Like a best friend or your favorite comfort movie, 23-year-old Nxdia talks about the things that make you feel understood and turns them into alt-pop bangers that are as addictive as they are self-affirming.
Hailing from Manchester, Nxdia was Born in Egypt with Egyptian-Sudanese heritage and moved to the UK when they were eight years old. For Nxdia, a level of self-awareness has always been inseparable from their art. Early memories growing up in Cairo and living next to a cinema provided their first surges of inspiration as a child, creating images and characters through drawing and poetry. This fascination with creativity and storytelling soon began seeping its way into the music they were writing, both through their lyrics and hypnotic vocal flourishes.
Playful, charming, with lashings of oversharing, the rising star’s dazzling nature runs through the veins of their smart pop signature; one that blends vulnerable and introspective lyrics with effortless delivery and catchy beats. In 2020 they started sharing music and aspects of their life on TikTok, quickly gaining traction, and bringing together a dedicated community of over 700k people. Their earliest single ‘OUCH!’ released in 2021 scored a staggering 2M streams and adds in major editorial playlists, as well as nods from BBC Introducing Manchester and BBC Radio 1.
After spending much of 2022 writing songs with a variety of songwriters and producers across Europe, 2023 saw Nxdia independently release their first EP ‘in the flesh’. A mesmerizing debut packed with standout hits; ‘idc’, ‘dopamine’ and ‘decay’, as well as ‘what’s it like’ which appeared on all the major streaming playlists including 10+ NMF, Fresh Finds, Peach, New Pop (Spotify), Alt Pop, (Apple Music), Break Through Pop (Amazon) and multiple playlists covers (Spotify, Anghami, YouTube), as well as TikTok with an ‘Artist of The Week’ add and four playlists.
Proudly embedded in Manchester’s bustling music scene, in the past few years Nxdia has stepped onto several buzzing stages across the UK. Last year alone Nxdia performed the half time show at The Hundred 2023 cricket game in front of 19,000 people and gigged at several festivals including Liverpool Sound City, Christine and The Queen’s Meltdown, Pride in London, Manchester International Festival and Jodie Bryant Discovery Night.
Showing no signs of slowing down, the rising alt-pop newcomer kicks off 2024 with their upcoming single ‘She Likes a Boy’ on Jan 12. Written about their 13/14 year old self, with English and Arabic lyrics, the track is both a fearless alt-pop bop and an ode to queer awakenings. With its glitchy beats, grungy guitar and catchy lyrics, ‘She Likes a Boy’ is fast becoming an anthem within the LGBTQ+ community for its universal feeling of being misunderstood.
The overwhelming wave of support around “She Likes a Boy” is prevalent with 7.2 million views across the ‘She Likes a Boy’ videos and 22K content creations, but Nxdia’s focus is not on the numbers but on the individuals who are using the song to soundtrack their unique identity experiences. At the heart of Nxdia’s vision for their community is to create a global hangout where all people can feel safe, accepted and free to just be.
The global breakthrough of Arabic-pop is paving the way to an incredible discovery of Middle Eastern artists who are breaking the mould, and Nxdia is a unique artist amongst this fresh wave. With their harmonious blend of Arabic and English lyrics, Nxdia exemplifies a striking fusion that perfectly combines their heritage with pop-punk sensibilities and an innate swagger. Having spent the last year honing their sound and crafting new material,
Nxdia continues to cement their status as a one to watch with their upcoming single ‘She Likes a Boy’.