Oscar Zia (born 10 October 1996) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and actor. In 2012, he first came to national attention for coming eighth in the Swedish version of X Factor. In 2014, Zia finished as runner-up on the eighth season of Let's Dance, the Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars.
Following X Factor, Zia signed a record deal with Warner Music, and in 2014, he released his debut album I Don't Know How to Dance, which peaked at number three in Sweden. He has competed in Melodifestivalen twice, in 2014 with "Yes We Can" and in 2016 with "Human". In 2021, he returned to the competition as a guest co-host with Anis Don Demina, and later hosted the entire competition in 2022. In 2020, Zia made his acting debut on Cryptid on Viaplay.
Career
2012: X Factor
Zia first appeared in the 2012 Swedish X Factor in the show's inaugural season auditioning with "Without You" by David Guetta. He ended in the Final 12 in the "Boys under 25" category coached by the judge assigned for the category Ison Glasgow. He finished 8th overall between 12 final contestants. His performances included:
Bottom 2 duel (3 November 2012) – "It Will Rain" from Bruno Mars – Result: Deadlock by judges (2 of 4 votes) / Elimination by public vote / 8th overall
2013: Melodifestivalen 2013 and Let's Dance 2013
In 2013, Zia was in the backing vocals alongside Loulou Lamotte in the Behrang Miri song "Jalla Dansa Sawa" performed in Melodifestivalen 2013, the Swedish selection process for Eurovision Song Contest 2013.[1][2] Although the song failed to make it to the finals after a duel elimination round won by Anton Ewald and his song "Begging", the song gained great popularity with the Swedish public and the single was released immediately after the competition reaching number 4 on Sverigetopplistan, the official Swedish Singles Chart.
2014–2015: Melodifestivalen 2014 and I Don't Know How to Dance
In 2014, he took part in Melodifestivalen 2014 in a bid to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, this time as a solo singer with the song "Yes We Can". It reached the Final 10 held on 8 March 2014, and he finished 8th overall in the Final 10. He was chosen as a member of the Swedish jury for that year's Eurovision Song Contest 2014. After this, he released his debut studio album I Don't Know How to Dance on the 26 March on the Warner Music Group label. The album peaked at number 3 on the Swedish album charts, Sverigetopplistan.
2016: Melodifestivalen 2016 and "Human"
In 2016, Zia again participated in Melodifestivalen 2016 with the song "Human", which was co-written with Victor Thell and Maria Smith. He took part in the third semi-final on 20 February 2016, and again progressed to the final held on 12 March 2016 in a bid to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. In the final, he won the jury vote by 1 point over Frans, placed third with the Swedish public, and was the overall runner-up.[3]
2017–present: Din and Melodifestivalen hosting
In November 2018, Zia released his first extended play, Din. The extended play has yielded two charting singles, "Kyss mig i slo-mo" and "Betong", peaking at number seven and thirteen on the Swedish Heatseekers Chart, respectively.
In February 2021, Zia co-hosted the semi-final 2 of the Melodifestivalen 2021 along with Swedish singer and producer Christer Björkman and Swedish DJ Anis Don Demina as a guest host. Zia and Demina performed "Stad i ljus" on the stage.
In February 2016, Zia came out as gay.[5] Both his parents are Italian-born, from the Venice area. He has five siblings named Anna, Dante, Isac, Leonardo and Isabella.
