# Niia

Niia Bertino (born July 11, 1988), known professionally as 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. 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.

## Career

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.

## 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

| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Album details | US | UK |
| 2017 | I Release date: May 5, 2017 Label: Atlantic | — | — |
| 2020 | II: La Bella Vita Release date: February 14, 2020 Label: NIIAROCCO LLC | — | — |
| 2021 | If I Should Die Release date: June 4, 2021 Label: NIIAROCCO LLC | — | — |
| 2022 | OFFAIR: Mouthful of Salt Release date: April 8, 2022 Label: NIIAROCCO LLC | — | — |
| 2023 | Bobby Deerfield Release date: June 23, 2023 Label: NIIAROCCO LLC | — | — |

### Extended plays

| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Album details | US | UK |
| 2014 | Generation Blue Release date: October 28, 2014 Label: Something Local | — | — |

### Singles

| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Year | Title | US | UK | Album |
| 2013 | Made for You | — | — | non-album single |
| 2015 | David's House | — | — | non-album single |
| 2016 | Bored To Death | — | — | non-album single |
| 2016 | Last Night In Los Feliz | — | — | I |
| 2017 | Hurt You First | — | — | I |
| 2017 | Sideline | — | — | I |
| 2017 | Nobody | — | — | I |
| 2019 | Face | — | — | II: La Bella Vita |
| 2019 | If I Cared | — | — | II: La Bella Vita |
| 2019 | Whatever You Got | — | — | II: La Bella Vita |
| 2020 | Obsession | — | — | II: La Bella Vita |
| 2020 | La Bella Vita | — | — | II: La Bella Vita |
| 2021 | Not Up For Discussion | — | — | If I Should Die |
| 2021 | We Were Never Friends | — | — | If I Should Die |
| 2021 | If I Should Die | — | — | If I Should Die |
| 2021 | Macaroni Salad | — | — | If I Should Die |

### Featured singles

| Year | Title | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Album |
| Year | Title | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Pop 100 | UK Singles Chart | CAN Hot 100 | Album |
| 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) | – | – | – | – | |

## Music videos
### As lead artist

| Year | Album | Title | Director |
| 2013 | — | "Made For You" | Tony Kaye |
| 2013 | Generation Blue | "Generation Blue" | Dan Monick |
| 2014 | Generation Blue | "David's House" | Dan Monick |

### As featured artist

| 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 |
| 2015 | | "Holding On" (Tourist featuring Josef Salvat and Niia) | Holly Blakey |