Aya Nakamura (born Aya Danioko) is a French-Malian pop artist. She was born in Bamako, Mali but was raised in the suburbs of Paris, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 2021. She comes from a family of griots, a group of travelling poets and storytellers originating from West Africa. She has been dubbed as the modern day ‘Queen of French Pop’ and she is the most listened to Francophone artist in the world, with hits like Djadja, Copines and Pookie generating hundreds of millions of streams.
The Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games took place in Paris on 29 July. The four-hour event included the flag parade along the Seine for all of the participating nations and their athletes as well as various artistic performances, including those from high-profile stars like Lady Gaga and Celine Dion. But for many French and Francophone viewers, Nakamura’s performance was one of the most memorable – it went viral on social media.
Nakamura’s language creativity vs. language purity
One of the main sources of controversy over Nakamura’s music is her lyrics. It is often not the content of her songs that gains negative attention, but rather the exact language she uses. In many of her songs, Nakamura uses African derived slang and verlan, a French linguistic technique exclusively used in slang in which words (or parts of words) are reversed.
Some examples include the invented phrase ‘tu dead ça’ and the word ‘tit-pe’ (rather than ‘petit’ to mean small) in Djadja as well as the term ‘tel-hô’ as opposed to ‘hôtel’ and the word ‘djo’ to refer to a man in Copines.
While slang and pop culture terms are typically uncontroversial, the use of terms and phrases connected to English in French has been long criticised by French linguists. One was Alain Rey, who publicly warned about the continued use of anglicismes (anglicisms, untranslated words or phrases or those directly translated from English which are incorrect in traditional French). He took particular note of Californismes (untranslated English-language pop culture terms, mainly of American origin), lamenting that they were “invading” the French language.
Although the topic is not as discussed in wider Anglophone society, language purity is a subject of major public debate in France. This can be seen with the proclaimed aim of “maintaining and preserving the purity of the French language” by L’Académie Française, which has been France’s linguistic watchdog since its inception in 1634.
The way that Nakamura experiments with French rather than sticking to more traditional vocabulary is one of the most criticised parts of her artistry, as well as its most distinct.
Racist attacks and backlash
Nakamura’s inclusion in the Olympic Opening Ceremony was long known in France, with initial rumours suggesting that she would perform a song originally by the famed Edith Piaf. While the performance remained unconfirmed, it caused outrage within far-right circles, with Nakamura receiving racist abuse.
A far-right group known as Les Natifs held a banner along the Seine river, which read “No way Aya. This is Paris, not the market at Bamako.” Nakamura responded to a picture of the banner on social media, saying “You may be racist but you are not deaf. That’s what hurts you. I’m the number one subject of the state in debates ect (sic), but what do I really owe you? Nothing at all.” The banner and its content were reported to the Paris prosecutor’s office and is now the subject of an investigation.
Additionally, far-right politicians have also expressed their opposition to her Olympic participation. Marion Maréchal from the Reconquest party stated that Nakamura “doesn’t sing in French” and National Rally leader Marine Le Pen deemed her selection as “not a beautiful symbol” of France.
Setting the stage
Along the Pont des Arts with the Institut de France (which houses L’Académie Française) in the background, Nakamura, her dancers and the Republican Guard Orchestra performed three songs. The set started and ended with two of Nakamura’s own hits, Pookie and Djadja. However, it was the choice for a second song which gained the most attention.
It was true that Nakamura would take on a French classic, but not one by Piaf. Rather, she performed Charles Aznavour’s For Me, Formidable. While the song itself is primarily about love, the theme of language is also prominent. This can be seen in both the seamless blending of English and French in the lyrics as well as some of the more specific words in the song.
For example, Nakamura opened her rendition with lyrics that translate to “I would do better to go and choose my vocabulary, to please you, in the language of Molière.” Furthermore, she continued with “you didn’t understand? Too bad” after singing some phrases that mixed English and French.
The golden moment
For the French public and the press, the symbolism involved in her performance was noteworthy and seen as a triumph on Nakamura’s part. The direct acknowledgement and subsequent dismissal of criticism regarding her language in front of L’Académie Française, the choice of gold clothing for her and her dancers as well as the blending of tradition and modernity with the involvement of the Republican Guard were all well received.
Le Monde called the choices a “stroke of genius”, Le Parisien dubbed it as “one of the best moments of the ceremony”, President Macron and Prime Minister Attal both took to social media to praise her performance and young people have visited the Pont des Arts (which they have also renamed Pont d’Aya) to recreate parts of her show for social media. But above all, Nakamura’s personal satisfaction with her performance was clear to see. She and her dancers hugged and celebrated backstage and she took pictures with the Republican Guard afterwards.
The debates may continue, but one thing is for certain. Nakamura performed at the Olympic Opening Ceremony, whether her detractors liked it or not.
