Since his smash hit "Rooftop" at the latest, Nico Santos has been in the spotlight. With his second album, simply titled "Nico Santos", he proved once again in 2020 that he belongs right there. Despite his own great success, the singer and songwriter regularly finds time to compose, write lyrics or produce for and with colleagues such as Lena Meyer-Landrut, Mark Forster, Shindy, Sido or Helene Fischer. Also in the TV formats "Sing meinen Song - Das Tauschkonzert" and "The Voice of Germany" the musical multi-talent shows what he has got. And that is really quite a lot.
Born in 1993 in Bremen as Nico Wellenbrink, Nico Santos grew up in his parents' adopted home of Mallorca. As the son of former DJ and actor Egon Wellenbrink (known from the Melitta commercials), he learns to sing, dance and play the piano at an early age and his first performances are not long in coming. In addition to his music career, the all-round talent works as an entertainer in a club hotel in his teens and learns the fine art of entertainment from scratch.
Whatever this man touches becomes a hit
Alongside well-known artists like Max Mutzke or Robyn, Nico Santos can be seen on German stages before he even has his own record deal in his pocket. From 2012, he forms the duo KY & Nico with rapper KY. On YouTube, the newcomer is already celebrating his first respect successes.
In 2013, the fateful encounter with the producer B-Case follows. The result of this collaboration are the tracks "Feel It!", "Lucky L" and "Symphony". The two also produced the soundtrack to "Fack ju Göhte 2," for which Nico Santos also sang the songs "It's Gonna Be Alright" and "Here Comes the Sun. In the ARD telenovela "Red Roses" Nico Santos himself has an appearance as an actor.
In 2015, the singer-songwriter records together with the Swiss DJ Mr. Da-Nos "Holding On", the theme song to the film comedy "3 Turks and a Baby". Collaborations seem to be exactly Nico Santos' thing. The next one finally proves to be a kind of career kick-starter: "Home" with Topic not only becomes a hit in this country, but also enters the charts in Australia.
In 2017, Nico Santos impressively shows that he is also successful on his own: "Rooftop" goes through the roof properly and is played up and down on the radio. The busy songwriter and producer becomes a successful pop act overnight. In the following year, the debut album "Streets Of Gold" is released, which in addition to "Rooftop" also contains the singles "Oh Hello", "Safe" and "Unforgettable" (on the deluxe version).
Emotional songs become Nico's trademark. In them he also processes autobiographical influences. "Walk In My Shoes" he writes for a deceased friend from childhood. The ballad with a real background in the popular Vox series "Sing meinen Song" creates a real goosebump atmosphere. In the casting show "The Voice of Germany" he presents himself as a charming coach to an audience of millions in the fall of 2020. In 2021, he will once again take his seat in the red chair. It is impossible to imagine the German music scene and entertainment landscape without Nico Santos!
From Sido to Roland Kaiser - everyone wants Nico
Even though Nico Santos has long been a celebrated star himself, he does not miss the opportunity to support other musicians in terms of songwriting or as a guest singer. "Purple Rain" by Capital Bra & Samra, Sido's "Thousand Tattoos" and "Das Original" by Prinz Pi feat. Mark Forster are just a few tracks where Nico Santos had his fingers or vocal chords in the game. Bushido, Vanessa Mai, Adel Tawil, Joel Brandenstein, Sarah Connor, Omi, SDP - the list of artists for whom Nico Santos has already worked is long and knows no genre boundaries.
As an author and producer, by the way, the all-rounder often works under his civil name Nico Wellenbrink. Some names appear in the biography of the likeable singer again and again. For example, that of Lena, with whom he stormed the charts in 2019 with "Better". Also with Topic it came more than once to the collabo, for example, in the form of the single "Like I Love You".
The best impression of the many talents of the thoroughbred musician you get if you secure tickets for one of Nico Santos' live shows. Because as busy as he is, he always likes to take time for an extended tour.
