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Aṣa | |
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 Aṣa by Lakin Ogunbanwo, 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Bukola Elemide |
| Born | (1982-09-17)17 September 1982 (age 42) Paris, France |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Labels | |
| Website | asaofficial |
Bukola Elemide (born 17 September 1982),[2] known professionally asAṣa (/ˈæʃə/ASH-ə,Yoruba:[àʃá],French:[aʃa]), is a French-Nigerian singer and songwriter.[3]
Aṣa was born in Paris to Nigerian parents who were working and studying cinematography in France. Her family returned to live in Nigeria when she was two years old. Her parents hail from,Ogun State, Nigeria.[4] Aṣa grew up inLagos city, in the south-western part of Nigeria, and 18 years later, returned to Paris, where her life as an artist took off.[2]
Asa's music influences grew over the years from the collection of great music her father had built up for his work as acinematographer. These records featuring American, Nigerian and Africansoul classics, included artists such asMarvin Gaye,Fela Kuti,Bob Marley,Aretha Franklin,King Sunny Adé,Diana Ross,Nina Simone, andMiriam Makeba. Aṣa drew inspiration from the collection of her father's playlist.[5]
In 2004, Asa met her manager and friend, Janet Nwose,[6] who introduced her toCobhams Asuquo, who in turn became the producer of her first studio albumAsa (Asha).
Aṣa returned to France at the age of 20 to study at the IMFP school ofjazz music, where she was told by teachers that she should go ahead and become a recording artist because she was ready and needed no schooling. Back in Nigeria, her first single, "Eyé Adaba," was beginning to get airplay. Aṣa soon signed toNaïve Records. Partnered with Asuquo, and with the new involvement of Christophe Dupouy and Benjamin Constant, she produced her first platinum-selling self-titled album,Aṣa. The release of the album saw Aṣa charting radios across Europe, Asia, and Africa and went on to win the prestigious French Constantin Award in 2008 when she was voted the best fresh talent of 10 singers or groups by a jury of 19 music-industry specialists in Paris.[7][8]
Her second album,Beautiful Imperfection, in collaboration with French composer Nicolas Mollard, was released on 25 October 2010, went platinum in 2011. The lead single fromBeautiful Imperfection, titled "Be My Man", was released in late September 2010. It was reported that by 2014 Aṣa sold 400,000 albums worldwide.[9]
Asa's third studio album,Bed of Stone, was released in August 2014. The singles are "Dead Again", "Eyo", "Satan Be Gone", "The One That Never Comes" and "Moving On". She went on a world tour from 2015 to 2017.
On 14 May 2019, she released a new single titled "The Beginning" and on 25 June 2019, she released the single "Good Thing".[10][11] On 11 September 2019, she announced on her Twitter page that her new album,Lucid, will be released on 11 October 2019, which it was. She released yet another album on 25 February 2022 titled "V" featuring the likes ofWizkid, Nigerian highlife duoThe Cavemen and Ghanaian artistAmaarae.
| Year | Album | Chart positions[12] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [13] | BEL [14] | ESP [15] | SUI [16] | US Heat [17] | World [18] | ||
| 2007 | Aṣa (Asha) | 15 | 81 | — | 65 | 32 | 3 |
| 2010 | Beautiful Imperfection | 14 | 35 | 61 | 54 | — | 3 |
| 2014 | Bed of Stone | 38 | 80 | — | 64 | — | — |
| 2019 | Lucid | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022 | V | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Year | Title | FRA [13] | BEL [14] | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Fire on the Mountain" | — | — | Aṣa (Asha) |
| "Jailer" | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "Be My Man" | 89 | 76 | Beautiful Imperfection |
| 2011 | "Why Can't We" | — | 94 | |
| 2012 | "The Way I Feel" | — | — | |
| "Ba Mi Dele" | — | — | Beautiful Imperfection (re-release) | |
| 2014 | "Dead Again" | 109 | — | Bed of Stone |
| 2015 | "Eyo" | — | — | |
| 2019 | "The Beginning" | — | — | Lucid |
| "Good Thing" | — | — | ||
| "My Dear" | — | — | ||
| 2022 | "Mayana" | V | ||
| 2022 | "Ocean" | V |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
