Ayo

Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (born September 14, 1980 in Frechen), also known as Ayo, is a German-born singer-songwriter and actress of Nigerian origin. The artist first attracted attention in 2006 with her album Joyful. The album became a hit in France and Germany and reached number 16 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart in 2007. She learned to play music as a child. Her interest in singing was awakened after her father, a DJ, allowed her to make a demo recording. After engagements in London and Paris, she tours Germany and opens a US tour for Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds. The concert album Live at the Olympia is released in 2007 and the concert is later broadcast on US TV. Gravity at Last is released in 2008, followed by Billie-Eve (2011), Ticket to the World (2013) and Ayo (2017). In 2014, she starred in the feature film Murder in Pacot by Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck and also appeared as an actress in VOLT (2016) by German director Tarek Ehiall. In 2018, she played several concerts at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri and at the O2 Academy in Newcastle, England. A year later, she released the single "Beautiful" from her sixth album Royal (2020). After that, things became a little quieter for the artist. Ayo returned in 2024 with the album Mami Wata. On it, she sings her first song in German with "Kinder (So kleine Hände)". The title is a cover version of a song by Bettina Wegner from 1976.

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