Most listened to French-speaking singer in the world, Aya Nakamura tipped to sing at Olympics opening ceremony which will be held in Paris next July. If Emmanuel Macron recently declared that she could go on stage and sing a song by Edith Piaf, this outing quickly generated heated controversy. Several French citizens have in fact stated that they are against this idea, for reasons that are as shocking as they are stupid.
If the 28-year-old singer has been supported by many personalities, she now obtains the approval of the direct heirs of the singer Edith Piaf. Catherine Glavas and her sister Christie Laume, direct descendants of Edith Piaf, revealed that they had been contacted to be able to use two songs for free namely L’Hymne à l’amour and La Vie en rose. One of these two tubes could indeed be used during the Olympic Games ceremony and the heiresses accepted without hesitation.
Aya Nakamura: the heirs of Edith Piaf take her defense “I received a request from Raoul Breton editions to use L’Hymne à l’amour. They manage the rights to this song co-written by Édith and asked for my agreement to use it for free with a new orchestration and a singer . Without giving us a name. I obviously accepted, it’s so magnificent to open the Paris Olympics with Edith. It moves me a lot.” said Catherine Glavas.
Having subsequently learned that it could be Aya Nakamura, the heiress did not express refusal or disappointment. “From what I’m told, it’s Aya Nakamura who will sing and it’s the president who chose her. She certainly has talent. She also has a lot of success in the world. But I don’t know her”. For her part, Christie Laume, 82, also claimed not to know the singer. She just noticed: “I’m very open and I think it’s an interesting idea.”
While Aya Nakamura is strongly criticized by the far right and is the subject of racist attacks, Catherine Glavas expresses her disgust at this unjustified controversy. “Why not give it to Aya Nakamura?” she was surprised. To close the debate, she refocuses the matter on the music: “I would just like to hear him sing before the ceremony, to see what it sounds like.” ES