Coachella, the annual desert pilgrimage for music lovers and trendsetters, is as much about the lewks as it is about the bangers. This year, South African sensation Tyla, the voice behind the global smash "Water," stepped onto the stage for Weekend Two, serving up a vibrant ensemble that immediately sent the internet into a frenzy. Picture this: a vintage green floral balconette bra paired with micro denim shorts boasting green beaded fringe and edgy silver safety pins, all curated by her stylist Katie Qian. Fly, right? Absolutely. Familiar? Well, that's where the drama – and the delicious internet commentary – began.
For those who lived through the early 2000s (or are avid pop culture historians), Tyla's outfit conjured a very specific, very iconic image: Britney Spears' legendary 2001 MTV Video Music Awards performance of "I'm a Slave 4 U." The memory is practically seared into our collective pop consciousness: Britney, a vision in a green cutout bra top and bejeweled butterfly-print low-rise denim shorts, fearlessly writhing with a seven-foot albino Burmese python draped over her shoulders. It was a moment. A statement. A defining snapshot of Y2K pop rebellion.
Click Link To Watch More On This
Click Link To Watch More On This
So, when side-by-side photos of Tyla's Coachella fit and Britney's VMA look started circulating online, the comparisons were inevitable. Fans, with their eagle eyes and lightning-fast social media fingers, declared the resemblance uncanny. "Tyla's outfit for Coachella is inspired by the icon Britney Spears," one user boldly claimed in a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter). The internet, as it always does, was ready to dissect this potential homage.
Now, here's where our story takes a sharp, slightly sassy turn. Tyla herself caught wind of the online chatter, and her response was… direct. To the aforementioned tweet comparing the two looks, the "Water" hitmaker simply replied: "Love her but I just thought the outfit was fly…no inspo." Mic drop? Perhaps a subtle hair flip too.
But the drama didn't end there. When another user decided to escalate things, accusing Tyla of being "a copycat and too full of herself," the South African songstress unleashed a clapback that could rival the snap of a python. "Personally I think you should stfu," she fired back. Ouch. Talk about shutting down the conversation with a capital "S."
Tyla's blunt denial and fiery retort ignited a full-blown online debate. Some fans applauded her for asserting her originality, while others remained convinced that the Britney vibes were undeniable, intentional or not.
"Girl you a fraud get out of here," one user quipped, while another suggested, "Your stylist was probably inspired but u thought the outfit was cute." The nuances of "inspiration" became a hot topic. As one fan astutely pointed out, "That's what inspo 'inspiration' means. You liked the outfit that means you were inspired by it."
Others jumped to Tyla's defense, highlighting that Y2K fashion is having a major resurgence and that similar styles are bound to pop up without direct imitation. Some even brought up the cultural context, with one user tweeting, "Britney is not big in Africa. Most people know her name, maybe a song or two. But Tyla speaks to a different generation and a different audience. Africans gravitate toward Black artists most of the time. That's why we believe Tyla."
Here's a crucial piece of the puzzle: Tyla is no stranger to the Y2K aesthetic. The 23-year-old "Water" phenomenon has consistently rocked the low-rise jeans, crop tops, and bold colors that defined the early 2000s. In fact, she's even paid direct homage to other pop icons of that era. Remember her stunning teal fur-trimmed tiger-print Roberto Cavalli gown at the 2024 MTV EMAs? That was a clear nod to Aaliyah's fierce look from the 2000 VMAs. And in her 2025 Billboard Women in Music interview, Tyla herself नामed both Aaliyah and Britney Spears as significant influences.
This prior acknowledgment of Britney as an influence adds another layer of intrigue to the Coachella outfit denial. Could it be a case of subconscious inspiration? A stylist's subtle nod that wasn't explicitly communicated? Or perhaps, as Tyla maintains, just a fly outfit that happened to share some stylistic DNA with a legendary pop moment.
Ultimately, the "truth" behind Tyla's Coachella outfit inspiration remains in the eye of the beholder (and perhaps her stylist's mood board). What's undeniable is that the look sparked a major online conversation, proving once again the enduring impact of Britney Spears' fashion legacy and the power of a bold style statement at a high-profile event like Coachella.
Whether it was a direct homage, a coincidental Y2K revival moment, or simply a "fly" outfit in Tyla's own right, one thing is clear: Tyla is an artist who knows her own mind and isn't afraid to speak it, even if it means a little online firestorm. And in the world of pop music, a little bit of drama never hurt anyone's visibility. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're off to revisit Britney's iconic "I'm a Slave 4 U" performance and maybe brainstorm our next Y2K-inspired outfit. Snake not included (probably).
