It wouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve heard of Oslo based singer songwriter duo Nico & Vinz. After all, their latest single “Am I Wrong” only reached 50 million streams on Spotify and over 10 million views on YouTube! But what you might not know about these super inspiring international music sensations is that they got their start right here at Emergenza.

That’s right, we’ve been with them from the very beginning of their incredible journey when they debuted on stage under their original name Envy and went on to, not only blow the Norwegian competition out of the water but, win the world finals of Emergenza Festival. As their prize, they got to rock the main stage of The Taubertal Open Air Festival where we hold our international finals every year—let’s just say that was an unforgettable year for us at Emergenza. Just think, three short years later and our channels are flooded with international music sensations Nico & Vinz!



The change of name brought in a new maturity to their sound. Now Nico Sereba and Vincent Dery of Nico & Vinz are more in tune with their unique, multi-cultural, Afro-Norwegian identities, making their music ever harder to define—although they’ve been likened to acts such as The Police and Paul Simon (Graceland) by the critics at MTV—but perfect for the international music scene.

They entered the Scandinavian charts back in 2011 with their original “One Song”, peaking at number 19 and earning them a Spelleman Award—the Norwegian equivalent to a Grammy—and since that point, they’ve held strong, continuing to dominate the Scandinavian charts and venture into foreign territory.

The duo performed both “One Song” as well as the Scandinavian release “In Your Arms” at the Nobel Peace Prize concert at the end of 2013 in Oslo. Their latest single “Am I Wrong” reached 50 million global streams on Spotify, won a an NRJ award in France for song of the year, and was the number one most added song on the U.S. Top 40 playlists as of it’s official North American radio release this year. The stunning video for “Am I Wrong”, shot entirely in Botswana, epitomizes the band’s uplifting message of going after your dreams, and has already justifiably reached over 10 million views in The U.S. alone.

Stay tuned for more news on Nico & Vinz—they’re definitely ones to watch out for!