Nico Ross
Singer, Recording Artist, Songwriter
Nikolas was born on June 26. 1986. in Galanta, Czechoslovakia
He is coming from a dynasty of legendary musicians. His great-great-grandfather was one of the founder members of the first folk ensemble in Czechoslovakia.
At the tender age of 3 Nikolas already entertained his environment with singing funky songs. He was only 10 years old when he won the "Pop Arena" singing contest, motivated by the success he started to attend vocal and violin classes. After finishing the elementary school with the director's appraisal for his enormous contribution of spreading the school's fair name in the nation Nikolas resumed his studies at the Conservatory of Music in Bratislava, specialized in violin and classic vocals, and graduated in 2005.
In the concert season of 2003/2004 Nikolas performed together with The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra even twice, as a violinist and a choir member, and presented oratories in front of the nation's biggest names in the classical scene.
As a violinist they have been on tour in The Netherlands, they played in the biggest cathedrals of Amsterdam, Harlem and The Hague.
Despite his success in classical music he always felt he could show his creativity rather in other music genres than opera. In order to find his right way he applied for and was admitted to the Kőbanyai Zenei Stúdió in Budapest, Hungary, faculty of jazz vocalist, where his extraordinary vocal style and tone was immediately discovered.
Nikolas was 19 when he was asked to collaborate with the world famous jazz drummer Vilmos Jávori in his band called Jávori Sound Machine. Following their success together he had the opportunity to work with a huge number of excellent and well acknowledged musicians from the Hungarian jazz scene, just like Gyula Babos, Tony Lakatos, Emilio, Charlie, János Solti, and others.
The young singer joined Eastern-European hip-hop band "Kontrafakt" as the special guest in their nationwide tour in Slovakia in 2008. They have been the warm up act in front of Cypress Hill, and Nikolas had the opportunity to work with musicians who are still working with Mary J Blige, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent or Usher. Following their success the Slovakian rapper Rytmus asked him to be the lead voice in his hit single "Zostalo Ticho (Remaining silent)" and also shot a video for the hip-hop smasher.
In 2010 Nikolas participated in the Hungarian version of the worldwide known TV talent show X-Factor, where he gained national and international reputation in Eastern Europe. After finishing runner up his first album "Az első X" (The First X) was released, which led the Hungarian MAHASZ Top 40 chart for 6 consecutive weeks and reached triple platinum status.
The album "A második X" (The Second X) followed in 2011 with 8 original songs and 2 covers, including the radio hit single "Zene kísér az úton / Don't walk out on love".
Nikolas's first commercial radio success "Zene kísér az úton" peaked at number 4 on the Class 40 list, reached number 8 on the MAHASZ single chart, and in 2015 it is still airplayed on a daily basis.
He was nominated for the Hungarian "Fonogram Awards" (the national Grammy) in the category "Newcomer of the Year".
Nikolas's first live concert show to present his new album at the Sportmax Stadium in Budapest, Hungary was entirely sold out. The coverage was later released in a DVD format as well.
Nikolas and Portugal's most successful female songstress Aurea covered the famous soul classic "Where Is the Love" recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway in 1972. The video was shot both in Lisbon, Portugal and Budapest, Hungary. Following its success Nikolas was the guest star at her symphonic live concert at the Coliseu de Lisboa where they performed their duet in front of 4000 people.
In the end of the year Nikolas started a completely sold out Christmas church tour in 20 cities all over Hungary.
The year was crowned by a palatial big band live concert in the RaM Colosseum in Budapest, where Aurea returned the favor, and they performed "Where Is the Love" together to the Hungarian audience. They also appeared as special guest stars in the eighth live show of the second season of the Hungarian X-Factor.
For Valentine's Day in 2012 Nikolas released his brand new romantic tune with the title "A boldogság te vagy / Our Love Is All We Need", which he also shot a video for, and is still one of the most popular love songs in the country.
In August Nikolas represented Hungary in the 47th "Top of the Top Festival" in Sopot, Poland. This monumental event is the second biggest contest in Europe after the historical European Song Contest. With his smash hit "Szemed nyisd ki / Open Your Eyes" Nikolas finished fifth in overall, and received positive international feedback.
Later in August he was one of those international artists who had the opportunity to perform in Europe's largest synagogue during the prestigious Jewish Summer Festival in Budapest. In his largest ever concert he performed a selection of the multiple Academy- and Grammy award winner composer Michel LeGrand's works, thus welcoming the eighty year old uncrowned king of Hollywood soundtracks. The event was completely sold out.
In December the Christmas album "Music & Soul" has been released, a true masterpiece in collaboration with the award winner pop-acappella band Fool Moon. To promote this album, they went on a Christmas concert tour all around Hungary.
February 2013 was the next big step in Niko's TV career, as he was adjured to perform the 1976 Elton John hit "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" as the guest star in the national selection of the Eurovision Song Contest "A Dal (The Song)". He was accompanied by the choir of Magyar Rádió (Radio Budapest).
Still in this month he started his long-live club concert-chain in Budapest's most exclusive music club, where only A-list starts perform. His black and white music video for the soul smasher "Never Ever" was also shot in this unique environment.
In May 2013 the album "Music & Soul" was nominated for the Hungarian "Fonogram Awards" in the category "Best National Classic Pop-rock Album of the Year".
But the best was still to come: to spotlight the year of 2013 Nikolas, accompanied by Fool Moon have been the guest stars of the New York based Golden Voices of Gospel, led by reverend Dwight Robson, who even Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey performed together with. The mutual concert was a perfect example of why a black voice can be born anywhere in the world and the artists of different continents can meet anytime.
In early 2014, after a long period of anticipation Nikolas presented himself with a brand new twin record "In Time - EP 1" and "In Time - EP 2". Despite of focusing on digital downloads a limited number of physical copies were also released and sold out only in a couple of days. "Rád hangoltam / Lovin' Life", the first single release of EP1 peaked immediately on the top of several Hungarian charts. The tune also became the main theme of a commercial television channel's own produced daily reality show "Az élet showja".
Together with the popular Slovakian born trance DJ and producer Robert Burian they wrote and performed Burian's most successful featured single to date "Higher Ground", which reached number one in Slovakia and charted in the Czech Republic and Hungary as well.
November of 2014 meant another enormous milestone in Nikolas's career in Europe. The highly original Michael Kocáb, composer, organist, and leader of Pražský Výběr in the Czech Republic, accompanied by the fantastic accordion player Vojtech Szabó let Nikolas shine in the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlín, Czech Republic. The concert featured dance-influenced music such as Astor Piazzolla, and pop music arranged for symphony orchestra by Aleš Pavlorek. Multiply European competition winners of Argentinian tango Gabriela and Petr Nečas were also dancing. They ran two shows with full house.
December must be the favorite month of Nikolas; in 2014 he was honored by The Coca-Cola Company to be the performer of their annual Christmas campaign song. Nikolas covered the 1964 Jimmy Durante classic "Make Someone Happy" with the Hungarian title "Boldoggá tenni". He also toured all month with the Coca-Cola Christmas Caravan across Hungary and made thousands of people happy.
As the usual December highlight in cooperation with Hungary's best big band and jazz symphony ensemble, the Modern Art Orchestra Nikolas arranged a two hour entirely sold out symphonic event in the Erkel Theatre, the largest public building in Budapest for decades (and the largest theatre in the city), also a part of the Hungarian State Opera House.
Telihold (Full Moon) is the title of Nikolas's first hit single released in 2015, it landed immediately on top of the Hungarian charts.
The idea to collaborate with Nikoletta Szőke, a Hungarian jazz vocalist who has won international acclaim as the winner of the 2005 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition came already in December 2014. The fruitful partnering resulted in two peerless duets in May 2015. The song "Citromfa (Lemon Tree)" was recorded at first, which is a Hungarian-Transylvanian folk song from Bukovina combined with gipsy and jazz flavors.
The duo also covered the 1977 Grammy Award winner recording by Billy Joel "Just the Way You Are". Nikoletta and Nikolas also shot videos for both pieces, and went on tour across Hungary.
"Összefúj a szél (The Wind Makes Us Come Together)" is the newest number in Nikolas's discography, which got instantly into several Hungarian radio stations' daily rotation.
On September 29th a re-mastered version of the funky-jazzy-groovy hit single "Never Ever" has been released in the USA and also worldwide as a digital download.
After their enormous success in the previous winter season The Coca-Cola Company decided to adjure Nikolas to star in their annual Coca-Cola Christmas Caravan again. This is an outstanding achievement, since it has never happened in the past, that the soft drink producer mega company asked an artist to be their voice more than once.
2016 started just as successful for Nikolas as 2015 has ended. Müpa Budapest is one of Hungary's best known cultural brands and one of its most modern cultural institutions by providing a home for classical, contemporary, popular and world music, not to mention jazz and opera, as well as contemporary circus, dance, literature and film. In such a prestigious environment Nikolas and award winner songstress Nikoletta Szőke were able to present not one but even two completely sold out concerts with the title "Just the Way You Are", showing their affection to both jazz and R&B and soul music.
The next single "Lépéselőny (Mover Advantage)", a fresh and modern sound combined with the unmistakable voice of Nikolas and a meaningful message was released in May 2016. Songwriter Zé Szabó stated in an interview this song would get through all around the world. The song seemed to be indeed an audience favorite during the summer concerts and festivals.
The idea to write and produce an audio book for children has been started earlier and by fall it became a reality. With the title "Marci és az évszakok (Marci and the seasons) a lovely and playful masterpiece was born. The album has been put together to encompass an entire year; to track the seasons like the development of a child in time. The fun and folk-like poems written by Szilvia K László, set to music by Norbert Kardos and Nikolas, presented by Nikolas alongside with songstress-actress Lilla Polyák give a real music experience both to children and parents as well as kindergarten teachers and fans.
The teaser single "Right or Wrong" from the upcoming studio album "Be True and Love" has been released as a digital download already in August, however, the video was shot only in October. This was the first time Nikolas worked together with the EDM producer BEATWARD. Together they created a powerful beat and message about the bright and the dark side of individuals and how these emotions are fighting in every human being day by day. In the video they asked two very talented professional dance artists to interpret this fight with their seemingly same still entirely different dance moves where by the end it turns out that none of them is able to live without the other and the color spread on their bodies reveals the truth beneath the surface.
The winter of 2016 has brought a real gem to the audience: a return to Müpa Budapest. Hungarian golden oldies in the key of jazz - this was the subtitle of the show "Great Hungarian Songbook" which re-interpreted and re-arranged hits from Hungarian popular music to great effect. The second edition took the most endearing aspects of our collective nostalgia and re-invented them in various styles and genres. Singer and actress Kátya Tompos and Nikolas gave a new meaning to the hits of Béla Zerkovitz' and the talent shows of today as well as the work of composers of legendary soundtracks and musicals of the sixties and pop music of the 20th century. Both concerts have been sold out completely.
Short before Christmas the long awaited studio album "Be True and Love" has hit the stores and was sold out in a few couple of days. Nikolas has worked together with a number of Hungary's best musicians and producers as well as American bass player and GVR Records founder Larry Kimpel as well as Grammy Award winner American smooth jazz saxophonist and songwriter Kirk Whalum. The album contains 14 songs including a cover version of Luther Vandross' 1981 top ten R&B hit "Don't You Know That?".
As a December-tradition Nikolas went on a very successful national and international Advent tour visiting Slovakia and Romania. As a part of this tour together with award winner singer Ildikó Keresztes, who has been his mentor during the Hungarian X-Factor shows he gave two full house symphonic concerts in this hometown Galanta and Šamorín, Slovakia.
Also in December his track "Miami Nights" which he composed together with multiply award winner jazz saxophonist Zolbert has been released as an international digital download in all major music streaming services (iTunes, Spotify, Deezer etc.) as a part of Zolbert's new album called "Inside Out".
In February 2017 Nikolas released a music video to his song "Prayer" featuring Grammy Award winner American smooth jazz saxophonist and songwriter Kirk Whalum directed by Gergely Hölzl.
The audio book for children with the title "Marci és az évszakok" (Marci and the seasons) has been officially presented in the beginning of April. Together with songstress-actress Lilla Polyák an interactive meet and greet event and autograph session has been organized by the publisher.
The completely sold out one-night-only show with the title "Yiddish Jazz from the Broadway" accompanied by Nikoletta Szőke has been presented to the audience in May 2017 and featured the most famous pieces of the 20th century composed by artists of Jewish descent. For this musical journey widely-known musicians of the Hungarian jazz scene have been selected.
Nikolas was, again, one of those artists who supported the annual charity campaign "100 Lámpás Éjszakája" (Night of 1000 Lanterns) in May, where activists raise public awareness to the alarming problem of child disappearance for 7 consecutive years.
In June the long awaited album "Be True and Love" was presented to the audience for first time and all live, hosted by the MOM Kulturális Központ (MOM Cultural Center). The exclusive show became the newest one in the long list of Nikolas' completely sold out events.
The 17th FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation - International Swimming Federation) World Aquatics Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary from July 14 to 30 2017. Nikolas and multiply award winner vocalist Gigi Radics presented the Official Opening Ceremony Anthem with the title "Benned a győztes" (Hero Inside You). They shared the stage with five times Grammy Award, BET Award, Billboard Music Award, and Brit Award winning American recording artist CeeLo Green. The opening ceremony was broadcasted worldwide while in the audience, on the spot, Hungary's Prime Minister, Mr. Viktor Orbán, Mr. János Áder President of Hungary and other important politicians as well as Mr. Krisztián Kulcsár, Preisdent of the Hungarian Olympic Committee and numerous Olympic champions, for example Ms Krisztina Egerszegi (swimming) and Mr. Tibor Benedek (Water polo).
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as UNESCO organized a cultural event in Paris, France in October 2017, where all of the member countries represented themselves with different pieces of art. Nikolas and his band were the only musical act during this event and presented Hungarian culture with an enormous success.
Nikolas' song "A boldogság te vagy" (Our Love Is All We Need) has been covered by Roland Gulyás in the 5th live show of the RTL Klub talent show X-Factor in November.
In December Nikolas went to his traditional Advent and Christmas concert tour, where he entertained his audience not only in Hungary but he had successful shows in Slovakia and Romania as well. As a part of this tour together with award winner singer Ildikó Keresztes, who has been his mentor during the Hungarian X-Factor shows he gave two full house symphonic concerts in Komárno and Dunajská Streda, Slovakia.
Also in December Nikolas released a music video for his song "Itt a tél" (Winter Is Here) from the children audio book "Marci és az évszakok". The video features not only songstresses Lilla Polyák and Gigi Radics, but the Dalvarázs Show Kórus children's choir from Hatvan.
During the year the club concert series at the Orfeum Club in Budapest have been completely sold out from month to month. Nikolas also performed at several (private) events for mayors, politicians and businessmen across Hungary and in the neighboring countries.
Cinema City International N.V. is the largest cinema operator in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Israel and the third largest cinema operator of Europe. Nikolas was the main act at their 20th anniversary celebration in Hungary in January 2018.
Still in January Nikolas has been the star guest of the RTL Klub TV show "Havazin" where he propagated the High Tatra Mountains and the winter tourism in Slovakia.
In February 2018 Nikolas and actress Kátya Tompos accomplished their poignant concert series "The Great Hungarian Songbook 2" at the MÜPA, which has been a warrant sold out show for two consecutive years.
On Valentine's Day Nikolas and songstress Nikoletta Szőke performed a live concert at the synagogue in Zalaegerszeg, which has been sold out during the week the promotion has started.
The next great project is definitely the one-night-only mega show called SEVEN at the Papp László Sportaréna in April 2018, where seven of Hungary's best male vocalists (VIVA Comet, Fonogram and BRAVO Otto award winner Emilio, VIVA Comet and Fonogram award winner Laci Gáspár, Eurovision 2016 competitor Gábor Alfréd "Freddie" Fehérvári, Idol 2010 runner up, Best male voice award winner Attila Kökény, music producer, singer and songwriter Gitano Laci Nagy, X-Factor 2012 winner Gergő Oláh) unite for the night and will present a unique show featuring own compositions and a collaboration song called "Zenedal" (Music Song) which debuted on Youtube on November 29th .
Overview on achievements and awards:
1996 - 1st place, "Pop Arena" National Singing Contest (Galanta, Slovakia)
1997 - 1st place, "Pop Arena" National Singing Contest (Galanta, Slovakia)
1998 - 1st place, "Pop Arena" National Singing Contest (Galanta, Slovakia)
1998 - Special award, "The Talent" National Singing Contest (Bratislava, Slovakia)
1999 - 1st place, "The Talent" National Singing Contest (Trnava, Slovakia)
1999 - 2nd place, "Talentum" National Singing Contest (Bratislava, Slovakia)
1999 - Prestige award by the town of Galanta, Slovakia
2000 - 3rd place, "Velkoulansky Zlaty Klas" National Singing Contest (Velké Ulany, Slovakia)
2000 - Special award, "ZUS" for the extraordinary performance (Galanta, Slovakia)
2000 - Top 6, "Zlata crievicka" National Singing Contest (Partizánske, Slovakia)
2001 - 3rd place, Destsky Talent" National Singing Contest (Bratislava, Slovakia)
2002 - 3rd place, "Galantska Nota" National Singing Contest (Galanta, Slovakia)
2006 - Honored by the Union of Hungarian Music and Dance Artists (MZTSZ) for the extraordinary performance (Budapest, Hungary)
2008 - Honored by the Union of Hungarian Music and Dance Artists (MZTSZ) for the extraordinary performance (Budapest, Hungary)
2010 - 2nd place, X-Factor Singing Competition (Budapest, Hungary)
2010 - Nominated for the Fonogram award in the category "Newcomer of the Year"
2011 - Triple platinum record award for the album "Az első X", Sony Music
2011 - Golden record award for the album "A második X", Sony Music
2011 - "Man of the Year" award by Glamour magazine
2011 - "The most handsome guy - 2nd place" awarded by Joy magazine
2012 - Nominated for the Fonogram award in the category "Best National Classic Pop-rock Album of the Year"
2012 - Sony Music award "Top 3 in most digital downloads in Hungary"
2012 - International nomination for "Top of the Top Song Contest" (Sopot, Poland)
2015 - Nominated for the Playboy award in the category "Man of the Year"
2015 - "Elegance Award" by Marie Claire magazine
2015 - "Jazzagóga" award for teaching the art of listening to music