Tajči Cameron ( , ; born Tatjana Matejaš, , on 1 July 1970) is a Croatian singer, television show host, published author and blogger, who now lives in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Career

As a pop star in the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Tajči won the national selection of RTV

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Sociali ...

and represented

at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1990 The Eurovision Song Contest 1990 was the 35th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia, following the country's victory at the with the song " Rock Me" by Riva. It was the only time Yugoslavia ...

. The contest was held at Zagreb and she sang the song " Hajde da ludujemo" ("Let's go crazy"). Her Yugoslav music career was cut short by the breakup of Yugoslavia and the subsequent

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. She left Croatia in 1992 and a year later graduated from the

American Musical and Dramatic Academy The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is a private conservatory for the performing arts located in New York City and Los Angeles, California. The conservatory offers both Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and two-year certificates in prof ...

in New York. She appeared in numerous off Broadway productions and landed a lead role in "Miracle of Christmas" a mega-production at Sight and Sound Theatre, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. During her time in New York, she was signed by Camile Barbone and produced the "Age of Love" CD recorded at Long View Farms Studio. In 1994, she returned to Croatia and starred in a production of ''

Kiss Me Kate ''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-sta ...

'' by Croatian National Theatre, Rijeka. She moved to Los Angeles in 1997 seeking to expand her performing skills through television and film. She continued her musical theater career with roles in

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, ...

produced by Starlight Theatre in San Diego and ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'' at the

San Gabriel Mission Playhouse The San Gabriel Mission Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located in the Mission District of the city of San Gabriel, California. History The Playhouse was constructed between 1923 and 1927 for John Steven McGroarty’s hugely succe ...

. In 1997-98, she produced a series of benefit concerts at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, California, where she met Matthew Cameron, whom she married in 1999. She ended up performing music in

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

churches while auditioning for roles, some of which she rejected because they required nudity. In late 2004, she and her family relocated to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, a more central location for her heavy touring schedule with concerts. In 2011,

Yamaha Entertainment Group Yamaha Entertainment Group of America, is a division of the American subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. It is based in Franklin, Tennessee and was created and developed in 2001 by Vice President Chris Gero. YEG is responsible for the development ...

produced a remake of her mega-hit from the 1990s "Dvije zvjezdice". She released an indie pop album ''Awaken'' in 2013 on which she collaborated with Bryan Lennox, a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning producer. Tajči wrote a full-length musical, ''My Perfectly Beautiful Life'', which was produced by Cincinnati Playwright Initiative at the Jarson-Kaplan Theatre in February 2010. Tajci, her husband and their three children relocated to

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

in 2014, the same year she started producing and hosting TV show "Waking Up in America" and in 2015 founded "Waking Up Revolution", a multi platform brand. She is also a certified Holistic Life Coach through Radiant Health Institute, certified as 65 hours of Approved Coach Specific Training Hours by the International Coach Federation.

Personal life

Tajči married Matthew Cameron, whom she met in church, in 1999. The couple have three sons, all raised in the

faith. She lost her husband Matthew to Stage 4 non smokers' lung cancer in 2017. Her sister is Croatian-American actress and singer

Sanja Matejaš Sanya Mateyas ( hr, Sanja Matejaš) is a Croatian–American actress and singer. She moved to the United States in 1999. She was a leader and a composer for her Los Angeles-based hard-rock band Duda Did It, with an independent album released ...

, known as Sanya Mateyas.

Discography

*'' Hajde Da Ludujemo'' (1990) *''Bube u glavi'' (1991) *''Struggles & Graces'' (1997) *''Now and Forever'' (2000) *''Emmanuel – The Story of Christmas'' (2002) *''Let It Be – Mary's Story'' (2003) *''I Thirst'' (2004) *''Zlatna kolekcija'' (2004) *''A Chance to Dream'' (2006) *''Need A Break'' (2008) *''All american'' (1991) *''The best of Tajči'' (1992) *''The love collection'' (2011) *''Taichi Eqinocij'' (1997) *''God bless America'' (2010) *''Dell'aurora tu sorgi piu bella'' (2011) *VHS ''Bube u glavi'' (1991) *''AWAKEN'' (2014)

References

External links

Cincinnati Enquirer: From pop stardom to an inner light

"Nisam požalila prekid karijere"

Official Site

WakingUpRevolution Site

iDoBelieve.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tajci 1970 births Living people Croatian pop singers Croatian Roman Catholics 20th-century Croatian women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Yugoslavia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1990 Croatian emigrants to the United States Musicians from Zagreb 21st-century Croatian women singers Yugoslav women singers