Emilie Nicolas

Born on November 26th, 1987 in Bærum, Greater Oslo, Norwegian singer-songwriter Emilie Nicolas emerged in 2013 with her feel-good debut single “Pstereo” and its sprawling, ambient successor “Grown Up”, instantly inspiring the confidence of Sony Music with her forward-thinking, English-language concoctions. The following year, she took the European alternative pop scene by storm, topping the national charts and picking up two coveted Spellemann Awards with her synth-led and jazz-inspired debut album, Like I’m a Warrior. After a tour of the continent and an unfortunately lengthy period of illness, Nicolas returned in 2018 with her sophomore effort, Tranquille Emile. Signalling a development of sorts from her earlier work, the album struck a balance between jazzy R&B and pared-back folk-pop, with songs like “Feel Fine” and “Higher Love” racking up tens of millions of streams. It, too, received a pair of Spellemann Awards, matching the achievement of its predecessor and peaking at #4 in the Norwegian album charts. Nicolas’s third album, June 2020’s Let Her Breathe, marked her commercial resurgence, entering the national charts at #1. Demonstrating a vulnerability and humanity across the LP which has now become synonymous with her music, she documented the anxieties accrued amidst a global pandemic, resulting in a poignant, achingly relatable and yet at times celebratory body of work which struck a chord with listeners enough to remain in the charts for eleven weeks. In 2021, Nicolas returned with her first hit single, the Isah collaboration “Who’s Gonna Love You”, which reached #18 in Norway.