So Tyla hopped over to the studio and let Lisa listen to her entire album.
You were literally so sweet.
It was so cute.
THE STUDIO:Henson Recording Studios, Los AngelesOriginally founded by Charlie Chaplin in 1917, and later taken over by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss as the headquarters of A&M, where countless artists recorded, the studio was purchased by the Jim Henson Company circa 2000.HIT LIST:Joni Mitchell, Blue; Nine Inch Nails, The Downward Spiral; Bruce Springsteen, Tunnel of Love
Lisa drops countless Wows!
as Tyla stares coquettishly into the camera.
Tyla and Lisa have a lot in common, starting with their parallel rises to worldwide fame.
(The song peaked at Number Seven.)
Could a song with Tyla be next?
Yesterday [at the BET Awards], you won two awards, so congratulations.
Tyla:Thank you so much.
And congrats for your drop, girl.
The video is so cool.
Lisa:You know I shot that video in Thailand.
Tyla:For real?
Lisa:Whats your favorite Thai food?
Tyla:Tom kha gai.
I dont know if Im saying it right.
Lisa:Oh, your pronunciation is on point.
Tyla:Im going to be performing in Thailand in November.
Lisa:OK, let me know when, because I want to be there.
Tyla:Youll have to show me around.
Tyla:Thats nice.
I havent been home in so long.
I think the last time I was back was around Christmas.
Lisa:Oh, my God.
So hows the U.S. to you?
Is it a different culture?
Tyla:Its very different.
The food, the way people talk, the way everything is … even the toilets are different.
In America, when you flush the toilet, the water comes up … and then it goes in.
And in South Africa, it just goes in.
I dont know why Im talking about a toilet, but, yeah, its just so different.
Do you like American food?
Lisa:Whats American food?
Lisa:This music video, Rockstar, it has a lot of Thai elements.
So when people see the music video, they just know right away: Its Thailand.
She must be so proud.
Tyla:Im sure everyone back home is so proud of everything youre doing.
Lisa:Same as you.
Tyla:For me, its always been something that I wanted to do to share my culture.
Its been fun, but also difficult because not a lot of people understand it.
Its exciting seeing everyone appreciate it.
Lisa:I loved your Water challenge.
I wanted to try, but its not possible for me.
Tyla:Girl, you are a dancer!
Lisa:I dont know how to shake like you do.
Tyla:Ill teach you how to shake.
Lisa:I started to dance when I was four or five.
So dancing is my number-one favorite thing to do.
When people tell me to dance, Ill be like, OK, I can show you my dance.
Its a fun thing, a passion.
When it comes to music, you have to perform, so it is very natural for me.
Its not something I have to think about.
Tyla:It looks effortless, so thats great.
African culture and dance are one thing.
Even all the viral African dance moves that come about are from literally random people in South Africa.
It just feels very spiritual and very natural.
Its in our blood really.
That dance is for a different genre.
I just love the way it looks.
So we did it on my song, which is amapiano and pop.
Lisa:I remember the first day I knew about you was from the Water challenge.
And I started to follow your stuff more and more.
Tyla:Girl, in Blackpink, you were my favorite.
You brought some edge to the group, which was so cool.
Your rapping and just the way you moved and the way you dressed was so cool.
Me and my best friend would watch those videos all the time.
Lisa:Oh, thats so sweet of you.
Tyla:No, for real.
RS: Lisa, youve been doing this a long time with Blackpink.
Are there any lessons youve learned that you want to share with Tyla?
Lisa:Youre doing so great!
I dont know what to say.
Just keep doing what youre passionate about.
Youre doing so well.
Tyla:Is it difficult being in the position that you are, being known by so many people?
Im just trying to have as much fun as I can.
Lisa:Theres no privacy.
you might tell right now with you as well.
If you go somewhere, people just put the phone right in front of your face.
Sometimes youre not ready to have your photo taken.
Sometimes you want to be with a bare face, with your pajamas, go out and eat.
Thats the thing that is a little tough for me sometimes, but I get used to it.
Tyla:I love the videos, the dances, the fan bases how invested people are in K-pop.
The music, the videos … its like its own world.
Its very inspiring for me as well, because it made me want to create a Tyla world.
A little tiger world.
Lisa:You have your fan-club name?
Tyla:Yeah, its the Tigers.
I always just found it fascinating how big K-pop does it.
I feel like thats how it should be.
I just love seeing their videos.
Whenever I meet some of my Tigers, I always love speaking to them and making videos.
Its interesting to meet people from all over the world who listen to my music.
I always find it so cool like, What?
You are from the Philippines and you know me?
Lisa:Everybody knows you.
When you go back to your home, is it crazy for you?
Tyla:Yeah, but I feel like in South Africa, people arent really that crazy fans.
Its more like, Hi, lets take a picture.
And then they go about their day.
I just want to chill, wear mismatched socks, walk around in big pants and whatnot.
Whats your process for deciding to put something out?
Where does it start?
Tyla:I began the process over three years ago.
Lisa:For this album?
Lisa:Oh, my God.
It took so long!
Tyla:It took a while, mainly because I had a clear vision for it.
I had to work with a bunch of people to get the sound right.
When I finally got it, I just went in.
It felt like such a relief when I reached that point.
Lisa:My last single was two or three years ago.
I finished my tour with my girls, so now were just focusing on our own projects.
Im lucky that I work with RCA, so they helped me to find a producer.
I got the song Rockstar, and I loved it right away when I first heard it.
Now, Im still creating my album.
Its something new every week.
Tyla:Thats exciting.
Is this going to be your first solo album?
Its a lot of pressure, but I give a shot to have fun as much as I can.
This moment is going to go super fast.
Im trying to have fun, and Im learning by taking risks.
I feel like, with the group, youve got your girls and theyre super supportive.
When you have something, you ask them, they give you the best advice.
But me working alone is like, Oh.
Tyla:You gotta figure it out.
Is it the right decision or not?
Oh, my God, what should I do?
Thats why Im taking risks.
I feel this, Im going to do this.
I just have to trust my gut.
Im happy with the result.
As long as Im happy, no one can say anything….
I got a chance to star inWhite Lotus, and its my acting debut.
Im super excited and nervous, but I feel like weve shot a lot of music videos.
Youve got to be expressive on camera.
Tyla:I want to venture to get into acting.
Lisa:You should!
RS: You guys are doing so much.
How do you rest?
Lisa:When Im resting, I just stay home.
Tyla:Low-key, yeah.
Lisa:Sometimes you need rest for that.
When I have free time, I love to stay home with my cats and dog.
I have five cats.
I will just be with them watching Netflix, or maybe go out shopping.
Tyla:When I get alone time, I literally stay in bed.
Lisa:The whole day?
Im already at a place not many of us were able to get to.
Tyla:Its bad, though.
I stay in bed.
I get snacks, like chips, Doritos, sour candy.
Or I like to take a nice, hot bath and play dramatic music and restart my life.
I dont know why I do that.
I like to make a mood board.
Lisa:If Im about to go onstage, I have a few things to do for preparation.
What do you do before you go onstage?
Tyla:I literally cant.
I feel like if my digestion goes wild, uh-oh.
I dont want to take no chances.
I love to pray with the team, listen to fun music, and laugh.
I bring myself to my center and just trust that its going to be a great show.
Lisa:I do a quick nap.
I have to boost myself.
Two or three bites, and then Im ready.
But I cant drink the whole thing.
Tyla:A nap?
I cant go onstage without napping.
Tyla:If you werent a singer, what would you be?
Lisa:I would want to be a flight attendant.
And they dress super nice, have nice makeup, and help people get their bags.
Oh, my God, Im curious.
Tyla:Honestly, I only saw myself doing entertainment, but I also loved Barbie.
Not to actually work, just for the aesthetic and the outfits.
Lisa:You look like a Barbie doll.
I mean, your Met Gala outfit.
I saw you couldnt even walk.
They were trying to make me practice going up the stairs and I was like …
I said, Hey, guys, I might have to be carried up these stairs.
It turned out so cute.
I feel like it added something to the look.
Lisa:With fashion, I love to challenge myself always.
I love something like that.
Do you love a miniskirt?
I like going with what I feel in the moment.
I feel like its one thing.
I want my album, the music, and everything to be a world.
Dressing up in the form of music really makes it fun.
RS: How do you confirm that you find joy in what youre doing?
Its so much work!
Lisa:This is what I wanted to do, and Im happy to do.
I want to keep creating music, dancing, fashion, everything.
I love to do this.
I just venture to have fun as much as I can, like I said.
Sometimes my mom comes around to go on tour with me.
Im trying to find the little things that make me happy and keep me positive.
Tyla:Thats a really sweet answer.
This is what Ive dreamt about forever.
Literally, a little girl running around in South Africa.
It didnt really feel like it was possible.
Im just trying to be grateful and see it as a gift and a blessing always.
RS: What are you looking forward to in the next year?
Lisa:Im working on so many projects at the same time.
I will doWhite Lotusand will still be working on my music, releasing my album.
By next year, I think I would just keep releasing music and get together with the girls.
I cant wait to share with the girls what Ive been doing.
Tyla:Im sure theyre going to be so proud.
It must be really nice having that bang out of support system.
Lisa:Im going to be proud of them as well.
