For the first time in Soul Train Awards history, fans get the final say on one of the night’s biggest prizes. BET has opened the R&B/Soul Song of the Year category entirely to public voting, and Tyla’s “Chanel” is right in the middle of that race.
The South African star picked up the 2026 nomination for the track, her second nod from the Soul Train Awards. Her first came back in 2023, when she was up for Best New Artist.
She isn’t the only African name on the list. Nigeria’s Tems is also nominated in the same category for “What You Need,” which means two artists from the continent are going head to head for one of R&B’s flagship awards.
That detail carries weight for anyone following the African music scene. For years, artists from the continent were mostly slotted into separate “Best International” or “Best Afrobeats” style categories, and now they’re being measured directly against the biggest names in Western R&B.
The competition is stacked. Tyla and Tems are up against Bruno Mars with “I Just Might,” Chris Brown and Bryson Tiller with “It Depends,” Daniel Caesar’s “Who Knows,” Justin Bieber’s “Yukon,” and Kehlani’s “Folded.
Mariah the Scientist and Kali Uchis round out the field with “Is It a Crime,” alongside Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need.” That’s a lineup packed with artists who have huge, loyal fanbases, which turns the public vote into a real fight.
BET says the award goes to a song judged on its lyrics, melody and vocal execution, an “audible experience [that] dominated digital streaming, conquered the charts, and resonated with the culture!” The category also leans on hard numbers like streaming data, radio airplay and chart performance, not just the opinion of a panel.
On that front, “Chanel” has plenty to show. The song has passed 417 million streams on Spotify alone, making it Tyla’s third most streamed track.
There’s a fair question hanging over the new format, though. Handing a category fully to fans tends to reward artists with the most organised online communities, and some of Tyla’s rivals have spent more than a decade building theirs.
Tyla’s own following is no small thing. She made history at the 2024 Grammys when “Water” won the first ever award for Best African Music Performance, and demand back home has been strong enough that her South African tour stop was upgraded to the SunBet Arena with a second show added.
Voting is open on the official BET website until 16 October 2026. The awards air on 27 November 2026 at 02:00 SAST on BET, and between now and then, the trophy belongs to whichever fanbase shows up loudest.
