Grammy winner and UNICEF ambassador, Angélique Kidjo, shares insights on blending cultures, empowering women and youth, and her ongoing mission to bring Africa’s voice to the world. A conversation with Angélique Kidjo on the power of music, Africa’s future, and breaking boundaries.
Read MoreGrammy-nominated artist Angélique Kidjo, stunning in a black glittering suit paired with a light brown silk shirt and an elegantly wrapped Ankara scarf, left a lasting impression with her powerful performance at the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony.
Read MoreToday, JAZZ HOUSE KiDS announces international singer-songwriter, actor, and activist Angélique Kidjo as the special guest for the fundraiser, RALPH PUCCI 9th Annual Jazz Set, The Lowdown: Conversations with Christian, on March 6, 2025. Hosted by nine-time GRAMMY-winning bassist and composer Christian McBride, this intimate evening will benefit JAZZ HOUSE KiDS, the nationally acclaimed nonprofit that uses the power and legacy of jazz to give young people an artistic edge—providing them with access to world-class arts education and live performances regardless of financial constraints.
Read MoreAngélique Kidjo’s influence on the African music scene is immeasurable. Her exceptional artistry and astute showmanship have resulted in a career that stands alongside the greats of this century — and yet, Kidjo isn’t stopping. Forty years in, album after album, the multiple Grammy winner has transformed a dazzling kaleidoscope of influences, keeping in touch with modern sensibilities while reflecting her own long-held standards. OkayAfrica recently met the Beninese French icon at Carnegie Hall in New York City, where we had a conversation that ranged across her glittering career.
Read MoreIn a year marked by global challenges, the United Nations Foundation’s 2024 We the Peoples Global Leadership Awards Gala in New York City illuminated the transformative power of leadership and collaboration. Held in the heart of Manhattan on November 21, the event celebrated extraordinary individuals and organizations addressing some of the world’s most pressing issues—from climate change to gender equality. This year’s honorees included National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, Grammy-winning singer Angélique Kidjo and former New Zealand Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern.
Read MoreFor 40 years, Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? has been praised by some as a triumph of charitable fundraising and festive songwriting – and condemned by others as the most high-profile example of white saviourhood in pop. Now, to mark its latest anniversary, the song is coming back around for a fourth time, in the form of an all-star splicing of the three previous official versions. Announcing the new version, Bob Geldof, who masterminded the 1984 original, says Do They Know It’s Christmas? “tells the story not just of unbelievably great generational British talent, but still stands as a rebuke to that period in which it was first heard. The 80s proclaimed that ‘greed is good’. This song says it isn’t. It says it’s stupid.” Proceeds will benefit the Band Aid Charitable Trust, which supports health and anti-poverty initiatives across Africa.
Read MoreAngélique Kidjo is a Beninese French singer-songwriter, actress, and activist with such a long and influential career that she is now considered “The Queen of African Music.” Kidjo is a true force of nature. Angélique Kidjo, with the Color of Noize Orchestra conducted by Derrick Hodge, celebrates 40 years of music and JOY; on the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 8pm. Kidjo is a multi-Grammy winning, Beninese singer, UNICEF and OXFAM goodwill Ambassador who launched her music career in France. She is an African woman of the world who speaks fluent Fon, Yoruba, Gen, French, and English.
Read MoreOn Monday, October 7, 2024, an exceptional concert will take place in the sumptuous setting of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The artist Angélique Kidjo will give a unique and exclusive performance to mark the 40th anniversary of her career and the opening weekend of the "Révélation! Contemporary Art from Benin" exhibition. For the occasion, Angélique Kidjo will be accompanied by pianist Thierry Vaton.
Read MoreAngélique Kidjo made her name in France. But it was in the United States that she became a phenomenon. Winner of five prestigious Grammy Awards, named international ambassador for Unicef and invited to take part in major international events, the singer has colored world pop with African hues, forging collaborations with the most illustrious musicians of her time. Meet an artist with an atypical career and a major influence, before her concert at the Fête de l'Humanité on Sunday September 15, on the Angela Davis stage.
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Read MoreThis Wednesday, Angélique Kidjo performs live with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. “It has been a program we have been talking about for a while now,” Kidjo told WTOP. “The thing that was important for me was to come and pay tribute to the music that has inspired my music from the 60s (Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti and Youssou N’Dour) all the way down to today with the music of Burna Boy, Rema and all the young kids that grew up listening to my music. Music has informed me about the diversity of our shared humanity.”
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