Nicole Bus

Nicole Bus is a singer/songwriter with a potent, soul-rooted approach to contemporary R&B. Although she made her album debut on major-label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a> with The Heart of the Matter (2011), she truly broke through a couple years later as a quarterfinalist on The Voice of Holland. The exposure led to her signing to <a href="spotify:artist:3nFkdlSjzX9mRTtwJOzDYB">Jay-Z</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Roc+Nation%22">Roc Nation</a> and releasing 2017's Magnolia and 2019's Kairos, the latter of which spawned her breakout singles "You" and "Rain."

A broad assortment of music, including gospel, reggae, and pop, reached Nicole Bus as she grew up in her native Holland. At a young age, she was singing in church, and had started playing keyboards, making beats, and writing songs. After high school, she continued to study music and perform while attending Conservatorium van Amsterdam, traveling with groups throughout the Netherlands, Central America, the Middle East, and Western and Southeast Asia. Bus eventually broke out on her own. She issued her debut EP in 2009 and won the Grand Prize of the Netherlands in 2010, then signed with the Dutch division of major-label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22EMI%22">EMI</a> and released her debut full-length, The Heart of the Matter, in 2011. Two years later, she competed in the fourth season of The Voice of Holland and reached the quarterfinals. Magnolia, her second album, along with the EP T.O.T.A., followed in 2017.

Close work with producer Needlz (<a href="spotify:artist:3q7HBObVc0L8jNeTe5Gofh">50 Cent</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:0du5cEVh5yTK9QJze8zA0C">Bruno Mars</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4kYSro6naA4h99UJvo89HB">Cardi B</a>) led to a deal with <a href="spotify:artist:3nFkdlSjzX9mRTtwJOzDYB">Jay-Z</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Roc+Nation%22">Roc Nation</a>, the outlet for Bus' 2018 single "You." The emotive hip-hop soul throwback, seemingly inspired by <a href="spotify:artist:2Mu5NfyYm8n5iTomuKAEHl">Lauryn Hill</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7gSjFKpVmDgC2MMsnN8CYq">Jazmine Sullivan</a> in roughly equal measures, was written in honor of Black men and topped Billboard's Adult R&B chart. "You" and follow-up single "Mr. Big Shot" were featured on the 2019 full-length Kairos, most of which was produced by Needlz. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi