Nico Santos (singer)

Nico Wellenbrink (born 7 January 1993), professionally known as Nico Santos or occasionally as Santos or Santi, is a German singer-songwriter. In 2017, after having been featured on Topic's hit "Home" (2015), he released his breakthrough solo single "Rooftop", which reached the top five in German-speaking Europe, Poland and Slovakia, as well as number one in the Czech Republic. It also received several certifications, including triple gold by the German Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) and quintuple platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Switzerland (IFPI SWI). Santos' debut studio album, Streets of Gold, was issued in October 2018 and yielded other moderately successful singles alongside "Rooftop", such as "Safe" (2018) and "Unforgettable" (2019).

Nico Santos
Santos in 2025
Background information
Birth name	Nico Wellenbrink
Also known as	Santos Santi
Born	(1993-01-07) 7 January 1993 (age 32) Bremen, Germany
Genres	Pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Labels	Universal
Website	www.nico-santos.de

In May 2020, Universal Music Group released his self-titled second record, which fared well commercially and featured three top 40 hits on the German singles chart—"Better" (2019), "Play with Fire" (2019) and "Like I Love You" (2020). While the former was a collaboration with Lena Meyer-Landrut and the latter with Topic, respectively, "Play with Fire" notably reached number 11 in the Czech Republic. Another top 10, "Would I Lie to You", followed in 2021 in the territory, the same year as Santos released the single "Leere Hände" ("Empty Hands") to great commercial success in German-speaking Europe under his last name only. Santos collaborated again with Topic in 2022 on "In Your Arms (For an Angel)", which was listed on Billboard's Euro Digital Singles Sales and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs charts, among others.

Apart from his solo releases, Santos has co-written or produced songs for a number of German artists, including Bushido, Shindy, Helene Fischer and Mark Forster. His visibility was aided by his participation in the German international song competition Free European Song Contest 2020, which he won with the song "Like I Love You", as well as by his involvement as a coach on The Voice of Germany from its ninth season to the eleventh season, and again for its fifteenth season.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions			Certifications
		GER [1]	AUT [2]	SWI [3]
Streets of Gold[4]	Released: 12 October 2018 Label: Universal Music Group Formats: Digital download, streaming	25	69	29	IFPI SWI: Platinum[5]
Nico Santos[6]	Released: 8 May 2020 Label: Universal Music Group Formats: Digital download, streaming	3	5	2
Ride	Released: 26 May 2023 Label: Universal Music Group Formats: Digital download, streaming	2	42	37

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions											Certifications	Album
		GER [1]	AUT [2]	CIS [7]	CRO [8]	CZR [9]	EUR Dig. [10]	POL [11]	RUS [12]	SVK [13]	SWI [3]	US Dance/ Elec. [10]
"Symphony" (featuring B-Case)	2016	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Non-album singles
"Goodbye to Love" (with Broiler)	2017	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Rooftop" (solo or featuring Kool Savas and Kelvin Jones		5	2	—	—	1	—	3	—	4	5	—	BVMI: 3× Gold[14] IFPI AUT: Platinum[15] IFPI SWI: 5× Platinum[5]	Streets of Gold
"Safe"	2018	24	23	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	36	—	BVMI: Gold[14] IFPI AUT: Gold[15] IFPI SWI: 2× Platinum[5]
"Oh Hello"		—[A]	—[B]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	IFPI SWI: Gold[5]
"Unforgettable"	2019	66	65	—	—	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	BVMI: Gold[14] IFPI SWI: Gold[5]
"Better" (with Lena)		15	17	—	—	19	—	—	—	53	89	—	BVMI: Platinum[14] IFPI AUT: Gold[15]	Nico Santos
"Play with Fire"		54	59	—	—	11	—	—	—	—	66	—	BVMI: Gold[14] IFPI SWI: Gold[5]
"Like I Love You" (with Topic)	2020	24	32	—	—	68	—	—	—	41	54	—	BVMI: Gold[14] IFPI AUT: Platinum[15]
"Running Back to You" (with Martin Jensen and Alle Farben)		80	—[C]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Non-album singles
"Leere Hände" (as Santos featuring Sido and Samra)	2021	2	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5	—
"End of Summer"		—[D]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Would I Lie to You"		31	—[E]	—	—	10	—	—	—	16	—	—
"In Your Arms (For an Angel)" (with Topic, Robin Schulz and Paul Van Dyk)[21]	2022	36	—[F]	7	10	—	12	—	9	9	61	31	IFPI AUT: Gold[15]
"Candela" (with Álvaro Soler)		―[G]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Weekend Lover"		—[H]	—[I]	—	30	4	—	—	—	16	—[J]	—
"All You Need Is Love" (with Nicky Romero and Jonas Blue)[27]	2023	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Number 1"		—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	1	—	—
"Where You Are" (with Fast Boy)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	74	—	—
"Himmel leer" (as Santos featuring Jazeek)	2024	26	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	81	—
"Human Being"		—	—	—	—	5	—	—	—	65	—	—
"Geschlossene Augen" (as Santos featuring Sido)		4	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12	—
"Ray of Light"		—	—	—	—	86	—	—	—	23	—	—
"Das Leben ruft" (as Santos featuring Montez)	2025	24	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Party Girls Don’t Cry" (as Santos featuring Yakary)		68	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

As featured artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions					Certifications	Album
		GER [1]	AUS [28]	AUT [2]	SWE Heat. [29]	SWI [3]
"Won't Let You Fall" (Gigo'n'Migo and Lifters featuring Nico Santos)	2014	—	—	—	—	—		Non-album singles
"Holding On" (Mr. Da-Nos featuring Nico Santos)	2015	—	—	—	—	42
"Home" (Topic featuring Nico Santos)		12	11	10	2	—	BVMI: Platinum[14]
"Fastlane" (Jamule featuring Nico Santos)	2020	9	—	17	—	29
"This City" (Remix) (Sam Fischer featuring Nico Santos)		—	—	—	—	—
"Die Sonne" (Kontra K featuring Nico Santos)	2023	1	—	—	—	—		Die Hoffnung klaut mir niemand
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released.

Other charted songs

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		GER [1]
"Purple Rain" (with Capital Bra and Samra)	2019	50	Berlin lebt 2

Songwriting and production credits

Title	Year	Artist
"Wir sind groß"	2016	Mark Forster
"Roli"		Shindy
"Achterbahn"	2017	Helene Fischer
"Papa"		Bushido
"So schön kaputt"		SDP
"Lost In You"		Lena
"If I Wasn't Your Daughter"
"Hellrot"		Prinz Pi, Bosse
"Tausend Tattoos"	2018	Sido
"Mañana"	2021	Álvaro Soler, Cali y El Dandee
"Vamos a Marte"		Helene Fischer, Luis Fonsi

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Nomination	Work	Result	Ref.
2018	Radio Galaxy Awards	Best Newcomer	Himself	Won	[30]
	Audi Generation Awards	Music		Won	[31]
	1LIVE Krone Awards	Best Newcomer		Nominated	[32]
		Best Single	"Safe"	Nominated
2019			"Better"	Nominated	[33]
		Best Male Artist	Himself	Nominated
	Bravo Otto Awards	Musician National		Nominated	[34]
2020				Bronze	[35]
	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favourite Singer (for DACH)		Nominated	[36]
		Favourite Song (for DACH)	"Better"	Won
	1LIVE Krone Awards	Best Male Artist	Himself	Nominated	[37]
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Best German Act		Nominated	[38]
2021	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards	Favourite Singer (for DACH)		Nominated	[39]
		Favourite Team (for DACH)	The Voice of Germany	Won
	Bravo Otto Awards	Musician National	Himself	Pending	[40]
	1LIVE Krone Awards	Best Single	"Would I Lie to You"	Won	[41]

Notes

1. "Oh Hello" did not enter the Official German Singles Chart, but peaked at number four on the German Radio chart.^[16]
2. "Oh Hello" did not enter the Ö3 Austria Top 40, but peaked at number 10 on the Austrian Radio chart.^[17]
3. "Running Back to You" did not enter the Ö3 Austria Top 40, but peaked at number 29 on the Austrian Radio chart.^[18]
4. "End of Summer" did not enter the Official German Singles Chart, but peaked at number 65 on the German Radio chart.^[19]
5. "Would I Lie to You" did not enter the Ö3 Austria Top 40, but peaked at number 35 on the Austrian Radio chart.^[20]
6. "In Your Arms (For an Angel)" did not enter the Ö3 Austria Top 40, but peaked at number 14 on the Austrian Radio chart.^[22]
7. "Candela" did not enter the Official German Singles Chart, but peaked at number 82 on the German Radio chart.^[23]
8. "Weekend Lover" did not enter the Official German Singles Chart, but peaked at number one on the German Radio chart.^[24]
9. "Weekend Lover" did not enter the Ö3 Austria Top 40, but peaked at number 21 on the Austrian Radio chart.^[25]
10. "Weekend Lover" did not enter the Schweizer Hitparade, but peaked at number 23 on the Swiss Radio chart.^[26]