Niia

Niia Bertino (born on July 11, 1987), better known by her stage name Niia is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. Early life edit: Niia, the Needham, Massachusetts native, was trained by her mother in classical piano and began singing and performing at the age of 13. She was invited to attend the Berklee College of Music summer program at age fourteen. After high school, Niia went to New York City where she briefly attended New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music as a Jazz vocal major. Musical career edit: While living in New York, Niia met singer, songwriter and producer Wyclef Jean who was immediately drawn to her raw and natural talent. 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 ten 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 with Wyclef most notably on 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. Niia also starred in the four part short-film "Americlef", which was created by and broadcast on MTV. 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). On February 12, 2013 Niia self-released "Made For You" and premiered the "Made For You" video, directed by Tony Kaye (American History X), on The Fader. She is currently working with Robin Hannibal on music for her first full length album set for release later this year. Awards edit: 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.

Source: Wikipedia

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