She was subjected to racist attacks when she performed at the Olympic opening in France: Who is Aya Nakamura?

The 28-year-old singer is known for her hit songs such as "Djadja", which has nearly one billion views on YouTube alone.

The racist harassment came after it was announced that the singer would sing at the Olympic opening.

Nakamura's name was booed by the crowd at a campaign rally organized by the Reconquest party, led by far-right former presidential candidate Eric Zemmour.

Far-right groups hung a banner on the banks of the Seine River that read, "This is impossible, Aya. This is Paris, not the Bamako market."

Aya Coco Danioko (born 10 May 1995), known professionally as Aya Nakamura, is a French-Malian singer-songwriter. She began publishing her music online, gaining a following with the songs "Karma" and "J'ai mal". Dembo Camara, a longtime friend, became her producer and manager. Her song "Brisé" garnered traction on YouTube, and a duet with rapper Fababy, "Love d'un voyou", resulted in her charting in France for the first time.

Another group fighting discrimination, SOS Racism, announced that it had filed a formal complaint against the artist on social media for "incitement to discrimination and racist cyberbullying".

The statement said that Nakamura was "a victim of waves of racist hatred directed by the far-right".

Officials from the Olympic organizing committee said on Monday that they were "shocked" by the reactions against the singer.

From the Netherlands to Sweden, from Israel to Russia

Contrary to popular belief, Aya Nakamura is not Japanese. She is a French woman of Malian origin. She is only 28 years old. With her African-inflected song 'Djadja', Nakamura first made a name for herself in French-speaking countries, namely France, Belgium, and Switzerland, and then in the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Israel, and Russia. We can call the singer's musical genre 'Afropop'. But of course, we can't just say 'Afropop' either. The sweet combination of pop, R&B, and funk is Nakamura's style.

'Pookie' is even more interesting than 'Djadja'

Although her latest song 'Pookie' falls behind 'Djadja' in terms of quantitative success, I still think it's a very interesting song. The superficial, disjointed-sounding song easily stands out from the similar songs of recent times. Yes, it doesn't conquer the world from the start, but it still manages to gain a place for itself thanks to its ambition.

She brought Afropop to the mainstream

Aya Nakamura's recent surprise success doesn't come as a surprise to me, to be honest. In Europe, there is always a 'French quota'. It's enough to move the masses with a striking sound. Zaz managed to make a difference with her acoustics, Indila with her melodic-sounding vocals, and Stromae with her style. Of course, someone had to bring Afropop to the mainstream. It seems like we will hear the name of Aya Nakamura, who is very close to becoming France's new star, as long as she continues to combine tropical sounds with pop...

Who is Aya Nakamura?

Aya Nakamura, known by her stage name Aya Coco Danioko, is a French pop singer born in Mali on May 10, 1995.

Born in Bamako, Nakamura immigrated to France with her family and grew up in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a northern suburb of Paris. Nakamura, who is a member of a griot family, is the oldest of five siblings. She continued her education in fashion at La Courneuve. She started her music career with the stage name Aya Nakamura, inspired by Hiro Nakamura, the character in NBC's science fiction series "Heroes".