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: • Week 1 (5 October 2012) – "
Boyfriend" from
Justin Bieber – Result: Safe • Week 2 (12 October 2012) – "
DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love from
Usher – Result: Safe • Week 3 (19 October 2012) – "
Danza Kuduro" from
Don Omar featuring
Lucenzo – Result: Safe • Week 4 (26 October 2012) – "
When You Say Nothing at All" from
Ronan Keating – Result: Safe • Week 5 (2 November 2012) – "
Moves Like Jagger" from
Maroon 5 – Result: Bottom 2 • 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. 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. Zia was one of the contestants in ''
Let's Dance 2013, the eighth season of the Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars'', broadcast on the Swedish television channel
TV4. He finished as the runner-up behind the winner
Markoolio.
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.
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. On 7 September 2021, it was announced that Zia would be presenting
Melodifestivalen 2022. ==Personal life==