A*Pop

Following the release of her self-titled debut album in 2024, which incorporated sounds of amapiano and R&B, Tyla undertook a promotional cycle that included the Tyla Tour (2024–2025) and the We Wanna Party Tour (2025).^[1][2] She also released a deluxe edition of the album, which spawned the single "Push 2 Start" (2024).^[3] In July 2025, Tyla released the four-track extended play WWP (marketed as We Wanna Party), which she described as a "bridge to the new album" and as material she "needed to let out before the album came".^[4]

In a February 2026 interview with Rolling Stone, Tyla discussed the evolution of her mindset leading into A*Pop, stating: "Me being in it, I feel so different to how I felt during the first album... I'm just excited for my new one that's coming this year. Just to see how different it is—like, what's this Tyla now?" Attributing this shift to personal growth, she added: "I've been through stuff. I don't know, I feel like a woman. I'm 24... I feel like a woman".^[5]

Tyla began working on the album in 2025, with recording sessions taking place primarily in Los Angeles and Barcelona. In an interview with Variety in August of that year, she explained "I had more time to work on this album than I did the first, so I have a lot of songs". Comparing the writing process to her first album, she described herself as "living what I’m singing" which feels "way more personal".^[4]

Speaking to Rolling Stone the following year, she described herself as initially "not knowing what she wanted [A*Pop] to sound like [sic]", but knew that as she lived through the creation of the album it was going to "fall into place". She explained that a big part of getting the album right was to allow herself to "dive into things and try whatever", contrary to her "perfectionist instincts". Tyla described the experience of creating the album as making her feel like a "real artist", as she was able to create a "world around things" and see the project through from "beginning to end".^[5]

The track "She Did It Again" was initially teased on Tyla's Instagram in February, after she posted a snippet of the beginnings of the song.^[6] The track was later released as a collaboration with Swedish singer-songwriter Zara Larsson in April. In an interview with Vanity Fair that same month, Larsson revealed that she heard the song "the night [Tyla] posted the snippet on Instagram", describing her reaction as being "damn, I wish I was on this". In the same interview, Tyla explained that they both went to the studio and played each other their respective music, after which she asked Larsson to be on the track. She explained that the intention with the song was to keep things "sexy, light, and fun", and that collaborating with Larsson "pushes the song further into pop territory without losing what I wanted it to feel like".^[7]

On 1 February 2026, while attending the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, Tyla announced the album's title, and stated that it would be released in the summer.^[8][9] On 9 February, Tyla teased an initial track list for A*Pop on her Instagram.^[10] On 22 April, Tyla announced that A*Pop would be released on 24 July 2026, and made the album available for pre-order through her official store.^[11] The album's track list includes the previously released song "Is It" from WWP (2025).^[12] Alongside the announcement, Tyla shared a video trailer for the album which depicts the singer in various outfits and cutscenes of terms associated with the project, including "unapologetic", "confident", and "global".^[13]