Grammy Award-winning singer Angélique Kidjo, will be the first African to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Kidjo will formally receive her star at a ceremony in Hollywood later this year.
The Beninoise-French musician is part of 35 esteemed individuals who will be enshrined onto the Walk of Fame as part of the prestigious Class of 2026.
Kidjo has won five Grammy Awards and is a 2023 Polar Music Prize laureate. The singer’s vast catalogue of albums, has been performed around the world, and she has frequently collaborated with artists across the globe.
She performed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on July 23, 2021 and that same year, Time included her in their list of the 100 most influential people in the world
Kidjo is fluent in five languages: Fon, French, Yorùbá, Gen (Mina) and English. She sings in all of them, and she also has her own personal language, which includes words that serve as song titles such as “Batonga”. Kidjo often uses Benin’s traditional Zilin vocal technique and vocalese.
