Aya Nakamura facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aya Nakamura
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Nakamura in 2019
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| Born |
Aya Coco Danioko
10 May 1995 Bamako, Mali
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| Citizenship |
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| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2014–present |
| Children | 2 |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Paris, France |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels |
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Aya Coco Danioko (born on May 10, 1995), known as Aya Nakamura, is a famous singer and songwriter from France. She was born in Mali. She started sharing her music online and quickly became popular. Her songs "Karma" and "J'ai mal" helped her gain fans.
Aya Nakamura's song "Brisé" became very popular on YouTube. She also sang a duet with rapper Fababy called "Love d'un voyou". This song was her first to appear on the music charts in France. She released her first album, Journal intime, in 2017. Her second album, Nakamura, came out in 2018. This album was a huge success, selling over 1.2 million copies around the world. It included hit songs like "Djadja" and "Copines". These songs helped her become famous internationally. In 2018, she became the most-listened-to French-speaking female artist in the Netherlands. She broke a record that had been held since 1961 by Édith Piaf.
Aya Nakamura has had five number-one songs and a number-one album in France. Her 2020 album, Aya, won a Victoires de la Musique award. It has sold over 200,000 copies. She also won an NRJ Music Award. Her album Nakamura has been streamed over a billion times on Spotify. This makes her the most-listened-to French-language female artist on the platform.
In February 2023, she became a global face for the beauty brand Lancôme. In February 2025, the music video for her song "Djadja" reached over one billion views on YouTube. This made it the fourth French-language song to do so. She is the first African musician to have a video with over one billion views. She also reached this milestone faster than any other French-speaking artist.
About Aya Nakamura
Aya Coco Danioko was born in Bamako, Mali, on May 10, 1995. Her family comes from a long line of griot. Griots are West African storytellers, singers, and poets who share traditions by speaking. When she was a child, she moved to France with her family. She grew up in Aulnay-sous-Bois. As an adult, she became a French citizen in May 2021. She is the oldest of five children.
Danioko studied fashion design. In an interview from 2017, she said she wanted to be a fashion designer. But then she decided she wanted to sing instead. She chose the stage name Aya Nakamura. This name comes from a character named Hiro Nakamura in the American TV show Heroes.
Music Journey
Starting Out (2014–2017)
In 2014, when she was 19, Aya Nakamura released her first song, "Karma", on Facebook. With help from producer Seysey, she wrote "J'ai mal". This was a breakup song with a zouk-inspired tune.
In 2016, she created the song "Brisé" with composer Christopher Ghenda. After that, she released "Love d'un Voyou" with rapper Fababy. She performed at the Modibo-Keïta stadium in Bamako. She opened the show for the American-Nigerian star Davido.
In January 2016, she signed a music deal with Rec. 118 and Parlophone. These are part of Warner Music France. The same year, she released the song "Super Héros" with rapper Gradur.
On August 25, 2017, she released her first album, Journal intime. The album's first big hit was "Comportement", which became a platinum song. The album itself also became platinum in France. On September 23, 2017, she performed at La Nuit du Mali in Bercy. This event celebrated Mali's Independence Day. She shared the stage with Oumou Sangaré and other Malian artists.
Becoming Famous (2018–2020)
On April 6, 2018, Nakamura released "Djadja". This was the first song from her second album. It stayed at number one on the French charts for two weeks. The song later became a Diamond-certified hit. Its music video reached one billion views on YouTube in February 2025. This made Nakamura the first female African artist to achieve this.
"Djadja" became a huge hit in France and around the world. Nakamura was the first French female artist to reach number one in the Netherlands since Édith Piaf in 1961. "Djadja" was also the first French-language song since 2009 to top the Dutch charts. The last one was "Alors on danse" by Belgian artist Stromae. "Djadja" then became popular on charts and radios across Europe.
Nakamura's next song was "Copines", released in August 2018. It started at number four in France. It then climbed to number one in November 2018 and also became a Diamond-certified hit.
On November 2, 2018, Nakamura released her second album, Nakamura.
In January 2019, she won the European Music Moves Talent Award for Best Urban album. In February 2019, she was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Urban Album at the France Music Awards.
In April 2019, she released the video for "Pookie". This became the most-viewed French music video that year. In August, she released a new version of the song with American rapper Lil Pump.
In May 2019, The New York Times newspaper called her "one of the most important acts in Europe now". In June 2019, she was nominated for her first BET Awards as Best International Act.
In October, "Djadja" became Platinum in Spain and Portugal. "Pookie" became double Platinum in Italy.
On October 25, 2019, Nakamura released a special edition of her Nakamura album. It included five new songs, like the top-five hit "40%".
At the end of 2019, YouTube named her the Most Watched French female artist. Spotify named her the Most Streamed French female artist.
On January 3, 2020, it was announced she would perform at the Coachella Festival. On June 12, Nakamura released a Spanish version of "Djadja" with Colombian singer Maluma.
New Albums (2020–Present)
On July 17, 2020, Nakamura released the song "Jolie nana". This was from her third album, Aya. It went straight to number one on the French singles chart. It became a Gold song in just two weeks.
On October 9, she released the second song from the album, "Doudou". It reached number 6 in France. Aya came out on November 13. It included songs with Stormzy, Ms Banks, and Oboy.
On March 26, 2021, Major Lazer released a special version of their album Music Is the Weapon. It had a song called "C'est cuit" with Nakamura and Swae Lee. On May 27, she released the song "Bobo". It reached number three on the French singles chart. Nakamura also appeared on French rapper Franglish's song "Sans moi". The music video for "Sans moi" reached one million views in 24 hours. Nakamura's picture on the cover of Vogue France was chosen as the favorite magazine cover of 2021.
Throughout 2022, Nakamura released three new songs: "Dégaine" with Damso, "Méchante", and "VIP". "Dégaine" went straight to the top of the French charts. In October, Nakamura performed a virtual concert in the video game Fortnite. She was the first French artist to do this. This was followed by the song "SMS" in December. This was the first song from her fourth album, DNK. The album was released on January 27, 2023. It was number one on the French albums chart for two weeks. Other songs from the album included "Baby" and "Daddy" with SDM. On August 17, she released a special version of DNK with three extra songs.
On January 25, 2024, she released the song "Hypé". On March 7, a remix of "Hypé" with Ayra Starr came out. In April 2024, she won three awards at the Flammes Awards. She released more songs like "Doggy", "Si Si" (with Morad), and "42". She also appeared as a judge on the show Nouvelle École. On July 26, 2024, she performed at the opening ceremony for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Her performance was a huge hit online. Her mix of "Pookie" and Charles Aznavour's "For Me… Formidable" was very popular.
In February 2025, she released the song "Chimiyé".
Her Music Style
Aya Nakamura's music mixes different styles like pop, R&B, zouk, and Afrobeats. A writer from Pitchfork called her "fearlessly genre-bending". This means she is brave in mixing different music styles. She writes her own songs in French. She often uses slang words and words from other languages like English, Arabic, and Bambara. Because her family are griots, some people say she continues their tradition. However, she believes her music is different.
Personal Life
Aya Nakamura is Muslim. Since 2019, she has supported the ALIYAH association. This group was started by the parents of a young girl with a serious health condition.
Nakamura had her first child, a daughter, in 2016. She has not shared who the father is. She had a brief relationship with music producer Vladimir Boudnikoff. Their daughter was born in January 2022.
Discography
Albums
| Title | Details | Peak positions | Units | Certification | ||||||
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| FRA |
BEL (FL) |
BEL (WA) |
NLD |
ITA |
SPA |
SWI |
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| Journal intime |
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6 | 143 | 34 | — | — | — | — |
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| Nakamura |
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3 | 29 | 8 | 10 | 90 | 92 | 20 |
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| Aya |
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2 | 14 | 2 | 36 | — | 71 | 8 |
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| DNK |
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1 | 65 | 2 | — | — | — | 6 |
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| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA |
BEL (FL) |
BEL (WA) |
GER |
ITA |
NLD |
POR |
SPA |
SWE |
SWI |
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| "Super héros" (featuring Gradur) |
2016 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Journal intime | ||
| "Comportement" | 2017 | 13 | — | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| "Oumou Sangaré" | 2018 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Djadja" (solo, featuring Loredana or Maluma) |
1 | 16 | 16 | 43 | 23 | 1 | 37 | 5 | 72 | 29 |
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Nakamura | ||
| "Copines" | 1 | — | 7 | — | — | 46 | 181 | — | — | 60 |
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| "Pookie" (solo, featuring Lil Pump or Capo Plaza) |
2019 | 5 | 18 | 9 | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | 55 |
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| "Soldat" | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| "Jolie nana" | 2020 | 1 | 8 | 2 | — | — | 18 | — | — | — | 4 |
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Aya | |
| "Doudou" | 6 | — | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| "Bobo" | 2021 | 3 | — | 23 | — | — | 67 | — | — | — | 16 | Non-album singles | ||
| "Dégaine" (featuring Damso) |
2022 | 1 | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 19 |
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| "Méchante" | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "VIP" | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "SMS" | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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DNK | ||
| "Baby" | 2023 | 2 | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 |
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| "DJO" | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mood 3 | |||
| "Hypé" (solo or featuring Ayra Starr) |
2024 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 |
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non-album single | |
| "Doggy" | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Avec classe" (with Corneille and Trinix) |
20 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "42" | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Baddies" (with Joé Dwèt Filé) |
2025 | 7 | — | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
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| FRA |
BEL (WA) |
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| "Love d'un voyou" (Fababy featuring Aya Nakamura) |
2015 | 9 | 37* (Ultratip) |
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| "Sorry" (Abou Debeing featuring Aya Nakamura) |
2016 | 188 | — | ||||||||||
| "Bad Boy" (Fally Ipupa featuring Aya Nakamura) |
2017 | 68 | — |
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| "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) |
— | — | |||||||||||
| "C'est cuit" (Major Lazer featuring Aya Nakamura and Swae Lee) |
2021 | 72 | — | Music Is the Weapon (Reloaded) | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts
Other charted and certified songs
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certification | Album | |||
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| FRA |
BEL (WA) |
SWI |
SPA |
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| "Oublier" | 2016 | 96 | — | — | — | Journal intime | |
| "Fuego" (featuring Dadju) |
2017 | 85 | — | — | — | ||
| "J'ai mal (Part 2)" | 18 | — | — | — | |||
| "Problèmes" (featuring MHD) |
118 | — | — | — | |||
| "Jalousie" (featuring Lartiste) |
121 | — | — | — | |||
| "Karma" | 146 | — | — | — | |||
| "Orphelin" (featuring KeBlack) |
151 | — | — | — | |||
| "La dot" | 2018 | 3 | 32 | 71 | — |
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Nakamura |
| "Sucette" (featuring Niska) |
4 | — | — | — |
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| "Oula" | 5 | — | — | — |
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| "Pompom" | 8 | — | — | — |
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| "Ça fait mal" | 13 | — | — | — | |||
| "Whine Up" | 15 | — | — | — | |||
| "Gangster" | 18 | — | — | — |
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| "Faya" | 21 | — | — | — | |||
| "Gang" (featuring Davido) |
35 | — | — | — | |||
| "Dans ma bulle" | 40 | — | — | — | |||
| "Cadeau" (featuring Naza) |
171 | — | 60 | — | |||
| "40%" | 2019 | 4 | 30 | — | — |
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Nakamura (Deluxe Edition) |
| "Claqué" | 45 | — | — | — | |||
| "Idiot" | 65 | — | — | — | |||
| "Plus jamais" (featuring Stormzy) |
2020 | 1 | 36 | 24 | — |
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Aya |
| "Tchop" | 7 | — | 62 | — | |||
| "Préféré" (featuring Oboy) |
4 | — | — | — | |||
| "Fly" | 8 | — | — | — | |||
| "Sentiments grandissants" | 9 | — | — | — | |||
| "Love de moi" | 13 | — | — | — | |||
| "Biff" | 14 | — | — | — | |||
| "Nirvana" | 17 | — | — | — | |||
| "Ça blesse" | 18 | — | — | — | |||
| "Hot" | 19 | — | — | — |
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| "La machine" | 21 | — | — | — | |||
| "Mon chéri" | 27 | — | — | — | |||
| "Mon lossa" (featuring Ms Banks) |
28 | — | — | — | |||
| "Ailleurs" | 2021 | 124 | — | — | — | 20/21 | |
| "Cadeau" (featuring Tiakola) |
2023 | 4 | 47 | — | — | DNK | |
| "Daddy" | 6 | — | 99 | — | |||
| "Chacun" (featuring Kim) |
25 | — | — | — | |||
| "Corazon" | 27 | — | — | — | |||
| "Tous les jours" | 37 | — | — | — | |||
| "T'as peur"
(featuring Myke Towers) |
38 | — | — | 29 |
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| "Beleck" | 39 | — | — | — | |||
| "Coller" | 51 | — | — | — | |||
| "Haut niveau" | 56 | — | — | — | |||
| "Le goût" | 59 | — | — | — | |||
| "Bloqué" | 80 | — | — | — | |||
| "Bisous" | 62 | — | — | — | |||
| "Chérie" | 23 | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
Tours
Headlining
- Nakamura Tour (2019)
- DNK Tour (2023–2024)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | W9 D'OR | Most Lstened Female Artist | Herself | Won |
| 2019 | Music Moves Europe Talent Awards | Public Choice Awards (France) | Won | |
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best French Act | Nominated | ||
| BET Awards | Best International Act | Nominated | ||
| All Africa Music Awards | Best Francophone | Nominated | ||
| Artist of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Crossing Boundaries with Music Award | Nominated | |||
| Best Female West Africa | Nominated | |||
| Best Collaboration | "Sucette" (feat. Niska) | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year | "Pookie" | Nominated | ||
| NRJ Music Awards | Francophone Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Francophone Performance of the Night | Nominated | |||
| Francophone Female Artist | Herself | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Best French Act | Herself | Nominated |
| NRJ Music Awards | Francophone Female Artist of the Year | Herself | Won | |
| 2021 | Apple Music Awards | Artist of the Year (France) | Herself | Won |
| 2023 | The Future Awards Africa | Prize for Music | Herself | Pending |
See also
In Spanish: Aya Nakamura para niños
