Nico & Vinz

Nico & Vinz, composed of Kahouly Nicolay “Nico” Sereba and Vincent “Vinz” Dery, formed in 2010. Sereba is of Norwegian-Ivorian descent, and Dery is of Ghanaian origin, bringing diverse musical influences to their work. They initially performed under the name Envy, making their debut at the Emergenza Festival in 2011, where they won first place at the Taubertal Open Air Festival World’s “Emergenza Final.” This early success led to the release of their mixtape, “Dreamworks: Why Not Me,” and their debut single “One Song” in June 2011. “One Song” peaked at number 19 on the Norwegian Singles Chart, and their first studio album, “The Magic Soup and the Bittersweet Faces,” released on April 27, 2012, reached number 37 on the Norwegian Albums Chart.

A significant turning point occurred in April 2013 with the release of “Am I Wrong.” In January 2014, the duo officially changed their name from Envy to Nico & Vinz upon signing with Warner Bros. Records in the United States, a move intended to prevent confusion with other artists. “Am I Wrong” quickly gained international acclaim, becoming their first UK number one single and marking them as the first Norwegian act to achieve this in 28 years. The song also topped charts in New Zealand and reached number 2 in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, eventually peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The music video for “Am I Wrong,” filmed in Botswana and at Victoria Falls, was a conscious effort to present a positive image of Africa to a global audience. Their album “Black Star Elephant” was released in September 2014.

Throughout their career, Nico & Vinz have collaborated with notable artists and contributed to various projects. They were featured on David Guetta’s 2014 album “Listen” for the track “Lift Me Up” alongside Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Their song “Find a Way,” featuring Emmanuel Jal, was included in the film “The Good Lie,” and “When the Day Comes” was featured in the EA Sports game, FIFA 15. In October 2015, they released the EP “Cornerstone,” which included the single “That’s How You Know,” featuring Kid Ink and Bebe Rexha, charting at number 2 in Norway and Australia. They received the European Border Breakers Award in 2014 for their contributions to the music industry and were honored with the Spellemannprisen as Spellemann of the Year in 2014, recognizing their significant impact on Norwegian music.