There are songs that dominate a season. Then there are songs that become part of a country’s cultural memory.

Liquideep’s Fairytale has always belonged to the latter.

When the award-winning duo first released the record, it arrived at a defining moment in South African music. Wrapped in soulful house production, rich emotion and effortless songwriting, Fairytale became more than a hit, it became a feeling. It soundtracked first loves, late-night drives, dance floors and quiet moments of reflection, cementing Liquideep’s place as one of South Africa’s most influential musical acts. 

I was at varsity when it first came out and it’s the song you would hear in every corridor at res, in every car in the parking lot and at every gathering.

Now, more than a decade later, that story has entered an extraordinary new chapter.

Global superstar Tyla has reimagined Fairytale for her highly anticipated sophomore album, APOP, introducing one of South Africa’s most treasured songs to millions of listeners across the world.

In many ways, it feels like destiny.

I had the honour of travelling to Portugal with Liquideep, for Tyla’s exclusive listening party, where we got to hear the song for the first time and just being in that room was mindblowing. Firstly, the legends – Liquideep carry so much humility and grace that their wins are easily personal to you as a spectator and consumer of their work. Watching them hear Fairtytale, watch their emotions, Tyla’s admiration and respect for them, it was all just too much. 

African music continues its unprecedented global ascent, Tyla’s decision to revisit Fairytale is more than a creative choice. It is an acknowledgment of the artists and songs that laid the foundation for today’s international movement. Long before amapiano dominated charts from New York to Tokyo, Liquideep was quietly proving that South African music could travel beyond borders through honest storytelling, unforgettable melodies and universal emotion.

Their influence has always extended further than commercial success.

It helped shape the sonic identity of contemporary South African music.

“When we wrote Fairytale, we never imagined it would still be finding new audiences all these years later,” says Ziyon of Liquideep.

“To hear an artist like Tyla, who is carrying South African music to every corner of the world, embrace the song is incredibly special. It reminds us that great music never really belongs to one moment in time. It evolves, it grows and it keeps connecting people.”

That evolution is exactly what makes this moment so significant.

Rather than simply revisiting a beloved classic, Tyla breathes new life into it, allowing two generations of South African artists to exist in conversation with one another. The remake becomes both a tribute and a continuation, a celebration of where African music has been and where it is headed.

During her listening session, Tyla openly acknowledged Liquideep’s influence on her own artistic journey, praising the duo for their contribution to African music and the legacy they helped create. There is a clear timeline of Tyla paying tribute to Liquiedeep, all over the internet and in her interviews. Now there’s a whole new generation being introduced to Liquideep, it’s incredible. It is a rare and beautiful passing of the torch.

For Liquideep’s Ryzor, the moment carries meaning beyond the duo’s own catalogue.

“Every generation adds its own voice to the story,” he says.

“We’re proud that Fairytale has become part of that journey. Seeing a new generation discover the song through Tyla is incredibly rewarding because it shows how South African music continues to inspire itself while reaching the world. That’s something worth celebrating.”

There is something profoundly moving about watching music refuse to age.

Some songs are confined to the era that produced them. Others continue to evolve, finding new voices, new audiences and new meaning with every generation that embraces them.

Fairytale belongs firmly in that second category.

Its return arrives at a moment when African artists are redefining global pop culture, not by abandoning their roots but by honouring them. The reinterpretation reminds us that every international breakthrough rests on the shoulders of artists who came before, creating sounds that would one day inspire the next generation of global stars.

Perhaps that is the true beauty of Fairytale.

It has never simply belonged to Liquideep. Nor does it belong solely to Tyla.

It belongs to South Africa.

And now, thanks to two generations of extraordinary artists, it belongs to the world.