Tyla’s Viral Lookalike Leaves South Africans in Disbelief: “All These Celebrities Have Dupes”

• A young woman showed people on the internet how similar her facial features were to multi-award-winning pop artist Tyla
• The doppelgänger, a model and content creator named Aliyah White, went viral when she uploaded a video of herself showing off an outfit in a store's fitting room
• Many South African members of the online community flooded Aliyah's comment section to tell her how much they thought she resembled the South African artist

Aliyah White, a model and content creator, went viral after posting a clip where she showed off an outfit, with viewers shocked at how much she resembled multi-award-winning artist Tyla. Her post has impressively received over a million views since its publication on 22 July, 2025.

The young woman took to her TikTok account last week to document her shopping day. In the short clip, the curly-haired beauty showed off a matching corset and a pair of shorts in a store's fitting room as she posed to Tyla's new single Is It.

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SA unimpressed with Tyla lookalike competition

On 9 November, 2024, the local content-creating group Dream Boys held a Tyla lookalike competition in Cape Town. The event brought out sixteen young women who tried to convince judges that they had similar features to the Grammy-winning pop star.

While the competition proved a success, people on the internet acted as judges and shared that they were not impressed with the lineup of Tyla lookalikes.

One TikTok user commented:

"There are contestants taking chances here."

SA reacts to Tyla's recent lookalike

Now, local members of the online community are entering Aliyah's comment section with positivity and dubbed her a worthy lookalike. Although some stated that the young woman was not being authentic.

@mbuyelo_troy referred to Tyla accompanying a matriculant to his matric ball, writing:

"Close enough. Do you do matric dances?"

@propertyhallrealtors added in the comment section:

"It's like you look like Tyla, but you don't. I can't explain it."

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@jus_tshegooo humorously said to the woman:

"Bathong wena, I thought ke wena Tyla. Sing one song fast. I want to see something."

@mrskings told Aliyah:

"It’s okay to look like someone, but trying to be them is something else."

Aliyah responded to the TikTok user:

"How am I trying to be them? Please."

@tshepang.mohlatlole wrote in the comment section:

"All these celebrities have dupes."

@ur_1_to_trip_4 shared:

"I watched the whole video thinking you were Tyla until I saw your name. 😂"

@Akhasande vayedwa added:

"Not me observing carefully to see if it's really Tyla. 😂❤️"

Take a look at Tyla's lookalike in the TikTok video below:

Ever bumped into someone who looks just like you, even though you're not related? It is not just a coincidence. A 2022 study published in Cell Reports found that many unrelated doppelgängers share similar genes that affect how our faces are shaped. Researchers looked at 32 pairs of lookalikes and discovered that those who really resembled each other had matching DNA in key facial features like the nose, eyes, lips and chin.

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Even though their genes matched, their lifestyles, microbiomes and even epigenetics were very different. The study revealed it is the shared genetic blueprint doing the work, not how they live. Some pairs also shared other things like height or habits, but it was those facial genes that made them near twins.

If someone swears they have seen your twin, maybe your face is just rocking one of nature’s go-to templates.

3 Other stories about lookalikes

• In another article, Briefly News reported that local social media users spotted a Sol Phenduka's lookalike ordering food at a fast-food restaurant and cracked jokes at the resemblance.
• An Oprah Winfrey lookalike went viral in Limpopo for her energetic lekompo dance moves. The woman's dancing and uncanny resemblance to the media mogul had viewers doing double-takes.
• Popular sports fanatic Mama Joy slammed her lookalike attending a soccer match. South African online users' comments were mixed, with some trolling the doppelgänger and others accusing Mama Joy of using the woman for relevancy.

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Hilary Sekgota, Human Interest HOD at Briefly News, contributed to this article.

Source: Briefly News