South African Grammy-winning star Tyla has quietly removed her scheduled Lagos concert from her A-Pop world tour after facing online backlash tied to growing regional tensions between South African and Nigerian fans. The December 22, 2026 date that was once listed on her tour schedule is no longer on her official website.
The cancellation comes at a time when South African entertainers say they are feeling the impact of cross-border criticism across the continent.
From Water to World Stages
Tyla broke out globally in 2023 with her hit single Water, a blend of R&B and amapiano that reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song earned her the Best African Music Performance Grammy in 2024, and she retained the same award at the 2026 Grammys, beating Burna Boy, Wizkid, Ayra Starr, Davido and Omah Lay.
After that meteoric rise, she announced a world tour with stops across Europe, North America, and Africa. Punch listed Lagos for December 22, with other African dates set for Cape Town and Johannesburg in January.
Lagos Date Vanishes Amid Online Backlash
According to YNaija’s roundup of top Nigerian stories, Tyla “has allegedly cancelled her concert in Lagos, set for December 22, 2026, a date on her A-Pop tour” after removing it from her website following backlash. The backlash appears linked to wider conversations happening online about how African artists are treated in each other’s countries.
A recent YouTube commentary noted that whenever Tyla faces criticism online, South Africans and international fans quickly defend her, while Nigerian star Ayra Starr often faces heavy criticism from local audiences instead.
The video also referenced debates around Tyla’s identity and the different treatment of African stars online.
A Wider Pattern South Africa Is Flagging
South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, recently spoke about this exact issue. In an interview with SABC, she lamented that South African artistes are losing income as performances get cancelled across Africa amid criticism tied to tensions over immigration issues. “One artiste did reach out to me to say all her gigs were cancelled on the continent. This is an income lost by a South African,” Kubayi said. She added that the majority of South African artistes perform on the continent, and “many of them are seeing their gigs being cancelled”.
The minister stressed that the government is engaging with businesses and providing consular support to South Africans abroad.
Not The First Tour Disruption For Tyla
Tyla is no stranger to tour cancellations. In March 2024, she called off her first headlining world tour weeks before it was due to start, citing a worsening injury that doctors warned would jeopardize her long-term health. “For the past year, I’ve been silently suffering from an injury that has tragically worsened,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. She said she was “heartbroken” but promised to return with a “spectacular show” once recovered. That cancellation was widely reported by France24 and AFP as health-related, not ticket-related.
This time, however, the Lagos removal follows public discourse rather than a medical statement from the artist.What This Means For African Music CollaborationAfrobeats and amapiano have driven some of the biggest musical collaborations of the last three years, with artists like Tyla working with Future and Nigerian stars regularly touring South Africa. But the current friction highlights how quickly online sentiment can translate into real-world consequences for touring artists.
Fans in Lagos had been anticipating Tyla’s first Nigerian headline date as part of her December run. With the date now gone from listings, promoters and fans are left waiting for an official explanation from Tyla’s team.
As of publication, Tyla has not released a personal statement on the Lagos cancellation. Her team has also not announced a replacement date.The moment underscores a growing challenge for African pop culture: as the music unites the continent, political and social tensions online can still divide the stages artists share.
