Niia was born in Needham, Massachusetts, and was trained by her mother in classical piano and began singing and performing at the age of 13. Bertino"s mother hails from Italy and is the daughter of an opera singer, while her extended family boasts many vocalists trained at the Juilliard School.
After high school, Niia moved to New York City where she briefly attended the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music as a Jazz vocal major.
She was invited to attend the Berklee College of Music summer program at age fourteen. While living in New York, Niia met singer, songwriter and producer Wyclef Jean. After working with Wyclef and producer Jerry Wonda, Niia was a featured artist on 2007 single, "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)," which also featured Lil" Wayne and Akon.
The song peaked at number twelve on the United States. Billboard Hot 100 after fifteen weeks on the chart and was RIAA certified Platinum.
Niia has toured around the world and performed on programs such as Video Hits One Soul Stage, the Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, the Black Entertainment Television and Music Television New Year"s Eve in Times Square. In 2011, Niia began performing The Best of 007 in New New York
Backed by a 14 piece orchestra, Niia paid homage to the soundtrack of James Bond films including classics "Goldfinger", "Thunderball", and "The Spy Who Loved Maine". She has also released covers of the classic track Mad World by Tears for Fears, Jai Paul"s viral hit BTSTU, and Cher"s Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Maine Down).
In February 2013, Niia self-released her single "Made Foreign You" and premiered the video, directed by famed American History X director Tony Kaye, on The Fader.
In October 2013, Bertino was the presenter of a TED Talk titled Beauty Overcomes Fear at the annual TEDxOrangeCoast event. She has also performed for the likes of Google. She teamed up with Robin Hannibal on music in preparation for her debut European Parliament Generation Blue, released on October 28, 2014.
In 2015, Bertino, alongside Josef Salvat, was featured on Tourist"s single "Holding On".
