Aya Nakamura

Aya Nakamura Danioko (French pronunciation: ​[aja danjɔko]; born 10 May 1995), known by her stage name Aya Nakamura (/ˈaɪə ˌnækəˈmʊərə/, EYE-ə NAK-ə-MOOR-ə), is a Malian-born French pop singer.[1] She is best known for her hit song "Djadja" that has more than half a billion views on YouTube.[2]

Aya Nakamura
Birth nameAya Danioko
Born (1995-05-10) May 10, 1995
Bamako, Mali
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2015–present
Labels
  • Rec.118
  • Warner Music France

She was born in Bamako and immigrated to France with her family, growing up in Aulnay-sous-Bois.[3] Coming from a family of griots (West African storytellers, praise singers / poets of oral tradition), she is the oldest of five siblings. She studied fashion at La Courneuve. She later launched into music with the stage name Aya Nakamura, after the character Hiro Nakamura of the NBC Heroes science fiction drama series.[1]

Nakamura published her music online, gaining a following with "Karma" and "J'ai mal". Dembo Camara, a long-time friend, became her producer and manager. Notably, her song "Brisé", composed by Christopher Ghenda, garnered 13 million views on YouTube, and a duo with rapper Fababy "Love d'un voyou" resulted in her charting in France. She released her debut album with a number of collaborations. She also had a big concert at the Modibo-Keïta stadium in Bamako, where she opened for the Nigerian star Davido.

Biography

Childhood and youth

Born Aya Danioko in Bamako, Mali on May 10, 1995 from a family of griot (west African storytellers, praise singers/ poets of oral traditions) she is the oldest of five siblings. At an early age, her family came to France and moved to Paris Northern suburbs in Aulnay-sous-Bois. She took the name Nakamura after the character Hiro Nakamura of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes.

2014-2017: Debut and first success with Journal intime

In 2014, at the age of 19, she released her first single Karma on Facebook. With the help of the producer Seysey, she composed a break-up song, J’ai mal, with a zouk type of melody. The song's video reached more than 1 million YouTube views by that time. An old time friend, Dembo Camara, became her producer and artistic agent.

In 2015, she made the song Brisé with the composer Christopher Ghenda, and the video clip reached 13 M YouTube views. Then she released another song Love d’un Voyou, featuring the rapper Fababy and it received even more support on YouTube.

As a tribute to her cultural heritage and roots, she did a concert at the Modibo-Keïta stadium in Bamako, opening for the American-Nigerian star Davido. And she dedicated a song to one of the most famous Malian singer Oumou Sangaré, who was born in Bamako just like her.

In January 2016, the singer signed a deal with Rec. 118, a label from Warner music France. During the same year, she kept on doing collaborations and she released her second single Super Héros, featuring the rapper Gradur.

On August 25, 2017 she released her debut album named Journal Intime, led by her first Platinum hit, ‘Comportement’.  

The album was certified Gold in France. On September 23, 2017, she participated to La Nuit du Mali in Bercy organized by the Wati-Boss, Dawala in order to celebrate the Independence Day of Mali in Paris. She shared the stage with Oumou Sangaré and other Malian artists such as Cheick Tidiane Seck, Lassana Hawa or Mokobé among others.[4]

2018: Nakamura

On April 6, 2018, Aya Nakamura released Djadja -  the first extract of her sophomore album - which stayed 2 consecutive weeks at #1 French single charts and was later certified Diamond.[5]

The song quickly became a summer hit in France and soon became an international hit. She became the first French female artist #1 in the Netherlands since Edith Piaf with "Non je ne regrette rien" in 1961.[6]

Djadja was also the first Francophone song since 2009 to reach the n°1 position in the Dutch charts, the last one being Alors on danse from Belgian artist Stromaé.[7]

Djadja then conquered charts and radios all over Europe (Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland...)[8][9][10][11][12][13]

The following single Copines released in August 2018 entered #4 in French single charts before climbing to #1 in November 2018, and is also certified Diamond.

On November 2, 2018, Aya Nakamura released her sophomore album Nakamura. She became the first female artist to charts 7 album tracks in the French top 10 single simultaneously .

Nakamura prompted her second #1 single, Copines.[5]

In January 2019 she won the European Music Moves Talent Award for Best Urban album.[14]

In February 2019 she is Nominee for Song of the Year & Best Urban Album at France Music Awards

In April 2019, she released the video for Pookie, which became the most viewed French video in 2019.[15] It has gained over 150 Million views to date while the song became her third Diamond-certified single.

Those heralded her first sold-out headline tour starting March 2019, including an Olympia Paris Hall sold out in less than 2 hours, followed by a Zenith tour in the Fall 2019.

In May 2019, she was portrayed by the New York Times, as “one of the most important act in Europe now, musically and socially”.[16]

In June 2019, she earned her first nomination at BET Awards 2019 as Best International Act,[17] and crossed the 1 Billion YouTube channel views.

In Summer 2019 she gains momentum with a new international smash Pookie (+150 Million YouTube views to date),

including high-profile international versions with multi-platinum rapstars Capo Plaza (#1 Spotify Italy) and Lil Pump (US).[18]

In August her YouTube channel becomes the most viewed ever for a French female artist (1.4 Billion views to date).

In September 2019, Djadja rise back again at #25 in Shazam worldwide charts, and Top 10 in Shazam Spain and Latin America, while Pookie enters Shazam worldwide charts at #80

She thus locks 2 tracks in Shazam Global 100 simultaneously.

In October, Djadja goes Platinum in Spain [19] and Portugal while Pookie goes double Platinum in Italy.[20]

On October 25, 2019, Aya Nakamura released a re-issue of the now 2xPlatinum ‘Nakamura’ with five new songs, including the Top 5 single ‘40%’ .

In December year-end recaps,  she was named Most Watched French female artist in 2019 by YouTube, and Most Streamed French female artist in 2019 by Spotify.[21]

Discography

Albums
Title Details Peak positions Units Certification
FRA
[5]		 BEL
(FL)
[22]		 BEL
(WA)
[10]		 NLD
[23]		 ITA
[24]		 SPA (str)
[25]		 SWI
[26]
Journal intime 614334— — ——
Nakamura
  • Released: 2 November 2018
  • Label: Rec. 118, Warner Music France
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download, streaming
 3
[28]		29810 90 9220
  • SNEP: 2× Platinum[31]
  • BEA: Platinum[32]

Singles
Title Year Peak positions Units Certification Album
FRA
[5]		 BEL
(FL)
[33]		 BEL
(WA)
[34]		 GER
[9]		 ITA
[35]		 NLD
[23]		 POR
[12]		 SPA
[8]		 SWE
[11][13]		 SWI
[26]
"Super héros"
(featuring Gradur)		 2016 34————————— Journal intime
"Comportement" 23—40———————
"Oumou Sangaré" 65—————————
"Djadja"

(solo, featuring Loredana or featuring Maluma)

 2018 1161643591375
[19]		7229
  • FRA: 24,900 (sales)[36]
  • NLD: 120,000[30]
 Nakamura
"Copines" 124
(tip)		7——46———60
"Pookie"
(solo, featuring Lil Pump or featuring Capo Plaza)		 2019 5189—2————[upper-alpha 1]55
"Soldat"[48] 6—————————
"Jolie nana"[49] 2020 1282—[upper-alpha 2]—34———4 Non-album single
Title Year Peak positions Certification
FRA
[5]		 BEL
(WA)
[10]
"Love d'un voyou"
(Fababy featuring Aya Nakamura)		 2015 937*
(Ultratip)
"Sorry"
(Abou Debeing featuring Aya Nakamura)		 2016 188—
"Bad Boy"
(Fally Ipupa featuring Aya Nakamura)		 2017 68—
"Moi je vérifie"
(Naza featuring Dadju and Aya Nakamura)		 171—
"Pourquoi tu forces"
(DJ Erise featuring Aya Nakamura)		 2018 177—
"Comme ci comme ça"
(Tour 2 Garde featuring Aya Nakamura)		 ——

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Other charted songs
Title Year Peak positions Certification Album
FRA
[5][51]		 BEL
(WA)
[10]		 SWI
[26]
"Oublier" 2016 96—— Journal intime
"Fuego"
(feat. Dadju)		 2017 85——
"J'ai mal (Part 2)" 109——
"Problèmes"
(feat. MHD)		 118——
"Jalousie"
(feat. Lartiste)		 121——
"Karma" 146——
"Orphelin"
(featuring KeBlack)		 151——
"La dot" 2018 33271 Nakamura
"Sucette"
(featuring Niska)		 4——
"Oula" 5——
"Pompom" 8——
"Ça fait mal" 13——
"Whine Up" 15——
"Gangster" 18——
"Faya" 21——
"Gang"
(featuring Davido)		 35——
"Dans ma bulle" 40——
"40%" 2019 4
[52]		30— Nakamura (deluxe edition)
"Claqué" 45——
"Idiot" 65——

Awards and nominations
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2018 Aya Nakamura W9 D'OR - Female Artist most listened[53] Won
2019 Aya Nakamura Music Moves Europe Talent Awards - Publlic Choice Awards[54] Won
2019 Aya Nakamura BET Awards 2019 - Best International Act:France[55] Nominated
2019 Aya Nakamura AFRIMA 2019 - Best Female West Africa[56] Won
2019 Aya Nakamura AFRIMA 2019 - Crossing Boundaries with Music Award Nominated
2019 Aya Nakamura AFRIMA 2019 - Artist of The Year Nominated
2019 Aya Nakamura AFRIMA 2019 - Best Collaboration Nominated
2019 "Sucette" ft Niska AFRIMA 2019 - Best Collaboration Nominated
2019 "Pookie" AFRIMA 2019 - Song of The Year Nominated
2019 Aya Nakamura AFRIMA 2019 - Best Francophone Nominated

Notes
  1. "Pookie" (Remix) did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 14 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[46]
  2. "Jolie nana" did not enter the German Singles Chart, but peaked at number 19 on the German Single Trending Charts.[50]

References
  1. Amrani, Iman (23 January 2019). "Aya Nakamura: Afropop's reluctant face of empowerment". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  2. "Aya Nakamura - Djadja (Clip officiel)". youtube.com. 11 May 2020.
  3. Oyiri, Christelle (13 November 2018). "Aya Nakamura is flipping France's rigid rules, beautifully". The Fader. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  4. René-worms, Pierre (24 September 2017). "La première Nuit du Mali électrise Paris-Bercy". RFI. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017.
  5. Peaks in France:
  6. Cannone, Robin (11 October 2018). "Aya Nakamura, l'Europe est totalement gaga de la chanteuse française de Djadja". Le Figaro. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  7. Redaction, team (17 August 2018). "Voor het eerst in 8 jaar Franstalige hit op 1". De Telegraaf.
  8. "spanishcharts.com - Aya Nakamura - Djadja". spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
  9. "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de (in German). Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  10. "Aya Nakamura". ultratop.be/nl/. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  11. "Veckolista Heatseeker – 27, 6 juli 2018" [Weekly chart Heatseeker – Week 27, 6 July 2018] (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  12. "portuguesecharts.com - Discography Aya Nakamura". portuguesecharts.com. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  13. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
  14. "Music Moves Europe Talent Awards 2019". European commission.
  15. "Aya Nakamura arrive en tête des vidéos les plus vues sur YouTube en 2019 et en France". NRJ. 6 December 2019.
  16. Peltier, Elian (22 May 2019). "One of the most important act in Europe now, musically and socially". New York Times.
  17. "Aya Nakamura nominée au BET Awards". 7 television. 17 May 2019.
  18. "Aya Nakamura dévoile le remix de Pookie avec Lil Pump". RFM. 2 August 2019.
  19. "Top 100 Canciones: Semana 29". Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  20. "FIMI: Certificazioni". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 December 2019. Note: To retrieve the certifications, 1) type in "Aya Nakamura" in the box of "Filtra", 2) select years in the box of "Anno", 3) select "Singoli online" in the box of "Sezione", 4) click Enter
  21. Mildred Europa, Taylor (12 December 2019). "Becoming the most-streamed French female artist in France and the world, meet Malian-born star Aya Nakamura". Face 2 Face Africa. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  22. "Aya Nakamura". ultratop.be/nl/. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  23. "Discography Aya Nakamura". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  24. "italiancharts.com - Aya Nakamura - Nakamura". italiancharts.com. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  25. "El portal de Música". www.elportaldemusica.es. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  26. "Discographie Aya Nakamura". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  27. "Les Certifications – Aya Nakamura". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  28. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 45, 2018)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  29. min, Charts·3 février 2020 | 10 h 19 (2020-02-03). "Top Albums : une seconde semaine au sommet pour Maes". aficia (in French). Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  30. "Aya Nakamura : l'album "Nakamura" certifié platine en France et disque d'or aux Pays-Bas". chartsinfrance.net (in French). Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  31. "Les certifications". SNEP (in French). Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  32. "Goud En Platina - Albums 2020". UltraTop. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  33. "Discografie Aya Nakamura". ultratop.be. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  34. "Discographie Aya Nakamura". ultratop.be. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  35. "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 37" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  36. "InfoDisc : Les Ventes "Formats Courts" (45 T. - CD Single - Téléchargements) d'une Année". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  37. "Les Certifications - SNEP". SNEP (in French). Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  38. "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Singles 2019". Ultra Top. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  39. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  40. "Certificazioni - FIMI". www.fimi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  41. "Auszeichnungen Archiv". IFPI Austria - Verband der österreichischen Musikwirtschaft (in German). Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  42. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community". Hitparade.ch - Swiss Charts. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  43. "Gold/Platinum - Aya Nakamura". Music Canada. September 6, 2019.
  44. "Goud/Platina". nvpi.nl. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  45. "Aya Nakamura – Djadja" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  46. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 32". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  47. "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Singles 2020". Ultra Top. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  48. "Nakamura – Aya Nakamura". iTunes. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  49. "Nouveau single inédit vendredi prochain 🍕 👮‍♂️ #JolieNana (lien de précommande digitale dans la bio)". Retrieved 10 July 2020 – via Instagram.
  50. "Offizielle Single Trending Charts, 14. August 2020". MTV_Germany. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  51. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 45, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  52. "Top Singles (Week 48, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  53. Jérôme, Roulet. "W9 d'or 2018 : le palmarès complet avec Lartiste, Maitre Gims, Dadju, Hoshi... [VIDEOS]". Toutelatele (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  54. Musicmoves. "Aya Nakamura | Music Moves Europe Talent Awards". musicmoveseuropetalentawards.eu. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  55. BET Awards. "BET Awards 2019 | Best International Act | Nominees". BET.com. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  56. DAMOLA, DUROSOMO (7 August 2019). "Here are the 2019 AFRIMMA Nominees". OkayAfrica. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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