Tyla just turned late-night TV into a runway for Gen Z mood and energy. The South African pop phenom lit up The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with the first televised performance of her viral hit Chanel, and the internet is still buzzing about it. The performance dropped on January 27 and felt like a moment where global pop and viral culture collided in full technicolor.

Chanel is the kind of song that sticks in your head from the first hook: “How you say you love me? You ain’t put me in Chanel.” It became a massive TikTok trend with millions of streams and record breaking numbers on platforms like Spotify, where it recently hit the biggest single day streaming total ever for an African artist.

On Fallon’s stage, Tyla did more than sing. She performed. She danced with confidence and flair, blending the viral choreo fans love online with elements of South African movement, showing she’s not just exporting music but culture. That choice to center her identity and heritage while performing a global pop hit was a reminder that she is not here to play small.

The visual was striking too. Her Chanel performance came with bold styling that nodded at the high fashion referenced in the song, with oversized props and commanding stage presence that made viewers stop scrolling and watch.

This wasn’t just a promo moment. It was a statement that Tyla is shaping 2026 pop culture on her terms. She already has a Grammy under her belt from her breakthrough hit Water, and now with Chanel dominating streams and making waves on American TV, she’s proving she’s not a one hit wonder but a growing global force.