Without seeking international recognition, Aya Nakamura, who released her fourth album this Friday, DNKhas established herself as the most listened to French singer in the world.
In less than two years, the music of Aya Nakamura, who is releasing her fourth album, DNK this Friday, has conquered the French public and has gone beyond the borders of France to find an audience in the United States, Asia or South America.
It’s with his album Nakamurareleased in 2018, that Aya Nakamura’s success took an international turn and that she became the most listened to French female artist in the world on Spotify.
Since then, the Franco-Malian artist has been everywhere: she is listened to by Madonna, Rihanna or Sam Smith, appears in American magazines The New York Times and Forbes, is cited in the reboot of Prince of Bel Air, is displayed in giant format in Times Square, is invited in concert in the American game Fortnite. And during her visit to Paris, in July 2022, the American singer Alicia Keys invited her to the Bercy stage to perform her hit with her Djadja.
However, unlike other artists, like Stromae, who imagined her career internationally very early on, Aya Nakamura never had the ambition to conquer the international scene. She sings in French and has never given a concert outside of France since the start of her career.
“I didn’t say to myself ‘I’m going to become an international star’, ‘this sound is going to be international’, ‘this sound is going to tour everywhere in Asia’. I never said that to myself”, delivered she like this to journalist Mehdi Maïzi in December 2021.
The artist even claims to be surprised to learn that his music is listened to by listeners from all over the world as far as Asia or South America.
“I see crazy countries like Chile… I’m amazed every time. It’s not necessarily targeted countries and that’s where you see the magic of music. When you like it, […] there is no rule”, assures Aya Nakamura in the show Basic in 2020.
“I do Aya”
No rule, but a recipe, the Aya style. Since her debut in 2014, Aya Nakamura has developed a style inspired by various influences, drawing on her Malian origins and mixing zouk, afropop, rap, dancehall or even R’n’B, which gives her brings together a large audience.
But beyond this assembly of sounds without borders which is unique to her, Aya Nakamura also offers a new and easy to sing phrasing, juggling between Anglicisms, slang or onomatopoeia. A language to which even non-French speakers succumb, no offense to some of its detractors.
“There’s slang, there’s Afro, it moves and maybe my voice likes”, confided the singer at the microphone of the show The real infoto explain the reasons for its international success.
A formula that the artist summarizes in a simple way: “I do Aya”. “I manage to do pop, tomorrow I’ll do zouk… But it’s still the same way of singing. It’s also my phrasing that makes it ‘Aya'”, she specifies. at the microphone of BFMTV.
The “Djadja” consecration
It is with his first hit, Djadja, released in 2018, that the singer conquers the French public and crosses borders. With its catchy, easy-to-sing chorus (Oh Djadja, there’s no way Djadja), this song, which to date has more than 900 million views on YouTube, has won over the whole world.
As far as the Netherlands, where for the first time since 1961, a French-language song by a female artist rose to the top of the charts at the time. Aya thus dethrones Edith Piaf, who had previously achieved this feat with I regret nothing.
“With Aya, who makes music in French, you would think that her potential international audience is limited, but in fact not at all. We’ve never seen that,” says Loan Paturle, head of international development. for the Rec label. 118 (Aya Nakamura’s label), in the columns of the newspaper The world.
This success thus allows her to be named in the best international artist category at the BET Awards in 2019 – a first for a French female artist – but also to land a place in the prestigious programming of the American festival Coachella in 2020 (which has not ultimately never took place due to the pandemic).
Named French artist of the year at the Apple Music Awards at the end of 2021, she confides to the journalist Mehdi Maïzi, not having had too many regrets to miss this opportunity. “I was a little nervous, but I’m like ‘it’s okay’. I believe a lot in fate. If I have to do Coachella I will. I’m very honored to have been invited.”
Honored by Rihanna and Madonna
Djadja also makes international stars dance. In 2019, popstar Madonna filmed her troupe of dancers “rocking” to the famous song backstage at a concert.
The following year, the 64-year-old artist does it again and films his two daughters, who listen to and sing this hit. Another consecration for Aya Nakamura: in 2020 the singer Rihanna appears in turn on social networks dancing on Djadja during an evening.
“I’m super surprised. When I see international stars like Madonna or Rihanna sing or dance to my song and others in French, I tell myself that music really has no borders”, reacted Aya Nakamura to the era in the columns of Parisian.
Adding with irony: “I who thought that Americans had trouble with foreign languages, this proves the contrary to me.”
The power of social networks even carries the voice of Aya Nakamura on the other side of the globe. At the end of 2022, his music thus met with astonishing popularity on the side of the Pacific Ocean thanks to Steve West. Originally from New Caledonia, this amateur DJ remix the song Nirvana by Aya Nakamura, from her album ayawhich is going viral on TikTok.
Quickly the title is taken up in over 2 million videos, mainly in Asian countries and allows Aya Nakamura to conquer a whole new audience, without any marketing strategy. “It’s lunar”, even comments the diva in The world.
“His music resonates in places where nothing was ever planned Aya perfectly illustrates the way the world is interconnected today”, analyzes Loan Paturle in ‘The world’.
“I don’t want to be an American star”
Aya Nakamura has had the opportunity to collaborate with international stars. Whether in rap, pop or reggaeton, everyone asks for a verse. This is the case of the trio of American DJs Major Lazer, with whom Aya Nakamura collaborated in 2021 on the title It’s cookedalongside rapper Swae Lee.
“I’ve wanted to work with her for a long time, she’s unique, she’s the queen of this mix of sounds, a bit West African, a bit Caribbean too, a bit zouk, a bit dancehall, a bit afro -pop,” Diplo, a member of the Major Lazer trio, told AFP.
On her own albums, Aya Nakamura also offers the presence of international guests, such as the British artists Stormzy and Ms Banks, on her album Aya (2020) or the Puerto Rican rapper Myke Towers, on his new project. DNK.
But Aya Nakamura’s ambition here is more musical than commercial. Far from the objective of seeking listeners in other countries at all costs, the singer simply claims to have worked with these artists because she found that “musically it stuck well” with her universe.
“When people ask me: how does it feel to be known internationally, I tell them: ‘I’m not euphoric'”, she confided in 2020 to AFP.
And to conclude, in an interview with the newspaper The world: “It’s very difficult to find your audience there (in the United States, editor’s note) when you’re French. I don’t want to be an American star. I’m quiet.”
