Imany

Nadia Mladjao (April 5, 1979), better known as Imany, is a French supermodel who made a successful incursion into the pop world in the late 2000s. Born in Martigues into a family of Comorian descent, she had an auspicious start as a high jumper before transitioning into an international modelling career through the Ford Models Europe agency. After seven years in the United States, she returned to France in 2008 to pursue her dream of becoming a singer, performing in numerous Parisian nightclubs and jazz venues such as the Beau Lounge, the Réservoir, the Bellevilloise, and the China Club under the pseudonym Imany (Swahili for “faith”). Acoustic Sessions, her debut EP, saw the light in 2010 and was followed by her first full-length The Shape of a Broken Heart (2011), a seamless blend of folk, soul, and blues that went to Number 19 in France and charted in several European countries. In 2014, Imany contributed to the soundtrack of the film Sous les Jupes des Filles. She returned in full force two years later with the EP There Were Tears and her second studio effort The Wrong Kind of War, placing seventh in the French charts and earning platinum certification. Following the release of the EPs No Reason No Rhyme (2017) and Time Only Moves (2019), Imany delivered a third album titled Voodoo Cello, which reached Number 24 on the domestic charts aided by the singles “The A Team” and “Like a Prayer.”