Wall tiling interior/dry wall

I am renovating a bathroom and will be putting in 2 single vanities. Mostly decorative I will put in 2 floor-to-ceiling columns of wall tile behind them. This wall is interior in the house and has plumbing / electrical in it.
It is standard drywall, no kerdi or specialty sheets - are there any considerations i should have here based on this? Should I paint or etch the wall with something to assist with performance? I plan on painting the remaining walls before i tile for a nicer edge but won't paint where I plan to tile.
any recommendations will be appreciated,

 

At a minimum, you should prime new drywall where you're putting the tile. If its already painted, you don't need to do anything.

 

Great, thanks. The wall has certainly been painted so I'll just make sure it's clean. This is my first tiling attempt so just wanted to check off anything I might be missing.

 

Unless the wall was installed by you so that you know it was secured to the wall studs properly (screws and glue) I always add some sheet metal screws just to be on the safe side. Ive seen some very sloppy drywall installations that barely hold themselves up not to mention the extra weight of the tile!

 

That is solid advice, thanks. I imagine tiling adds significant weight to the wall.
I will be doing some electrical work first and then I'll have to repair and prepare the wall for paint and that will give me the opportunity to add extra security.

 

​​​​​​​Meant to say drywall screws!