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Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (born 14 September 1980), known professionally as Ayọ, is a German singer, songwriter and actress. She uses the
Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
translation Ayọ or Ayo. of her first name ''Joy''. Her debut album '' Joyful'', released in 2006, reached
Double-Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
status in France,
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
in Germany and Poland, and
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status in Switzerland, Italy, and Greece.
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
released the album in the United States on 20 November 2007. Born in
Frechen Frechen (; Ripuarian: ''Frechem'') is a town in the Rhein-Erft District, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Frechen was first mentioned in 877. It is situated at the western Cologne city border. It is the site of the 1257 Battle of Frechen betwee ...
near
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, Germany, she has a son named Nile, who was born in late 2005 and a daughter named Billie-Eve, born July 2010, with the Sierra Leonian-German
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
singer
Patrice Patrice is a given name meaning '' noble'' or '' patrician'', related to the names Patrick and Patricia. In English, Patrice is often a feminine first name. In French, it is used as a masculine first name. Popularity In the United States, the pop ...
, from whom she is now separated. In March 2017, her third child, Jimi-Julius, was born. At the end of 2007, she moved with her family to the
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
section of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in New York City. Currently, she lives in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York with her children. Then-president of
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
France, Jacques Hintzy, announced on 4 February 2009 that the singer was named patron of UNICEF to promote the right to education for all children in the world. The French production company MK2 produced the film ''
Ayo Joy ''Ayo Joy'' is a 2009 documentary film produced by the French company MK2 and directed by Raphaël Duroy about the singer Ayọ Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (born 14 September 1980), known professionally as Ayọ, is a German singer, songwriter an ...
'', a 90-minute documentary about the singer and her life, in 2009. The film was directed by Raphaël Duroy.


Biography


Early years

Ayọ was born in 1980 near
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, then in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, as the fourth child of a
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n father and a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
- Sinti mother. She lived for a short time in Nigeria as a baby. She has one sister and two brothers. When she was about six years old, her mother became addicted to
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
and spent some time in jail. After her parents divorced, she and two of her siblings spent periods of time in
care Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (relief agency), "Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere", an international aid and ...
and with foster families. She spent four years in a children's home in Schwalmtal-
Waldniel Waldniel is a village, part of the municipality Schwalmtal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schwalmtal in the district Viersen (district), Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has 11,750 inhabitants (December 2020). History The first humans lived ...
where she learned to play violin and piano and became in 1992 a member of its music band "La Taste". When she was fourteen she was considered old enough by the authorities to live again with her father.


Musical career

At the age of six, Ayọ played the violin for a short time, then turned to the piano and later taught herself to play the guitar. While she was member of the band "La Taste" during her stay at the children's home in Waldniel she and eighteen other young band members recorded during summer 1992 the CD ''Kido Musik'' at the recording studio "Man Made Noise". During that time she also appeared for the first time in May 1993 in a music video, ''La Maladie d`Amour'', and performed at a public concert. When she was about 15, she wrote her first song, which was about her mother, and which helped her to cope with her traumatic childhood. Her musical taste was influenced by her father's large selection of vinyl albums which included
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
,
Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...
,
Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...
,
Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...
and
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
. When her father, who worked part-time as a DJ while studying engineering in Germany, discovered her singing talent he recorded a first demo tape with her in a studio and allowed her to drop out of school at the age of eighteen. At twenty-one, Ayọ moved to London and later lived in Paris and New York City. During her time in Paris, her musical talent was noticed by a broader audience, and she gave her first solo concerts, opened 2002 for
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
singers
Omar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
and
Cody Chesnutt Cody Chesnutt (stylized as Cody ChesnuTT; born October 21, 1968) is an American R&B and neo soul musician from Atlanta, Georgia. Biography Chesnutt's music blends elements of rock, funk, soul, hip hop, and blues. After relocating to Los Ang ...
, and signed a contract with
Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
. Shortly after giving birth to her son Nile, she recorded her first album ''Joyful'' in January 2006 in the New York
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
studio. The whole disc was recorded in just five days under live conditions, with a group of musicians organized by her producer
Jay Newland Jay Newland is an American music producer, engineer and mixer, perhaps best known for his work with Norah Jones on her 2002 debut album ''Come Away with Me'', one of the best-selling albums of all time, with 27 million units sold worldwide to da ...
. The album was released in June 2006 in Europe and
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, and in the United States and Japan in November 2007. At the end of 2007, Ayọ started a concert tour through Germany and the United States. On her American tour she performed with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. On 10 January 2008, she appeared on the
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
, and on 26 January 2008,
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, ...
, performing her song ''Down on My Knees''. In June 2008, the singer started her second tour through the United States and Canada. On 10 March 2008, Ayọ started recording on her second album '' Gravity at Last'' at the Compass Point Studios in
Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
on the Island of
New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...
, The Bahamas. She is co-producing the album with Jay Newland. Her band includes Keith Christopherson (bass), Larry Campbell (guitars and other string instruments),
Lucky Peterson Judge Kenneth Peterson (December 13, 1964 – May 17, 2020), known professionally as Lucky Peterson, was an American musician who played contemporary blues, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. He played guitar and keyboards Keyboard ma ...
(keyboards), Sherrod Barnes (guitar/vocals) and Jermaine Parrish (drums). The album with 13 tracks that were written and composed by the singer was recorded in only 5 days and was released at the end of September 2008 by
Universal Music France Universal Music Group owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here. According to UMG official site, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Bravado, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammopho ...
. The album reached number 1 on the French album charts in October. On 21. In November 2008, Ayọ started her promotion tour for the album in Berlin which includes around 30 concerts in five European countries. In 2008, Ayo won an EBBA Award for her album ''Joyful''. Every year, the European Border Breakers Awards recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year. Ayọ's third album '' Billie-Eve'', named after her daughter, was recorded in New York City with the cooperation of musicians like
Craig Ross Craig David Ross is an American guitarist best known for performing and recording with Lenny Kravitz. Early life Craig Ross was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He has two daughters named Mia and Devon with his first wife Anna. Sinc ...
(guitarist of
Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...
), the rapper
Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film ''Slam'' ...
, Matthieu Chedid and Gail Ann Dorsey, bass player of
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
. The album is first released on 7 March 2011 in France and Ayọ starts a promotional tour through France and Poland on 21 March 2011. Ayọ signed with MBM Records in 2011 in the US. Billie-Eve was released in the United States on 20 March 2012. At the end of 2011, the singer moved within the Universal Group from the Polydor label to the labels
Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
France and
Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
. In 2013, Ayọ started to record her fourth album '' Ticket to the World'', which was released on 7 October 2013, with the producer Jay Newland who produced also her first two albums. The first single from this album, ''Fire'', has been released on 10 June 2013. A second version of the single featuring the French rapper Youssoupha was released in August 2013. After the album release, Ayọ tours from end of October 2013 for several months through Europe. Most concerts take place in France but she also performs in Luxembourg, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, Germany, UK, and other countries. Ayọ was asked by Arte to
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
the classic song ''Sunny'' by
Bobby Hebb Robert Von Hebb (July 26, 1938 – August 3, 2010) was an American R&B and soul singer, musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer known for his 1966 hit entitled " Sunny". Biography Hebb was born in Nashville, Tennessee. His par ...
as soundtrack for their 2013 ''Summer of Soul'' program. From 14 July to 18 August 2013, she presents every Sunday evening this program on the French TV broadcast. The soundtrack was released on 14 July 2013 in France on a special three CD edition by
Fnac Fnac () is a large French retail chain selling cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its head office is in ''Le Flavia'' in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris. It is an abbreviation of Fédération Nationale d ...
. On 10 March 2014 at Le Lido, Ayọ won the category 'Best Female Singer' of the
Globes de Cristal Award The Awards (English: Crystal Globe Awards) is a set of awards bestowed by members of the France, French Press Association recognizing excellence in home art and culture. The annual formal ceremony and dinner at which the awards are presented happ ...
, which is bestowed by members of the French Press Association recognizing excellence in French art and culture. The other nominees in that category were Carla Bruni, HollySiz, Vanessa Paradis and
Zaz ZAZ or Zaporizhzhia Automobile Building Plant ( uk, ЗАЗ, Запорізький автомобілебудівний завод, ''Zaporiz'kyi avtomobilebudivnyi zavod'' or ''Zaporiz'kyi avtozavod'') is the main automobile manufacturer of Ukr ...
. In 2014, Ayọ organized in Paris undercover with an amateur choir a flash mob in the restaurant Rotonde de la Villette where she sang with the choir her song ''Who''. The film about the action 'Mission Incognito: Ayo', directed by Lorenz Findeisen, was shown on the French-German TV network Arte in August 2014. Other episodes of this series featured the artists
Rolando Villazón Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born 22 February 1972) is a Mexican operatic tenor, stage director, author, radio and television personality and artistic director. He now lives in France, and in 2007 became a French citizen. Villazón has published ...
,
Jim Avignon Enfants Terribles also Nana ET Matvey
, Website of the artist duo, Retrieved 16 August 2015.
is an artist duo consisti ...
and Ulrich Matthes. Ayọ was awarded the Grand Prize for SACEM repertoire abroad on 24 October 2014 at Olympia, Paris. On 21 June 2015, Ayọ released a self-made music video on YouTube (renamed to ''Send This Message To All Your Friends'' on 22 June 2015) featuring the song ''Boom Boom'', which she has written 10 months previously and so far only performed at live concerts, to react to the ongoing
racial violence Ethnic violence is a form of political violence which is expressly motivated by ethnic hatred and ethnic conflict. Forms of ethnic violence which can be argued to have the characteristics of terrorism may be known as ethnic terrorism or ethnica ...
in the United States. She announced the release on her official social media accounts on
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
, Facebook and Twitter. In an interview in July 2015 Ayọ said that she has left the label Universal after ten years of cooperation because artists become objects in the music industry and she wants to be free. In 2017, Ayọ released two singles, each accompanied by a music video, from her fifth album announced to be released in October that year. The first single, "I'm a Fool", was released in June and the second single "
Paname Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Sin ...
" (a nickname for Paris and its suburbs) in September. On 6 October 2017, the fifth album of the singer was released which was named ''
Ayọ Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (born 14 September 1980), known professionally as Ayọ, is a German singer, songwriter and actress. She uses the Yoruba translation Ayọ or Ayo. of her first name ''Joy''. Her debut album '' Joyful'', released in 2006, ...
'' after herself. On 15 October 2019, Ayọ released her single ''Beautiful'' under the Wagram Music/3ème Bureau label, a song from her sixth album ''
Royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
'' which was released on 31 January 2020. A second single with the track "Rest assured" was released earlier in January 2020.


Acting career

In April 2014, Ayọ's concert tour was interrupted for several weeks as she played the lead role in the movie ''
Murder in Pacot ''Murder in Pacot'' (french: Meurtre à Pacot, german: Mord in Haiti) is a feature film by Haitian film director Raoul Peck. The film stars Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin, Alex Descas, Thibault Vinçon, and Lovely Kermonde Fifi and is a continuation o ...
'' (''Meurtre à Pacot'') by the award-winning Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, which was filmed in
Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
, Haiti, in April and May 2014. This was the singer's first appearance as an actress in a
feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
. The film describes how the life of a rich family in Haiti changes after the
2010 earthquake Earthquakes in 2010 resulted in nearly 165,000 fatalities. Most of these were due to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which caused an estimated 160,000 deaths, making it the 11th deadliest earthquake in recorded history. Other deadly quakes occurred i ...
. Besides Ayọ the film features French actors
Alex Descas Alex Descas (born 1958) is a French actor known for his roles in films by Claire Denis and Jim Jarmusch. In France he is also known for his role as Schneider in the French TV series ''Un Flic''. He is a frequent collaborator of Claire Denis, app ...
and
Thibault Vinçon Thibault Vinçon (born 15 July 1976) is a French film and theater actor. He studied at the French National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Paris.
and Haitian poet and novice actress Kermonde Lovely Fifi. The script was co-written by the Haitian novelist and poet Lyonel Trouillot and the screenwriter
Pascal Bonitzer Pascal Bonitzer (; born 1 February 1946) is a French screenwriter, film director, actor, and former film critic for '' Cahiers du cinéma''. He has written for 48 films and has appeared in 30 films since 1967. He starred in Raúl Ruiz's 1978 fi ...
. The film had its world premiere at the 2014
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
on 5 September 2014. The European premiere of the film was in the Panorama category of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival on 7 February 2015. Ayọ, the other leading actors, producer Remi Grellety, and director Raoul Peck attended the second screening of the film on 10 February at the
Zoo Palast The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
after a photocall and press conference at the Grand Hyatt hotel. Ayọ (Joy Ogunmakin) is part of the cast of the German science fiction drama ''VOLT'' written and directed by Tarek Ehlail which was filmed around Cologne and scheduled for release in 2016. The German-French co-production is produced by augenschein-Filmproduktion and Les Films D’Antoine. Ayọ plays the role of LaBlanche besides actors
Benno Fürmann Benjamin "Benno" Fürmann (; born 17 January 1972) is a German film and television actor. He is known for his lead role in the 2008 film ''The North Face'', where he plays Toni Kurz based on the 1936 Eiger climbing disaster in Switzerland. Li ...
,
Denis Moschitto Denis Moschitto (born 22 June 1977) is a German actor best known for his roles in ''Kebab Connection'' (2005), ''Chiko'' (2008) and '' In the Fade'' (2017). Early life Moschitto was born in Cologne, West Germany, to an Italian father and a T ...
, and
Stipe Erceg Stipe Erceg (; born 30 October 1974) is a German/Croatian actor. He is notable for playing the role of Peter in the 2004 Hans Weingartner film ''The Edukators'' alongside Daniel Brühl and Julia Jentsch, as well as the role of Holger Meins in '' ...
. Ayọ Ogunmakin has been nominated in the category 'German Cinema New Talent Award: Actor' at the
Filmfest München The Munich International Film Festival (german: Filmfest München) is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late-June/earl ...
2016 for her role in ''VOLT''. The film has its world premiere screening in Munich on the 24 June 2016.


Discography

Albums * '' Joyful'' (2006) * '' Gravity at Last'' (2008) * '' Billie-Eve'' (2011) * '' Ticket to the World'' (2013) * ''
Ayọ Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (born 14 September 1980), known professionally as Ayọ, is a German singer, songwriter and actress. She uses the Yoruba translation Ayọ or Ayo. of her first name ''Joy''. Her debut album '' Joyful'', released in 2006, ...
'' (2017) * ''
Royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
'' (2020) Singles * "Life Is Real" (2006) * "Down on My Knees" (2006) * "And It's Supposed to Be Love" (2007) (2008, US) * "Help is Coming" (2007) * "Slow Slow (Run Run)" (2008) * "On aime, on aide" (2009) * "Lonely" (2009) * "I'm Gonna Dance" (2011) * "I Want You Back" (2011) * "Fire" (2013) * "Fire" featuring Youssoupha (2013) * "Who" (2014) * "I'm a Fool" (2017) * "Paname" (2017) * "Beautiful" (2019) * "Rest assured" (2020) * "I'll Be Right Here" featuring Keziah Jones (2021) DVDs * ''AYO Live in Monte Carlo'' (2007, from
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
) * ''Ayọ Live at the Olympia'' (2007) EP * ''Where Will I Be'' (
vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
, 2004) Contributions * "Kido Musik" (as Joy, member of the band La Taste, 1992) * "Liebe & Verstand" (with ''
Sisters Keepers Sisters Keepers were initially a subset of the band Brothers Keepers, formed in the autumn of 2001 in Germany, joined a compilation album ''Lightkultur'' (WEA) by the Brothers Keepers. Appealing against racism, famous female and mainly Afro-German ...
'' , 2001) * "Confusion" (on Ep ''Cris Prolific'' ersatile records 2004) * "Play Boy" (on album ''PlayUp'', 2006) * "Worried About You" (on album ''Heaven'' by
The Avener Tristan Casara (born 23 January 1987), known by his stage name The Avener (), is a French deep house and electro DJ and music producer from Nice. He is best known for his 2014 single "Fade Out Lines", a deep house rework of "The Fade Out Line ...
, 2020) Music videos * "La Maladie d`Amour" (as Joy, member of the band La Taste, 1993) * "Down on My Knees" (2006) * "Help Is Coming" (2007) * "Life Is Real" (2007) * "And It's Supposed to Be Love" (2007) * "Slow Slow (Run Run)" (2008) * "Lonely" (2009) * "I'm Gonna Dance" (2011) * "I Want You Back" (2011) (directed by J.G Biggs) * "Boom Boom" (2015) * "I'm a Fool" (2017)


Filmography

* ''
Ayo Joy ''Ayo Joy'' is a 2009 documentary film produced by the French company MK2 and directed by Raphaël Duroy about the singer Ayọ Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (born 14 September 1980), known professionally as Ayọ, is a German singer, songwriter an ...
'' (2009 documentary) * ''
Murder in Pacot ''Murder in Pacot'' (french: Meurtre à Pacot, german: Mord in Haiti) is a feature film by Haitian film director Raoul Peck. The film stars Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin, Alex Descas, Thibault Vinçon, and Lovely Kermonde Fifi and is a continuation o ...
'' (2015) * ''Volt'' (2016)


TV

* ''Summer of Soul'' (2013, French Arte TV) * ''Mission Incognito: Ayo'' (2014, ARTE)


Awards

* European Border Breakers Awards 2008 *
Globes de Cristal Award The Awards (English: Crystal Globe Awards) is a set of awards bestowed by members of the France, French Press Association recognizing excellence in home art and culture. The annual formal ceremony and dinner at which the awards are presented happ ...
, Best Female Singer 2014 * Grand Prize for SACEM repertoire abroad


References


External links

*
Ayọ
on MySpace *
Ayọ Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (born 14 September 1980), known professionally as Ayọ, is a German singer, songwriter and actress. She uses the Yoruba translation Ayọ or Ayo. of her first name ''Joy''. Her debut album '' Joyful'', released in 2006, ...
on
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
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Wiki with detailed biography and discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayo 1980 births Living people English-language singers from Germany German people of Nigerian descent German people of Yoruba descent German people of Romani descent German soul singers German singer-songwriters 21st-century German actresses Yoruba women musicians Yoruba actresses People from Frechen German expatriates in the United States German expatriates in France UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Romani musicians Romani actresses 21st-century German women singers