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Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin
Photo: Nicolas Esposito · CC BY 2.0

Artist · Germany

Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin

Since 1980

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About

Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (; born 14 September 1980), known professionally as Ayọ (, also rendered Ayo.), is a German singer and actress. Her stage name derives from the Yoruba translation of her given name, Joy.

Her debut album Joyful, released in 2006, reached Double-Platinum status in France, Platinum in Germany and Poland, and Gold status in Switzerland, Italy, and Greece. Interscope Records released the album in the United States on 20 November 2007.

Born in Frechen near Cologne, Germany, she has a son named Nile, who was born in late 2005 and a daughter named Billie-Eve, born July 2010, with the German reggae singer Patrice, from whom she is now separated. At the end of 2007, she moved with her family to the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan in New York City. Currently, she lives in Tahiti, French Polynesia with her children.

Then-president of UNICEF 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, a 90-minute documentary about the singer and her life, in 2009. The film was directed by Raphaël Duroy.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Also in Français

Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin, dite Ayọ, née le 14 septembre 1980 à Frechen, est une chanteuse et actrice allemande.

D'origine sinté d'Allemagne et nigériane, elle chante en langue anglaise avec un style musical mélangeant la soul, le folk et le reggae. Son nom de scène – Ayọ – signifie « joie » en yoruba. Elle s’exprime couramment en français lors de ses interviews.

En 2014, elle est récompensée meilleure interprète féminine aux Globes de cristal.

Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0