made for Me” won R&B Song of the Year.

Full List of Winners

Here are some of the major winners from the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards:

Song of the Year

🏆 “Beautiful Things” – Benson Boone

Pop Song of the Year

🏆 “Espresso” – Sabrina Carpenter

Pop Artist of the Year

🏆 Sabrina Carpenter

Artist of the Year

🏆 Taylor Swift

Best Collaboration

🏆 “Die With A Smile” – Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars

Best New Artist (Pop)

🏆 Teddy Swims

Country Artist of the Year

🏆 Jelly Roll

Hip-Hop Song of the Year

🏆 “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar

Hip-Hop Artist of the Year

🏆 GloRilla

Best New Artist (Hip-Hop)

🏆 BossMan Dlow

R&B Song of the Year

🏆 “Made for Me” – Muni Long

R&B Artist of the Year

🏆 SZA

World Artist of the Year

🏆 Tyla

With her historic iHeartRadio win, a Grammy under her belt, and a rapidly growing global fanbase, Tyla is proving to be unstoppable.