Ayọ

Ayọ
At the National Theatre in Warsaw, 19. November 2008 (photo by Bartek Kucharczyk)
Background information
Birth name	Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin
Also known as	Ayọ, Ayo.
Born	(1980-09-14) 14 September 1980 (age 36)
Origin	Cologne, Germany
Genres	Folk, Soul, Reggae
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter, Actress
Instruments	Guitar, Piano
Years active	2001-present
Labels	Mercury France & Motown (Universal), MBM Records
Website	www.ayomusic.com

Ayọ (born as Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin, 14 September 1980) is a Nigerian-German singer-songwriter and actress. She uses the Yoruba translation Ayọ or Ayo. of her first name Joy.

Her debut album Joyful, which was first released in 2006, reached Double-Platinum status in France, Platinum in Germany and Poland, Gold status in Switzerland and Italy and Greece. The album was released in the United States on 20 November 2007 by Interscope Records.

Ayọ was born in Frechen near Cologne, Germany. She has a son, Nile, who was born in late 2005 and a daughter, Billie-Eve, born July 2010, with the Afro-German reggae singer Patrice, from whom she is now separated. At the end of 2007, she moved with her family to the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan in New York City. At present she lives in Brooklyn, New York with her children.

Then-president of UNICEF France, Jacques Hintzy, announced on 4 February 2009 that the singer was named patron of UNICEF to promote the right to education for all children in the world.

The French production company MK2 produced 2009 the film Ayo Joy a 90-minute documentary about the singer and her life. The film was directed by Raphaël Duroy.