New Album - 'Angélique Kidjo SINGS with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg’

Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, famously known as Angélique Kidjo born July 14, 1960 and Grammy Award winner and activist from Benin, has released her latest album today 31st March, 2015.

She took to her facebook page to annouce their plessure and excitement about her new work.

 "My new album "Angelique Kidjo SINGS with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg" arranged and conducted by Gast Waltzing is coming out today!!! It includes some of my most famous songs sung with a beautiful classical orchestra.
You can find it here:

 iTunes: http://smarturl.it/Sings_ITMS...
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/Kidjo_Sings_AmzP

Thanks for sharing!



  Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award winning singer and songwriter and also activist from Benin , noted for her musical influences and creative african music videos.

This album is said to be her 13th Album and is expected to be one of the her best productions of a musical career that official started worldwide after her first album release in 1991 titled "Logozo" which includes songs like "WE WE" and "Batonga"; which reached Number one of the BILLBOARD WORLD MUSIC CHART. Her first album gave her the opportunity to participate in many festival across the world and also headlining the Olympia Hall in Paris on October 31, 1992.

Her second album  "Ayé" which includes "Agolo" was released in 1994 and won Kidjo her first Grammy nomination. 

As if that wasn't enough for her, Kidjo released her third album titled "Fifa" which had the biggest song in Africa in 1996 "Wombo Lombo". This same album had a song titled "Naima" which had Carlos Santana appearing on it and it said to be a piece Kidjo wrote for her daughter.

In 2007, Kidjo released her 8th album titled, "Djin Djin" (the sound of a bell in Africa that greets each new day). An album that featured Alicia Keys, Carlos Santana, Ziggy Marley, Josh Groban, Peter Gabriel, Amadou and Mariam, Joss Stone and Bransford Marsails. The Tony Visconti produced album, won a Grammy for Best Contemporary World Music album and a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding World Music album.

Interestingly, her next album (Õÿö) received a Grammy(53rd Grammys) nomination for the same category which she had won a before.

Angélique Kidjo has twelve albums to her credit namely,"Parakou" (1990), "Logozo"(1991), Ayé (1994), Fifa (1995-1996), Trilogy (1998), Oremi (a collection of songs mixing African and African-American influences). Black Ivory Soul (2002), Oyaya!(2004), Djin Djin (2007), Õÿö(2010), Spirit Rising (2012), EVE (18th January,2014) which she says,"Eve is an album of remembrance of African women I grew up with and a testament to the pride and strength that hide behind the smile that masks everyday troubles".
The album debuted at number 1 in the Billboard World Music chart. The album EVE was rated #1 in the Top 12 of World Music albums for 2014 by Radio France Internationale. Its opening track, "M'Baamba", featured in the New York Times′ "Top 10 songs of 2014" list. "EVE" won the Grammy for Best World Music Album at the 57th Grammy Awards.

Time magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva".
Angélique Kidjo has being included by the BBC in its list of the African continent's 50 most iconic figures and in 2014 according the New African magazine is one of the "Most Influential Africans" whiles Forbes Magazine list her to be one of the "40 Most Powerful Celebrities In Africa".

Angélique Kidjo's musical influences include the Afropop, Caribbean zouk, Congolese rumba, jazz, gospel, and Latin styles; as well as her childhood idols Bella Bellow, James Brown, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Miriam Makeba and Carlos Santana. She has recorded George Gershwin's "Summertime", Ravel's Boléro, Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" and the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter", and has collaborated with Dave Matthews and the Dave Matthews Band, Kelly Price, Alicia Keys, Branford Marsalis, Ziggy Marley, Philip Glass, Peter Gabriel, Bono, Carlos Santana, John Legend, Herbie Hancock, Josh Groban, Dr John, the Kronos Quartet and Cassandra Wilson. Kidjo's hit songs include "Agolo", "We We", "Adouma", "Wombo Lombo", "Afirika", "Batonga", and her version of "Malaika".

Kidjo is fluent in Fon, French, Yorùbá and English, and sings in all four languages; she also has her own personal language, which includes words that serve as song titles such as "Batonga". "Malaika" is a song sung in the Swahili language. Kidjo often utilizes Benin's traditional Zilin vocal technique and jazz vocalese.
Angelique is the recipient of the 2015 Crystal Award given by the World Economic Forum of Davos in Switzerland.

Angélique Kidjo is a mentor to soo many young talents especially one here in Ghana, Noella Wiyalla.
From the team at Studio360gh here in Accra,Ghana, we celebrate one of our own.
A true Pride of Africa. So Proud of you. #celebratingourown

 Research references:
1. Allmusic.com
2. Wikipedia
3.kidjo.com