The Paris Olympics opening ceremony celebrated France’s cultural heritage and sportsmanship on Friday evening. Performers from around the world took part in the event – from Lady Gaga to Celine Dion. One of the French headliners was Aya Nakamura, one of the most popular artists in Europe.
The 29-year-old walked out in a gold Dior dress covered in feathers while surrounded by a group of dancers and members of France’s Republican Guard. Nakamura sang two of her hit singles, “Pookie” and “Djadja,” as well as a cover of Charles Aznavour’s “For Me Formidable.”
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After rumors of her participation in the opening ceremony started circulating, she became the target of racist criticism from France’s far right party and its supporters. Some criticized her for not being representative of the country for having Malian roots – among other more fiery remarks.
“She speaks to a good number of our fellow citizens, and I think she is absolutely in her rightful place in an opening or closing ceremony,” French president Emmanuel Macron told The Guardian.
@larcparis Queen @Aya Nakamura just after the Olympics ceremony ❤️ #larcparis ♬ son original – Franceinfo
Nakamura is a multi-platinum pop artist with 25 top ten singles in France. Her catalog has been streamed seven billion times and she sold out three Paris concerts in under 15 minutes last year, according to the British news outlet.
In April 2024, she took home France’s Les Flammes awards for female artist of the year, pop album of the year and international star of the year. She dedicated her awards to “all black women,” according to NBC News.
“At the beginning of my career, I was rather skeptical about this idea of a role model. But it is a reality: I have influence,” she told France’s CB News. “If I allow, through my work and my commitments, certain women to assert themselves, then it is a source of pride! I believe that influence must be useful. Otherwise it is useless.”
The singer, whose birth name is Aya Danioko, was born in Mali and raised in the suburbs of Paris. She is the oldest of five siblings and the mother of two children, according to The New York Times.
“I would have never followed this path and found this specific voice if my mother was not a griot,” she told Dazed about the role that her upbringing played in her music career. “Her singing is very much part of my own story. Griots are messengers of the oral culture in Africa. She also funded my very first studio lesson. It was a real asset for me.”
Nakamura sings in a combination of French, Arabic, English and Bambara.
