Mia Nicolai | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Michaja Nicolaï |
Born | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 7 March 1996
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 2018–present |
Labels |
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Michaja Nicolaï (Dutch: [ˈmixaːjaː ˈnikoːlɑi]; born 7 March 1996), known simply as Mia Nicolai, is a Dutch singer, songwriter and actress. She represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 alongside Dion Cooper with the song "Burning Daylight".[1][2]
Michaja Nicolaï was born on 7 March 1996 in Amsterdam as the second daughter of lawyer and Party for the Animals politician Peter Nicolaï and Russian-born musician and composer Marynka Nicolaï-Krylova.[3][4][5][6] She started taking drama and ballet classes at the age of three, which, according to herself, sparked an interest in music. She later started taking piano and violin lessons.[6][7]
In 2018, Mia Nicolai released her first single, a cover of American composer Glenn Miller's "At Last".[8] In 2020, she released "Set Me Free" and "Mutual Needs", of which the latter was featured on DJ Zane Lowe's radio show.[9][10] In 2021, she released two singles, "People Pleaser" and "Dream Go".[11][12]
On 1 November 2022, the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that Nicolai would represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, alongside Dion Cooper.[13] Nicolai had met Cooper in 2020 when fellow Dutch Eurovision entrant and winner of the 2019 edition, Duncan Laurence, along with Laurence's partner Jordan Garfield, paired the two up.[14] Nicolai and Cooper performed in the first semi-final, but failed to qualify for the final.[15]
Nicolai has lived in London, Melbourne and New York City, before settling in Los Angeles in 2022.[9][16] She has cited English singer David Bowie as one of her main artistic influences.[14]
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
NLD (100) [17] |
NLD (40) [18] | ||
"At Last" | 2018 | — | — |
"Set Me Free" | 2020 | — | — |
"Mutual Needs" | — | — | |
"People Pleaser" | 2021 | — | — |
"Dream Go" | — | — | |
"Loop" | 2022 | — | — |
"Burning Daylight" (with Dion Cooper) | 2023 | 42 | 21 |
Year | Country | Song | Artist | Semi-final | Final | Co-written with | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place | Points | Place | Points | |||||
2023 | Netherlands | "Burning Daylight" | Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper | 13 | 7 | DNQ | Duncan de Moor, Jordan Garfield, Dion Cuiper, Loek van der Grinten |
Year | Country | Song | Artist | Result | Co-written with | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place | Points | |||||
2023 | Moldova | "When Love's Real" | Corina Ivanov | 7 | 7 | Mike Connaris |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Adios Amigos | Prostitute | — |
Babatunde | Steffi | Short film | |
2018 | Doris | Lunchroom girl | — |
2021 | Flikken Rotterdam | Tara Tereshchenko | Episode: "Rex" |