Before she was the most-listened-to francophone artist on streaming platforms anywhere in the world, Aya Nakamura came from a family of griots, the West African oral historians and storytellers who have carried communities through song for generations. That lineage didn’t produce a keeper of tradition in any expected sense. It produced a French-Malian pop force who just sold out three consecutive nights at the Stade de France, and is now bringing the Destinée World Tour to Centre Bell in Montréal for the only North American dates on the calendar.
About the Show
Both the October 24 and October 25 shows at Centre Bell are sold out — a statement about the position Nakamura holds in the francophone world and, increasingly, well beyond it. Born Aya Danioko in Bamako, Mali in 1995 and raised in the suburbs north of Paris, she built her following through streaming and YouTube before her 2018 single “Djadja” reached number one in France and charted across much of Europe. Her background in a family of griots (oral tradition, community storytelling, music as cultural inheritance) is not incidental to what she makes; it’s the foundation she built an entirely contemporary sound on top of. In 2023, her fourth album DNK became her first record to debut at the top of the French charts. Destinée, her fifth studio album, released November 21, 2025 on Warner Music France through her own imprint Nakamura Industrie, arrives from a different altitude: by 2025 she had become the most-listened-to francophone artist on streaming platforms globally, ahead of Stromae and Zaz. The 18-track record draws from zouk contemporain, shatta, R&B moderne, amapiano, and kompa, with collaborations including Kali Uchis and Shenseea, and lead single “Baddies” featuring Joé Dwèt Filé. The album’s approach prioritizes rhythm and nuance over vocal virtuosity, built as much for the dancefloor as for the arena stages she is now filling. The Stade de France run in May 2026 (three consecutive nights, nearly 240,000 tickets) marked her as the first French artist to headline that venue on consecutive nights. These Montréal shows are the Destinée tour’s only confirmed stops in North America.
Venue & Logistics
Centre Bell is a 21,000-capacity arena in downtown Montréal, close enough to the New York border to draw audiences from across the North Country. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. show. Presented by Les Francos de Montréal; all ages admitted.
Tickets
Both the October 24 and October 25 shows are listed as sold out at the official venue. Check the link below for availability updates. Buy tickets