Xenophobia: South African Singer Tyla Cancels Lagos Concert from World Tour
Xenophobia: South African Singer Tyla Cancels Lagos Concert from World Tour
South African Grammy-winning singer Tyla Laura has cancelled the Lagos Tour from the schedule of her APOP World Tour.
Newera News gathered that the cancellation was announced days after the planned concert in Nigeria sparked calls for a boycott over renewed reports of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.
A check on the singer’s official tour website on Friday showed that the Lagos concert, previously scheduled for December 22, has been delisted.
The updated tour itinerary retained the singer’s previously announced dates across Europe, North America and South Africa but excluded Nigeria.
As of the time of filing this report, neither Tyla nor her management had explained why Lagos was removed from the tour schedule.
The concert promoters are yet to announce the cancellation or postponement of the planned tour.
Tyla had announced the APOP World Tour earlier with Lagos listed as the only Nigerian city on the tour itinerary.
The tour was initially expected to conclude with performances in Cape Town on January 4 and Johannesburg on January 9.
However, the inclusion of Lagos triggered mixed reactions on social media, with some Nigerians calling for a boycott of the concert in protest against alleged xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa.
Some users argued that South African artistes should not be allowed to perform in Nigeria while Nigerians were allegedly being attacked in South Africa.
Others, however, opposed the boycott, arguing that musicians should not be blamed for political and social problems in their countries.
Former Big Brother Naija housemate Pere Egbi has asked Nigerian authorities to deny visas to the South African singer and her team.
His demand comes after reports emerged that Nigerian singer Ayra Starr and some of her crew were unable to obtain South African visas before a planned performance.
The call followed the cancellation of Ayra Starr’s scheduled concert in South Africa after reports claimed that she and members of her team were allegedly refused visas only a few days before the event.
Reacting on 𝕏, Pere urged the Nigeria Immigration Service to take the same action against Tyla and her team.
He argued that Nigeria should not continue to welcome South African entertainers while Nigerian artists face visa problems in South Africa.
According to him, the country should respond in the same way to what happened to Ayra Starr and her crew.
VDM Threatens To Stop Concert
Also, the controversy intensified on Thursday after social activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, threatened to mobilise members of his “Ratel Movement” to prevent the concert from taking place if it went ahead.
In a post on his Facebook page, VeryDarkMan said the planned show would not hold in Nigeria.
“TYLA SHOW WILL NOT BE HAPPENING IN NIGERIA.
“This is a message to SOUTH AFRICANS. WE ARE AFRICANS, AND WE DON’T UNALIVE OUR OWN, since you people have taken it upon yourselves to unalive other Africans because, according to you guys, other African nationalities living in South Africa are taking your jobs,” he wrote.
VeryDarkMan also criticised South African promoters and celebrities for what he described as their failure to speak out against attacks on other Africans living in the country.
“WE ARE STANDING IN SOLIDARITY TO SAY NO TO THE PROMOTERS AND CELEBRITIES FROM SOUTH AFRICA WHO HAVE REFUSED TO SPEAK UP AGAINST THESE ATTACKS ON OTHER AFRICANS LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA,” he added.
He ended the post with the hashtags, “#NOTOXENOPHOBICATTACKS #ratelmovement SAYNOTOXENOPHOBICATTACKS.”
Sowore Opposes Boycott
However, Omoyele Sowore, the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, opposed calls to boycott Tyla’s concert.
Sowore argued that the singer should not be held responsible for xenophobic attacks allegedly carried out by other South Africans.
“Nigerians should direct their anger at their real enemies… No one should hold a talented musician like @Tyllaaaaaaa vicariously liable for the crimes of xenophobia,” Sowore wrote on 𝕏.
He added that “Tyla’s Lagos concert must go on.”
Tyla’s decision to remove Lagos from her official tour schedule has now added a fresh twist to the controversy.
However, it remains unclear whether the removal is a permanent cancellation, a postponement or simply a change in the tour itinerary, as the singer and her management have yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
Tyla Laura Seethal is a South African singer and songwriter. Dubbed the “Queen of Popiano”, she has a musical style characterised by a fusion of pop and amapiano. Tyla gained international recognition after the release of 2023’s “Water”, which entered the top ten in multiple countries including her native South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. She was born on the 30th of January 2002 in South Africa and raised in the East Rand of Johannesburg.
Tyla signed with Epic Records in 2021 following the domestic success of her 2019 debut single, “Getting Late”. Her single “Water” was the first song by a South African soloist to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years and was awarded the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance. The single preceded her self-titled debut album (2024), which was released to critical acclaim and moderate commercial success. Subsequent releases include the extended play WWP (2025) and her second studio album, A*Pop (2026).
Tyla is the youngest African artist in history to win a Grammy Award at age 24, with two wins. Her other accolades include two MTV Video Music Awards, two BET Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, among nominations for a BRIT Award, an Ivor Novello Award, a Soul Train Music Award and nine South African Music Awards.
