"Push 2 Start" is a song recorded by South African singer

Tyla Tyla Laura Seethal (born 30 January 2002), known mononymously as Tyla, is a South African singer and songwriter. Her musical style is characterised by a fusion of pop and amapiano, with many publications dubbing her " Queen of Popiano". Born a ...

. Released in tandem with the

deluxe edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition or expanded edition are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as b ...

of her self-titled studio album by FAX and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

, it was initially teased at the

2024 MTV Video Music Awards The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards were held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 11, 2024. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on September 10, 2024, but was rescheduled to a day later to avoid conflicts with the pr ...

. The song was also serviced to Italian radio stations via

Sony Music Italy Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music industry, music company owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the pub ...

on 25 October 2024. In the United States, the song impacted the rhythmic crossover frequencies on 29 October 2024, and it was serviced to the

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

on 28 January 2025. Musically, the song blends elements of

amapiano Amapiano is a genre of music from South Africa that became popular in mid-2012 with an earlier regular occurrence on South African radio stations in the early 2000s. It is a hybrid of kwaito, deep house, gqom, jazz, soul, and lounge music char ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, R&B and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

, while using car metaphors to explore themes of commitment and attraction. Tyla received praise from

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

for her ability to merge lyrics and

choreography Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

with "Push 2 Start". She faced

backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...

for announcing the music video, which coincided with the 2024 U.S. presidential election. She was also praised for appointing her

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

best friend as the

creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...

of the music video. Set in a vibrant car wash and for its 2000s vibe, the music video drew comparison to

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

's "

Crazy in Love "Crazy in Love" is a song by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé featuring guest vocals from American rapper Jay-Z. It was written by Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Rich Harrison, and produced by the last two. "Crazy in Love" is a pop, hip hop, and ...

" and

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's "

Shut Up and Drive "Shut Up and Drive" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her third studio album, '' Good Girl Gone Bad'' (2007). It was written and produced by Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers, and features an interpolation of the 1983 song " Blue Monday" by ...

". "Push 2 Start" debuted at number 88 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making Tyla the second female African artist to attain multiple solo entries on the chart. It peaked at number 1 on the

UK Afrobeats Singles Chart The UK Afrobeats Singles Chart is a record chart compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 20 most popular singles in the afrobeats and afroswing genres. The chart is compiled by the OCC from digital ...

and the ''Billboard'' U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart. The song was certified gold in Canada, Greece and New Zealand, silver in the United Kingdom and platinum in Brazil. Tyla performed it during her homecoming tour in South Africa. The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

Chloe Bailey Chloe Elizabeth Bailey ( ; born July 1, 1998), also known mononymously as Chlöe, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She rose to prominence alongside her sister Halle Bailey as Chloe x Halle. The duo released two stu ...

and the

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

features guest vocals from

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...

. Tyla earned her first

directorial A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision. The director has a key role in ch ...

credit for the remix music video.

Background and release

first teased "Push 2 Start" during an interview with ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Par ...

'' at the

on 11 September 2024, where she received the Best Afrobeats Video award for "

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

". She also previewed the song ahead of its release on her

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

on 8 October 2024. Written by Tyla, Corey Marlon Lindsay-Keay, Sammy SoSo, James McCarthy and its producers, Ari PenSmith and Mocha Bands, the song was released in tandem with the

of her self-titled studio album with two other tracks on 11 October 2024, via FAX and

. "Push 2 Start" was serviced to

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

in Italy by

on 25 October 2024. It impacted the rhythmic crossover radio stations in the United States on 29 October 2024, before it was serviced to

on 28 January 2025 by FAX and Epic Records. A

mashup Mashup may refer to: * Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture * Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting * Mashup (mus ...

of "Push 2 Start" and

PartyNextDoor Jahron Anthony Brathwaite (born July 3, 1993), known professionally as PartyNextDoor (often stylized in all caps), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. He was the first artist to sign with Drake's record label OVO Sound ...

's "For Certain" was

Chloe x Halle Chloe x Halle (pronounced "Chloe and Halle") is an American alternative R&B duo consisting of sisters Chloe Bailey, Chloe and Halle Bailey. At a young age, the sisters performed in minor acting roles before traveling from their hometown of Mable ...

Composition

"Push 2 Start" is 2 minutes and 36 seconds long. It is the second track on ''Tyla +''. Produced by Ari PenSmith, Rayo and Mocha, the song was mixed by Leandro "Dro" Hidaldo and

mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Colin Leonard. Guitars were handled by Sjo and Olmo Zucca,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

by Jack LoMastro, and Sammy SoSo handled the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

. It is a blend of

and R&B genres, infused with elements of

Afro pop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop, Afro pop or African pop) can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc.Olabode, O. (2023, J ...

. Tyla explores issues of commitment and attraction in the song by using analogies related to cars as she sings, "pushing on my buttons with no hesitation, gas me up give me motivation". Her smooth vocal delivery in confidence received praise from

, whom highlited her ability to merge lyrics and

Commercial performance

In the U.S., "Push 2 Start" debuted at number 4 on the ''Billboard'' U.S. Afrobeats Songs on the chart dating 26 October 2024, before dethroning "Water" to peak atop the chart on the week of 28 December 2024. It also debuted at number 16 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

on the chart dating 28 December 2024, and went on to reach number 1 on the week of 25 January 2025. With over 400 digital downloads, 4.2 million

streams A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large stream ...

and 8.3 million radio spins on the week of 27 January 2025, "Push 2 Start" debuted at number 88 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, making Tyla the second female African artist to score multiple solo entries on the chart after South African recording artist

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

. It also peaked at number 2 on the

World Digital Song Sales The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—its first issue was dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-speci ...

chart, number 6 on the

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor ...

chart, number 23 on the

Pop Airplay Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...

chart, and number 20 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. Elsewhere, "Push 2 Start" peaked at number 70 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200. The song was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

in Brazil by

Pro-Música Brasil Pro-Música Brasil (PMB), previously Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) ( English: Brazilian Association of Record Producers), is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market. H ...

, and gold in Canada by

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

, for selling 40,000 units in each country. It debuted at number 5 on

the Official South African Charts The Official South African Charts (TOSAC) is the music industry standard record chart in South Africa launched by RISA for local and international songs. Chart rankings are based on digital sales and online streaming in South Africa through iTun ...

, and peaked at number 3 on week 4 of 2025. It also debuted atop the

on the chart dating 20 October 2024 – 26 October 2024, peaked number 23 on the UK Singles Chart, and reached number 3 on the

UK R&B Chart Official Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, and previously the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and ...

. The song peaked at number 70 at the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

chart, number 17 on the

Philippines Hot 100 The Philippines Hot 100 is a record chart in the Philippines, published weekly by ''Billboard Philippines''. First issued on June 12, 2017, it ranks the top songs by local and foreign artists and reflects the music consumption in the country. ...

chart, and number 38 on the

Dutch Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

chart. It also peaked at number 44 in Australia, number 18 in Greece, number 60 in Ireland, number 16 in the United Arab Emirates, number 20 in the New Zealand, number in 10 in Sweden, number 55 in Switzerland, and number 104 in Portugal. Its music video peaked at number 23 on the

UK Video Charts The UK Video Charts is a group of charts compiled by the Official Charts Company on behalf of The British Association for Screen Entertainment. The charts are based on weekly DVD, Blu-ray and, formerly, VHS sales in 6,500 retailers across the UK. ...

. The song was certified gold in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece, or simply IFPI Greece, is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification b ...

for shipment of 1,000,000 units.

Music video and live performances

Following the release of the deluxe edition, in November 2024, Tyla took to social media to announce that she will be releasing the music video to "Push 2 Start". The announcement coincided with the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

, leading the American fans to attack Tyla on socials, telling her to "read the room". Directed by Aerin Moreno, the music video premiered on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on 8 November 2024, at midnight ( UTC+02:00). It amassed over 400,000 views in 9 hours. She was praised for bringing along her high school best friend, Thato Nzimande, as the

. Choreographed by Lee-ché, the video is set at a

car wash A car wash, or auto wash, is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior, of motor vehicle, cars. Car washes can be #Self-serve car wash, self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or #Autom ...

where Tyla and her dancers perform a choreography near a vibrant backdrop. She later spray paints herself similar to how a car would be painted and dances on a

car carrier Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usin ...

as the video concludes. Several critics compared the visuals of the music video to the likes of

and

, pointing out similar scenes from the music videos for their songs, "

" and "

" respectively, emphasizing the 2000s pop and R&B music video vibe. She also wears Rihanna-inspired heels in the video. Tyla performed a medley of "Water" and "Push 2 Start" in

Brooklyn Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York, U.S. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a se ...

, New York City on 15 October 2024, at the 2024 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and again in

Co-op Live Co-op Live is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, sited in the Etihad Campus next to the City of Manchester Stadium. It opened on 14 May 2024 and is the List of indoor arenas in Europe, largest indoor arena in the UK by capacity, and List ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, United Kingdom on 10 November, at the 30th Annual MTV Europe Music Awards. On 12 December, Tyla performed a medley of "Push 2 Start" and "Shake Ah" at the 2024 ''Billboard'' Music Awards. She performed the song during her homecoming tour in South Africa.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

and

.References: * Apple Music: * YouTube: Musicians *

– lead vocals, background vocals, songwriter * Sammy SoSo – background vocals,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, songwriter, vocal producer * Ari PenSmith – background vocals, songwriter, producer * Believve – background vocals, vocal producer * Mocha Bands – background vocals, songwriter, producer * Sjo – guitar * Jack LoMastro – keyboards * Olmo Zucca – guitar * James McCarthy – songwriter * Corey Marlon Lindsay-Keay – songwriter * Ebenezer Maxwell – vocal producer * Rayan El-Hussein Rayo Goufar – producer Technical * Sammy SoSo – engineer * Maxwell Ebenezer –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

* Oscar Cornejo – recording engineer * Aidan Duncan – assistant engineer * Leandro "Dro" Hidalgo –

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

* Colin Leonard –

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

* Richard Ledesma – engineer Music video * Aerin Moreno – director * Thato Nzimande –

* Lee-Ché – choreographer * Ronnie – stylist * Jimmy – makeup artist * Jayson Alexander – cameraman and editor

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Certifications

Release history

Sean Paul remix

A remix for "Push 2 Start" with Jamaican musician,

was released on 14 February 2025. Tyla hinted the remix on her socials on 7 February 2025. The song peaked at number 30 on the Nigerian ''TurnTable'' Top 100 on the chart dating 21 February 2025, and number 28 on the New Zealand Hot Singles on the chart dating 21–27 February 2025. During an interview with ''The Buzz'' at the ''

Essence Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...

'' magazine's 2025 Black Women in Hollywood event, when Tyla was asked how it was working with Paul and Skillibeng, she said "It is exciting for me. I love playing around with music and Sean Paul is an icon. You know his voice when he comes on a song. So, just being able to collab with not only him but Skillibeng, all these artists that have such unique voices and culture, I feel like it is important".

Music video and accolades

Co-directed by Tyla and Taylor Fauntleroy, the music video to the remix was published via YouTube on 3 March 2025. Tyla received her first director credits for the video. Choreographed by Lee-ché, Tyla is seen dancing in front of a backdrop, surrounded by a group of dancers similar to Paul's " I'm Still in Love with You" music video. It was nominated for the Best Music Video at the 2025 edition of the

Urban Music Awards The Urban Music Awards (UMA) are a hip-hop, R&B, dance, and soul music awards ceremony that was launched in the UK by Jordan Kensington in 2003 and is now held in multiple countries. The US version of the award ceremony, the Urban Music Awar ...

Personnel

Credits were adapted from Apple Music. Musicians * Tyla – lead vocals, background vocals, songwriter * Sean Paul – performer * Sammy SoSo – background vocals, songwriter, producer * Ari PenSmith – background vocals, songwriter * Believve – background vocals * Mocha Bands – background vocals, songwriter * Sjo – guitar * Jack LoMastro – keyboards * Olmo Zucca – guitar * James McCarthy – songwriter * Corey Marlon Lindsay-Keay – songwriter Technical * Sammy SoSo – producer * Maxwell Ebenezer – recording engineer * Oscar Cornejo – recording engineer * Aidan Duncan – assistant engineer * Leandro "Dro" Hidalgo – mixing engineer * Colin Leonard – mastering engineer * Charlie Rolfe – engineer

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2024 singles 2024 songs Epic Records singles Contemporary R&B songs Songs written by Ari PenSmith Songs written by Tyla (South African singer) South African songs Tyla (South African singer) songs Sean Paul songs Song recordings produced by Sammy Soso South African Airplay Chart number-one singles