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Inna Modja | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Inna Bocoum [1] |
| Born | May 19, 1984 |
| Origin | Bamako, Mali |
| Genres | Pop, dance-pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | Warner Music Group |
| Website | www |
Inna Bocoum, also known as Inna Modja (born May 19, 1984), is a Malian-French female singer and model. "Modja" means "bad, not good" in Fulfulde. [2] [3]
Born on May 19, 1984, in Bamako, Mali, in a Fula family, the sixth of seven children, Inna Bocoum owes her artist name to her mother, who gave her the nickname of Inna Modja, which means "Inna is bad" or "Inna is not good" in Fulfulde. When she was six, her parents enrolled her in a choir. At home, her father encouraged her to progress by playing her some records he liked (artists such as Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Otis Redding, Sarah Vaughan). She was also influenced by her older siblings, who transitioned into Thrash Punk, '80/'90s Rap, Heavy Metal periods, in addition to Blues, Soul and Disco. As a teenager, she still alternated between Hard Rock and love songs. She regularly visited her neighbour, Salif Keita, who invites her to be part of the Rail Band of Bamako, a group of swinging old men (Bossa Nova and Jazz), amongst whom he himself debuted.
She speaks against female genital mutilation, as she herself and her four sisters were circumcised without their parents' approval, an event she sang about in one of her songs. She since had reconstructive surgery done. She's also outspoken against violence against women, which she portrayed in the music video of her song "La Valse de Marylore."
From these experiences, Inna Modja learned to adapt to different rhythms, like Swing or Disco. She finally settled on a Pop and Soul sounds. After appearing on a Fête de la Musique special TV show produced by France 2 singing a duet with Jason Mraz on his song "Lucky", Inna Modja opened for Sliimy on several of his shows. She released her first single, "Mister H", which is included on her first album "Everyday is a New World", itself released in October 2009. She supported it with appearances on several TV shows, including "Vivement Dimanche" and "Taratata".
She made a comeback in June 2011 with her new single "French Cancan (Monsieur Sainte Nitouche)". It quickly became one of the biggest Summer hits of 2011 in France and went No. 4 on the SNEP French Singles Chart. She followed this success with "La Fille du Lido", the second single off her second album "Love Revolution" which was released on November 7. She participated to the annual Téléthon, which benefits the French Association Against Myopathies. The music video for the third single, "I Am Smiling" (February 2012), was entirely made from videos from her fans.
She contributed a cover of "Souris Puisque C'est Grave" on Alain Chamfort's cover album Elles & Lui (2012), and lent her voice to the charity single "Je Reprends Ma Route", to benefit the association "Les Voix de l'enfant".
In 2018 she was part of the re-imagining, at Laurent Ruquier's inspiration, of Claude Bolling's Les Parisiennes.
| Years | Title | Positions | Certification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA | BEL | |||
| 2009 | Everyday Is a New World | 56 | — | |
| 2011 | Love Revolution | 28 | 98 | FRA: Gold |
| 2015 | Motel Bamako | 55 | — | |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (WA) [4] | CAN [5] | FRA [6] | SWI [7] | |||
| 2009 | "Mister H" | — | — | — | — | Everyday Is a New World |
| 2010 | "Life" | — | — | — | — | Love Revolution |
| 2011 | "French Cancan (Monsieur Sainte Nitouche)" | 6 | 55 | 4 | 60 | |
| "La fille du Lido" | — | 86 | 82 | — | ||
| 2012 | "I Am Smiling" | — | 83 | — | — | |
| 2014 | "Forgive Yourself" | — | — | 129 | — | Motel Bamako |
| "I Want Your Sex" (Inna Modja & the Woodboyz) | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015 | "Tombouctou" | — | — | 147 | — | |
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"Good Time" is a song recorded by Romanian recording artist Inna for Body and the Sun (2015)—the Japanese counterpart of her fourth studio album, Inna (2015)—Inna, and Party Never Ends (2013). Featuring the vocals of Cuban-American rapper Pitbull, it was made available for digital download on 15 July 2014 through Atlantic Records. "Good Time"—an uptempo dance-pop track featuring "hedonistic and cheerful" lyrics—was written by Steve Mac, Pitbull and Ina Wroldsen, while being solely produced by Mac.
"Disco Romancing" is a song by Romanian artist Elena Gheorghe. It is her sixth single to be released and the first since her Eurovision Song Contest entry, in 2009. With "Disco Romancing", Gheorghe tries a new musical style, house, a very successful musical style in Romania, and, because of Romanian artists such as Inna and Edward Maya, worldwide. The song was written by Laurenţiu Duţă and Ovidiu Bistriceanu, and was produced by Duţă. They also wrote and produced "The Balkan Girls" for Elena. The song leaked on the Internet in mid-April 2010 and was confirmed as Elena's future single in early May. The music video was filmed in May 2010 and the main set was the A2 motorway, on the way to the Black Sea. The director of the video is Dragoş Buliga. "Disco Romancing" debuted at number 74 in the Romanian Top 100 and later became Gheorghe's second number one in the chart. With this feat, she became the first Romanian female artist to top the chart twice. It has also charted in Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria and Hungary.
I Am the Club Rocker is the second studio album recorded by Romanian singer Inna, released on 19 September 2011 by Roton as a follow-up to her 2009 album, Hot. The complete production and writing process for the record was handled by Play & Win, with Juan Magán providing additional production for the album's opener, "Un Momento". Initially rumoured to be titled Powerless, the release of the album led to Inna encouraging her worldwide fanbase to affirm themselves as "Club Rockers". I Am the Club Rocker was described as a Europop, dance-pop, techno and house record, with the singer's vocals being processed with Auto-Tune.
"Club Rocker" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her second studio album, I Am the Club Rocker (2011). The song was released on 30 May 2011, as the second single from the record; a remix version featuring American rapper Flo Rida was eventually made available. It was written and produced by Play & Win members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan. "Club Rocker" is a techno–influenced electropop song, with its lyrics revolving around celebrating and partying. The recording samples "Bass Atitude" (2010) by French disc jockey Seight.
"Endless" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her second studio album, I Am the Club Rocker (2011). The song was released on 25 November 2011 as the fourth single from the album. It was written and produced by Play & Win members Sebastian Barac, Radu Bolfea and Marcel Botezan. A flamenco-influenced mid-tempo club-ballad, "Endless" features an acoustic and Spanish guitar in its instrumentation.
"Be My Lover" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for the deluxe edition of her third studio album, Party Never Ends (2013). It was released on 26 July 2013 through Roton. The track was written by Uli Brenner, Lane McCray, Gerd Amir Saraf and Melanie Thornton, with production handled by Afrojack and METI. Musically, "Be My Lover" encompasses dubstep, electro dance, club and house genres, sampling the 1995 song of the same name by La Bouche, for which Brenner, McCray, Saraf and Thornton received writing credits.
Inna is the fourth studio album recorded by Romanian singer Inna. It was released on 30 October 2015 by Warner Music, while a Japanese version of the record titled Body and the Sun was made available on 23 July 2015 by Roton and Empire Music. The singer collaborated with various producers on the album, including The Monsters and the Strangerz, Axident, Play & Win and Thomas Troelsen. Its material includes multiple genres, such as dance-pop, deep house, electro house, electropop and Latin.
"Yalla" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her eponymous fourth studio album (2015) and its Japanese counterpart, Body and the Sun (2015). It was released on 3 November 2015 through Empire and Roton. The recording was written by Marcel Botezan, Sebastian Barac, Nadir Tamuz Augustin and Inna, while production was handled by the first two under the name of Play & Win. A dance-pop and Eurodance track, "Yalla" is sung in both English and Arabic.
"Heaven" is a song recorded by Romanian recording artist Inna, included on the deluxe edition of her fifth studio album Nirvana (2017). It was released for digital download on 10 June 2016 through Roton. The recording was written by Andreas Schuller, Leroy Clampitt, Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan, Laila Samulesen, Trey Campbell and Theea Eliza Miculescu, while production was handled by Barac and Botezan. A dance-pop and tropical house recording, the single was generally acclaimed by music critics, who praised it as an earworm with Middle Eastern influences. While reviews noted lyrics in English, French, and Spanish, the singer explained that the refrain was written in a language she invented with her label. At the 2017 Radio România Actualități Awards, "Heaven" was nominated in three categories.
"Gimme Gimme" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her fifth studio album, Nirvana. It was made available for digital consumption as the record's first single on 1 February 2017 through Roton and Global Records. The recording was written by Inna, Breyan Isaac and Elena Luminița Vasile, along with its producers Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan and David Ciente. A pop song with Bollywood, Indian and Gyspy influences, "Gimme Gimme" features "simple but meaningful" romantic lyrics.
"Nirvana" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her fifth studio album of the same name (2017). It was made available for digital download on 28 November 2017 by Global Records, as the record's third single. The track was written by Inna and Thomas Troelsen, while production was handled by Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan, David Ciente, Vlad Lucan and Troelsen. Musically, "Nirvana" is a Latin-influenced club song, featuring a rap delivered in Spanish during its drop.
Yo is the sixth studio album by Romanian singer Inna, released on 31 May 2019 by Global Records and Roc Nation. Inna began work on the record in 2016; inspired by a recent trip to Latin America, she decided the album would feature only Spanish language material. Inna contributed significantly to the songwriting process of Yo, and collaborated extensively with Romanian producer David Ciente on its songs. An experimental and heavily gypsy music-influenced effort, Yo marks the first time Inna took control over an album's creative process; it acts as a departure from her past EDM releases. Lyrically, Inna sings about love, and presents several female characters seen from different perspectives throughout the album.
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