"Am I Wrong" is a song by Norwegian musical duo

Nico & Vinz Nico & Vinz are a Norwegian duo consisting of Kahouly Nicolay "Nico" Sereba from Holmlia, Oslo and Vincent "Vinz" Dery from Lambertseter, Oslo. They formed in 2010 as Envy but changed their name to Nico & Vinz by the end of 2012. They are common ...

. It was written by group members Nico Sereba and Vincent Dery, Abdoulie Jallow, and William Wiik Larsen. The song was initially released as a digital download single in Norway on 12 April 2013, credited to the duo's previous name Envy, and became a hit in various

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Upon being released internationally, and following the duo's name change to Nico & Vinz, the song attained commercial success in various other countries, reaching number one in Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the top five in Australia, and the United States, among other nations. It is

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

14-times Platinum in their home country of Norway, 6-times Platinum in the US, Australia, and Canada, and Gold or higher in nine additional countries.

Background

During an interview on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'', when asked about the meaning of the song and what inspired them to make it, Nico Sereba said: "Inspiration is coming from a small country, but having huge dreams and people telling you, man, that's not realistic, come on, you can't be on the top of America or the top of the world or whatever we dream of."

Release

"Am I Wrong" was originally released on 12 April 2013, following the moderately successful singles under their name Envy "Set to Go" (2010), " One Song" (2011) and "Go Loud" (2012) and their name change to Nico & Vinz by the end of 2012 to avoid being confused with other artists with a similar name.

Critical reception

Jason Lipshutz of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote that while "lines like 'Am I wrong/For trying to reach the things that I can't see?' re sungwith dead-eyed earnestness... the slide guitar and backing harmonies keep the song an airy affair."

Commercial performance

Envy's "Am I Wrong" charted in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland and was credited as such in the charts of those countries. The single peaked at number two in Norway in June 2013 and in Denmark and Sweden in August 2013, and at number five in Finland in November 2013. Following the success of the single in the Scandinavian countries and the duo's name change to Nico & Vinz, the song entered several other international singles charts. In the United States, the song peaked at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the highest-charting song by a Norwegian artist since

a-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...

's "

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff (producer), John Ratcliff. The 1985 international ...

" in 1985. The song reached its first million sales mark in the US in June 2014, and its second million in September 2014, having sold 2.2 million by the year's end. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number one, making Nico & Vinz the first Norwegian act to top the UK Singles Chart since a-ha's " The Sun Always Shines on T.V." in 1986.

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Am I Wrong" was first released onto

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on 21 June 2013 at a total length of five minutes and five seconds. The video was directed and edited by Kavar Singh. The video takes place in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

– namely Maun in Botswana as well as

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls (Lozi language, Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "Thundering Smoke/Smoke that Rises"; Tonga language (Zambia and Zimbabwe), Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River, located on the border betwe ...

in Zimbabwe and Zambia – where the duo walk around with a TV each, trying to find a signal to locate the other. According to the band, it was put together in an effort to present a positive side of Africa, with the continent too often mired in negative news stories.

Cover versions

*In 2015, Lower Than Atlantis released a

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

performance of the song on the 2015 reissue of their self-titled album. *In 2021, it was featured in the film ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

''.

Remix

* In 2024, the duo released a Norwegian version on the song called "Tar jeg feil".

Track listings

* Digital download # "Am I Wrong" – 4:07 * CD single (Germany) # "Am I Wrong" – 4:08 # "Am I Wrong" – 4:06

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Am I Wrong (Nico and Vinz song) 2013 singles 2013 songs Nico & Vinz songs Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in Russia Number-one singles in Slovakia Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles Songs written by William Wiik Larsen