Nico & Vinz to perform in Rochester Sunday

Pepsi is going to roll into town on Sunday, Jan. 18, with a pop-up concert featuring pop/hip-hop duo Nico & Vinz.

The free concert will take place at the corner of East Avenue and Chestnut Street at 6 p.m. Sunday. The concert's emcees will be Carter and Corey of 98PXY (97.9 FM).

Rochester won a contest called "Hype Your Hometown" in a promotion tied to the NFL — Pepsi's Hyped for Halftime campaign. Pepsi will deliver the hype with a town takeover, with surprises popping up around Rochester leading up to the event including a mobile Hype Squad and vending machines that will offer a chance to win VIP passes or meet and greets.

"It does put a big spotlight on our city," says Jessica Alaimo, press officer for the City of Rochester. "We're really excited that so many people took the time to vote for our city."

It is up to Pepsi to make the plans for crowd control and security, but it will be reviewed by the city, Alaimo said, adding that public safety is of utmost importance.

The city is expecting about 3,000 people at the concert. Rochester Police Department officers will be blocking off streets, but Pepsi will cover the overtime costs, Alaimo said.

Rochester won the sweepstakes for its enthusiasm. During the sweepstakes period — Nov. 26 to Dec. 27 — local participants submitted a photo or video, along with a brief description, showing excitement for the Super Bowl XLIX halftime show. Each entrant was allowed up to five submissions per day during the sweepstakes period.

The submissions were judged by an independent panel based on originality and creativity; embodiment of the "Hyped for Halftime" campaign; total hometown participation; and public voting. Rochester submitted 509 entries, clinching the rights to the pop-up concert with the popular duo Nico & Vinz, who are best known for their hit song "Am I Wrong."

When Nico Sereba and Vincent Dery, better known as the pop/hip-hop duo Nico & Vinz, think about football, they tend to associate the sport with the round ball played on the pitch.

That's because the performers hail from Norway, where "football" means soccer. But they're getting acquainted with the USA's counterpart, having toured North America and scoring a stateside hit with "Am I Wrong."

"We've become more and more interested in the sport," Nico says about American football. "We've started learning the rules. I'd say we're definitely becoming fans."

Nico & Vinz's professional relationship with Pepsi began last summer, when the company teamed with the duo on a documentary-style video for "Am I Wrong." The clip followed the young men in New York, as they made promotional appearances and delivered a showcase concert in a hotel. The video launched the Pepsi Pulse Artist Spotlight program, which promotes emerging acts.

Before forming Nico & Vinz, Sereba and Dery, who met when both were in their late teens, performed together as Envy. Despite being native Norwegians, Nico notes, "We both have African backgrounds — his parents are from Ghana; my mother's Norwegian and my father's from the Ivory Coast." Their music, likewise, blends "African culture and an urban vibe with Scandinavian pop. It's music you could play on hip-hop or Top 40 radio stations."

Getting Nico & Vinz to perform in Rochester is a major coup for the community, said Paul Guglielmo, on-air disc jockey at KISS 106.7 WKGS-FM.

"Am I Wrong" "is one of the most popular songs of 2014," Guglielmo said.

As they are a pop group, Nico & Vinz would attract a younger audience, similar to the station's target demographic of people ages 18 to 34, he added.

"But I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of soccer moms at the concert," Guglielmo said.

MCHAO@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/MaryChaoStyle