She climbed another step of the podium, filling the Accor Arena three nights in a row. Aya Nakamura, the new face of Lancôme, served a diva show Friday night, in front of a 90% female audience.
The most listened to French singer in the world appears in skirt and top with bright fringes. She unveils an impeccable show, smiling and relaxed, under plays of light and flashes of flames on the ground. In the room, an overwhelming majority of black women, like Mendy 25 years old and his two girlfriends, from Evry. "We don't have many role models, she represents the success of our community. She also gives off good vibes, her sounds are catchy and she is also hyperfeminist! »
His arrival at the back of the stage, on a high platform, in his shiny outfit, is accompanied by a shower of confetti spangled above the pit. The diva posture is assumed, acclaimed. The six dancers squirm at her feet, swaying for her. When she goes up or down the different levels, she puts her hand on that of a dancer, like a princess. The interpreter of "Djadja" moves his body languidly, undulates his hips, displays his forms.
"So original and authentic"
And women love it. "It is anchored in our generation, it is luscious and assumes it," applaud Safietou and Sofia, Parisians. Lionel, a fan since "Love d'un voyou" duet with Fababy in 2015, likes that she is "so original and authentic". The small group, like many other fans, expected guests like Damso, Stormzy, SDM, with whom she shared duets. But it was Kim, iconic zouk singer, who came to share "Everyone".
After a "Gangster" on a background of red flowers biting the five big screens, the artist changes his outfit. A white jumpsuit, largely transparent and stitched with small pompoms. The room ignites for "Beleck", then "Pookie". The geysers of flames resume on the stage. The queen of the Accor Arena grooves on "Daddy". When she uses "You know all my positions" for her track "Favorite", the laptops in the room go more into selfie mode. The girls film each other between girlfriends, languid. "Baby" arrives on images of faceted balls. The party ends, the one who wanted to become a model maker put on a white dress veil, scarf tied on the chest. "Fly". Léana, 22, expected to "see her fly away" with her sails connected to her wrists. "She's too beautiful... »
Hawa, 40, holds her 6-year-old daughter's hand. "I wish I had a singer like her who looked like us when I was young. She owes her success to her determination and gives young people hope that anything is possible. Rively came angry that Live Nation, Aya Nakamura's producer, also programs Beyoncé the same night as the Frenchwoman. "His concert was announced after tonight's. But I don't regret anything, in the end. I was pleasantly surprised. The show was magnificent. She assumes herself on all levels, in her life choices as professionals. »
"We all recognize ourselves in her"
Could she be the French Beyoncé? "Oh no! His sounds come from kompa (Haitian music) as in "Dégaine", his influences are zouk, hip-hop, afro beat. Nothing to do with Beyoncé, nor in style either. It is unique. Marie, Clotilde and Roxane, thirty-year-old Parisians, do not shout too much to their entourage that they listen to the artist of Malian origin on repeat. In the subway, cleaning, in the evening, in the shower... "It's a bit of a shame at our age, or maybe because it's being criticized a lot, unfairly." They don't care, because Aya talks to them, "her sounds are our stories, when she says she doesn't neglect herself after a heartbreak. Aya is girl power, she boosts and talks to all women. »
Suzie ended up in "Love of a Rogue", when she was entering high school and her boyfriend was going through prison. "She could be our friend, we all recognize ourselves in her. We easily identify with what she tells about guys, romantic relationships. If for some, the dancers were not unanimous, if there was a lack of guests, Aya Nakamura signed a visually and musically successful show. Grateful to her audience, not very talkative, but happy to give and receive so much love.