Tyla Leads Top 10 SA Female Artists on Spotify With 24.7M Monthly Listeners

• Tyla topped a list of South African female artists with the most Spotify monthly listeners, pulling in 24.7 million streams
• The rankings sparked a heated debate, with netizens questioning whether Uncle Waffles qualifies as a South African artist
• Names like Makhadzi and Babwalwa were noticeably absent from the list, leaving fans with a lot of questions

A ranking of South African female artists with the most Spotify monthly listeners has set social media alight, with Tyla sitting comfortably at the top of the pile. The list, shared by @hotspotculture_ on Instagram on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, revealed just how far SA's women in music have stretched their global reach.

Who ranks highest and lowest?

Tyla leads the pack by a country mile, boasting 24.7 million monthly listeners on the platform. Nomcebo Zikode follows in second place with 3.3 million, while MaWhoo comes in third with 2.8 million. Julia Church holds fourth spot at 2.7 million, and Thatohatsi and Zee Nxumalo share fifth at 2.3 million each. Alice Phoebe Lou sits at 2 million, DJ Zinhle at 1.8 million, and Uncle Waffles and Boohle round out the top ten at 1.7 million apiece.

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The post quickly drew strong opinions, with the debate centring on two main issues: Uncle Waffles' nationality and the glaring absence of certain names from the list.

Mzansi reacts to list

Several commenters pushed back on Uncle Waffles' inclusion, arguing she is not South African.

@nokuzola__ wrote: "Waffles is not South African"

@bettypikinini echoed the sentiment: "Waffles is not South African…"

Others were more focused on celebrating the women who made the cut.

@cbalicious said: "The fact that it's all women makes me wanna screeeaaaammm from the highest mountain 🔊 🔈 🔉 🥁 🔊"

@mahlengilerato kept it simple: "Tyla the Queen ❤️🔥"

@khethokuhle_lulama added: "Mawhoo keeps winning ❤️"

Some fans were puzzled by unfamiliar names on the list.

@pinnaa.p asked: "Julia ke mang bathong? 😭"

There were also questions about who did not make the cut, with @prettybouy_kutlwano asking about Babwalwa M and @ally_tsatsawane wondering where Makhadzi featured. One user, @mlindoh_30ish, also questioned whether Tyla's numbers were entirely organic, writing: "With Tyla, it can not be local numbers if not inflated 😅"

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Meanwhile, @rubygold_live raised a bigger question that resonated with many: "Are they all under record labels? Do we stand a chance to get up there? 🔥🙌"

Tyla guns for 10 Grammys

In a previous report from Briefly News, Tyla submitted songs from her album APop across more than 10 Grammy categories, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Lira and amapiano duo TxC are also reportedly in the Grammy conversation with their latest collaborative projects.

Source: Briefly News