Pookie (song)

"Pookie"
Capo Plaza remix cover
Single by Aya Nakamura
from the album Nakamura
Released	10 April 2019
Recorded	2018
Genre	Trap-pop Afropop urban pop
Length	3:00
Label	Rec. 118 Parlophone
Songwriters	Aya Nakamura Archibald Smith Le Side Ever Mihigo
Producers	Aloïs Zandry Vladimir Boudnikoff
Aya Nakamura singles chronology
"La dot" (2018) "Pookie" (2019) "Soldat" (2019)
Music video
"Pookie" on YouTube

"Pookie" (French pronunciation: [puki] , French for "snitch") is a song recorded by French-Malian singer Aya Nakamura. It was released as a single on 10 April 2019.

Commercial Performance

The song met a commercial success in Europe, reaching the top five in Nakamura's host country France, becoming her fifth top five, whom four out of five were official singles, and established herself as the French female artist with the most top-five hits in French Singles Chart in one single album. ^[1] The single spent nearly 100 weeks, surpassing "Copines" which spent 72 weeks and became Nakamura's second longuest-charting single after "Djadja" which spent 126 weeks. The song also reached the top ten in Belgium, becoming her second top ten.

At the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, Aya Nakamura interprets the song with the Republican Guard on the Pont des Arts in Paris when leaving the French Academy. She sang it in the form of mashup with Djadja as well as two songs by Charles Aznavour: For me formidableand La Bohème.

Alongside with France, the song reached the second position on the Italian Singles Chart, helped by the remix with Italian rapper Capo Plaza, becoming Nakamura's first top ten in Italy. ^[2]

Music video

The music video was shot in the Gallery of Diana, Palace of Fontainebleau

The music video was released on 10 April, 2019 and was directed by the song's producer, Vladimir Boudnikoff. It was shot in the Gallery of Diana in the Palace of Fontainebleau. The video shows Aya Nakamura performing the vogue, a modern house dance originating in the 1980s. Some scenes are also shot in the Gallery of the Deers, Gallery of François I and in the Ballroom.

The music video had reached 100 million views in August 2019. It has over 269 million views.^{[ when? ]}

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2018–2020)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [3]	18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [4]	9
France (SNEP) [5]	5
Italy (FIMI) [6]	2
Netherlands (Single Tip) [7]	2
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) [8]	14
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [9]	55

Chart (2024)	Peak position
France (SNEP) [10]	105

Year-end charts

Chart (2020)	Position
Italy (FIMI) [11]	83
Turkey (Radiomonitor TR International) [12]	14

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BRMA) [13]	3× Platinum	120,000‡
Canada (Music Canada) [14]	Platinum	80,000‡
France (SNEP) [15]	Diamond	333,333‡
Italy (FIMI) [16]	3× Platinum	210,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Aya Nakamura - Pookie". August 3, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
2. "Aya Nakamura - Pookie". August 3, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
3. "Aya Nakamura – Pookie" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
4. "Aya Nakamura – Pookie" (in French). Ultratop 50.
5. "Aya Nakamura – Pookie" (in French). Le classement de singles.
6. "Aya Nakamura – Pookie". Top Digital Download.
7. "Dutch Single Tip 10/08/2019". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved February 15, 2023.
8. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 32". Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved 11 February 2023.
9. "Aya Nakamura – Pookie". Swiss Singles Chart.
10. "Top Singles (Week 31, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
11. "Top Of The Music 2020: 'Persona' Di Marracash È L'album Piú Venduto" (Download the attachment and open the singles file) (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
12. "RadiomonitorTR 2020 yılında en çok çalınan Uluslararası eserler Top20" (in Turkish). Radiomonitor. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
13. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2020". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
14. "Canadian single certifications – Aya Nakamura – Pookie". Music Canada . Retrieved 25 July 2024.
15. "French single certifications – Aya Nakamura – Pookie" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
16. "Italian single certifications – Aya Nakamura feat. Capo Plaza – Pookie" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 12 November 2022.