“I didn't know what the Olympics represented”: Aya Nakamura breaks her silence and reacts to the controversies surrounding her participation

Singer Aya Nakamura and dancers perform on the Pont des Arts footbridge during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, on July 26, 2024. AFP – ESA ALEXANDER

Singer Aya Nakamura has broken her silence and responded to criticism following her performance at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Aya Nakamura made a lasting impression at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Her performance alongside the Republican Guard and her cover of the songsFor me, formidable and La Bohème, by Charles Aznavour sparked many reactions, including many controversies.

Internet users criticized Emmanuel Macron's choice to nominate the singer for this event, brandishing racist remarks.

“It was a little biased in my head”

Until this Sunday, August 25, 2024, Aya Nakamura had remained silent, letting the criticism accumulate. The singer has now spoken out on social media, including X.

"When I was asked to do the event, I didn't even know what the Olympics were, says the artist. When I say I didn't know what it was, I didn't know what it represented. It was a little skewed in my head. “I asked myself a lot of questions,” she said, quoted in particular by BFM and Here.

🚨 Aya Nakamura s’exprime sur sa participation aux JO et les polémiques pic.twitter.com/wM5GdeJEdg

— aya base. (@nakamura_base) August 25, 2024

"In relaxed mode"

"With the Olympic team, we organized the show in relaxed mode. But when I saw stuff on social media, luckily I didn't come across everything because I could have insulted moms."

"So proud of myself"

The artist was very happy to have agreed to do the ceremony: “It was so good. I'm so proud of myself. I'm happy. It's one more show that was done. We had a blast with the Republican Guard. We really had fun during rehearsals."

Aya Nakamura also talked about her Charles Aznavour medley, without revealing yet whether she planned to release a version on streaming platforms. "Charles Aznavour, a lot of people were surprised and asked me (to release) the cover," she said, before adding: "Charles Aznavour, you're kidding, he's technical. The way of posing in the 1950s has nothing to do with our way of singing. Go sing that when you're Aya Nakamura!"

Aya Nakamura à propos de sa reprise de Charles Aznavour pic.twitter.com/ULUHuSzkJw

— nakamura supremacy (@nakasupremacy) August 25, 2024

"I took it for everyone"

Regarding the racism she has experienced, the singer added: "I think that as a that black female artist, I took for everyone. I deal with discussions where people told me "Ah, you are sensitive ?" Well yeah", she said before denouncing "the caricature of the black woman that people saw in (her)".