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Niia | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Niia Bertino |
| Also known as | Niia |
| Born | July 11, 1988 (age 34) |
| Origin | Needham, Massachusetts, US |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, pianist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Something Local |
| Website | www www |
Niia Bertino (born July 11, 1988), better known by her stage name Niia, is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter.
Niia was born in Needham, Massachusetts, and was trained by her mother in classical piano and began singing and performing at the age of 13. [1] Bertino's mother hails from Italy and is the daughter of an opera singer, while her extended family boasts many vocalists trained at the Juilliard School. She was invited to attend the Berklee College of Music summer program at age fourteen. After high school, Niia moved to New York City where she briefly attended the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music as a Jazz vocal major. She later settled in Los Angeles. [2]
While living in New York, Niia met singer, songwriter and producer Wyclef Jean. After working with Wyclef and producer Jerry Wonda, Niia was a featured artist on 2007 single, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)", which also featured Lil' Wayne and Akon. The song peaked at number twelve on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 after fifteen weeks on the chart and was RIAA certified Platinum.
Niia has toured around the world and performed on programs such as VH1 Soul Stage, the Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, the BET Awards and MTV New Year's Eve in Times Square.
In 2011, Niia began performing The Best of 007 in New York. Backed by a 14 piece orchestra, Niia paid homage to the soundtrack of James Bond films including classics "Goldfinger", "Thunderball", and "The Spy Who Loved Me". She has also released covers of the classic track Mad World by Tears for Fears, Jai Paul's viral hit BTSTU, and Cher's Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).
In February 2013, Niia self-released her single "Made For You" and premiered the video, directed by famed American History X director Tony Kaye, on The Fader. In October 2013, Bertino was the presenter of a TED Talk titled Beauty Overcomes Fear at the annual TEDxOrangeCoast event. She has also performed for the likes of Google.
She teamed up with Robin Hannibal on music in preparation for her debut EP Generation Blue, released on October 28, 2014. In 2015, Bertino, alongside Josef Salvat, was featured on Tourist's single "Holding On".
In June 2016, she released a new single "Bored To Death" which was premiered by Zane Lowe on his Beats 1 radio show. [3]
In 2005, Niia was selected by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts as one of the top 100 singers in the country, and the national winner in the jazz voice category National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search. [1] [4]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | ||
| 2017 | I
| — | — |
| 2020 | II: La Bella Vita
| — | — |
| 2021 | If I Should Die
| — | — |
| 2023 | Bobby Deerfield
| — | — |
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | ||
| 2014 | Generation Blue
| — | — |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | |||
| 2013 | Made for You | — | — | non-album single |
| 2015 | David's House | — | — | |
| 2016 | Bored To Death | — | — | |
| Last Night In Los Feliz | — | — | I | |
| 2017 | Hurt You First | — | — | |
| Sideline | — | — | ||
| Nobody | — | — | ||
| 2019 | Face | — | — | II: La Bella Vita |
| If I Cared | — | — | ||
| Whatever You Got | — | — | ||
| 2020 | Obsession | — | — | |
| La Bella Vita | — | — | ||
| 2021 | Not Up For Discussion | — | — | If I Should Die |
| We Were Never Friends | — | — | ||
| If I Should Die | — | — | ||
| Macaroni Salad | — | — | ||
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Pop 100 | UK Singles Chart | CAN Hot 100 | |||
| 2007 | "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Wyclef Jean featuring Akon, Lil Wayne and Niia) | 12 | 10 | 66 | 14 | Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant |
| 2015 | "Holding On" (Tourist featuring Josef Salvat and Niia) | – | – | – | – | |
| Year | Album | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | — | "Made For You" | Tony Kaye [5] |
| Generation Blue | "Generation Blue" | Dan Monick [6] [7] | |
| 2014 | "David's House" | ||
| Year | Album | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant | "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Wyclef Jean featuring Akon, Lil Wayne and Niia) | Chris Robinson [8] |
| 2015 | "Holding On" (Tourist featuring Josef Salvat and Niia) | Holly Blakey [9] | |
Fugees is an American hip hop group formed in 1990 in South Orange, New Jersey. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to prominence in the mid-1990s for their pioneering blend of reggae, R&B, funk and hip hop, which eschewed gangsta rap and made them one of the most significant alternative hip hop acts. They occasionally rapped in Haitian Creole, and were one of the first hip hop bands to incorporate live instrumentation, along with The Roots.
Nel Ust Wyclef Jean is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a founding member, co-producer and guitarist of the New Jersey hip hop trio The Fugees, alongside Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel. The group released the albums Blunted on Reality (1994) and The Score (1996), the latter becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. Jean would follow this with the release of his first solo studio album, Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival (1997), which contains the top ten hit "Gone till November".
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"Bang" is a song recorded by American singer Nicole Scherzinger for her second studio album, Big Fat Lie (2014). The song was written by Terius "The-Dream" Nash and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, with production from Stewart, The-Dream, and Godz of Analog. The R&B and pop song was vocally produced by Bart Schoudal. It was released as the fourth single from the album on December 14, 2014, for digital download and streaming.
Music, Niia Bertino confesses, is her whole life
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