Niia Bertino (born July 11, 1988), better known by her stage name Niia, is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter.

Early life

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. 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 The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

. 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 The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

for Jazz and Contemporary Music as a Jazz vocal major. She later settled in Los Angeles.

Musical career

While living in New York, Niia met singer, songwriter and producer

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) 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 member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

. After working with Wyclef and producer

Jerry Wonda Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis (born 9 August 1975) is a Haitian music producer, film score composer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. His first major success was as a producer for the Fugees' 1996 album '' The Score''. He also played the bass guitar ...

, Niia was a featured artist on 2007 single, "

Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill) "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" is the lead single from Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean's sixth studio album, '' Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant''. The R&B and hip hop song features vocals from Niia and Akon, as well as rapper Lil Wayne. Veriz ...

", which also featured

Lil' Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

and

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P ...

. 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 Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, 2 ...

, the

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

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 "Mad World" is a 1982 song by British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was the band's third single release and first chart hit, reaching number three on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. Bo ...

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Jai Paul Jai Paul is an English songwriter, record producer and recording artist. His early demo "BTSTU" led to his online discovery and a subsequent recording contract with XL Recordings. Together with its follow-up "Jasmine", these songs have been reg ...

's viral hit

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, 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 ''American History X'' is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. The film stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as two brothers from Los Angeles who are involved in the white power skinhead and n ...

director Tony Kaye, on

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. In October 2013, Bertino was the presenter of a

TED Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

titled ''Beauty Overcomes Fear'' at the annual TEDxOrangeCoast event. She has also performed for the likes of Google. She teamed up with

Robin Hannibal Robin Hannibal Mølsted Braun is a Danish record producer and songwriter, best known for being one half of the musical duo Quadron and for being a founding member of Rhye, which he has since left. Besides being involved in both, he is also kno ...

on music in preparation for her debut EP ''Generation Blue'', released on October 28, 2014. In 2015, Bertino, alongside

Josef Salvat Josef Ignatius Salvat (born 28 October 1988) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He had his first international success after the release of his EP ''In Your Prime'' in 2014, which included a cover of Rihanna's song "Diamonds" that reach ...

, was featured on

Tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

's single "Holding On". In June 2016, she released a new single "Bored To Death" which was premiered by

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

on his Beats 1 radio show.

Awards

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.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Featured singles

Music videos

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

{{Authority control 1988 births Living people American women pop singers Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni People from Needham, Massachusetts 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American singers