Mia Nicolai
Michaja Nicolaï (; 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". Early life 
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. 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. Career

2018–2022: First singles 
In 2018, Mia Nicolai released her first single, a cover of American composer Glenn Miller's "At Last". In 2020, she released "Set Me Free" and "Mutual Needs", of which the latter was featured on DJ Zane Lowe's radio show. In 2021, she released two singles, "People Pleaser" and "Dream Go". 2023: Eurovision Song Contest 
On 1 November 2022, the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that Nicolai would represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, alongside Dion Cooper. 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. Nicolai and Cooper performed in the first semi-final, but failed to qualify for the final. Personal life and artistry 
Nicolai has lived in London, Melbourne and New York City, before settling in Los Angeles in 2022. She has cited English singer David Bowie as one of her main artistic influences. Discography

Singles

Songwriting discography

Eurovision Song Contest entries

National selection entries

Filmography

References

External links 
 

1996 births
Living people
21st-century Dutch actresses
21st-century Dutch singers
21st-century Dutch women singers
Actresses from Amsterdam
Dutch expatriates in the United States
Dutch people of Russian descent
Dutch pop singers
Dutch singer-songwriters
Dutch songwriters
Dutch women singer-songwriters
Dutch women songwriters
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2023
Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
Singers from Amsterdam