Luka Ivanović

Luka Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Лука Ивановић; born 18 May 1992), known professionally as Luke Black ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Лук Блек, separator=" / ", Luk Blek), is a Serbian singer and songwriter. Born in Čačak, he became the first Serbian artist to be signed under Universal Music Group, through which he released his debut EP, ''Thorns'', in February 2015. He represented Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 with the song " Samo mi se spava", placing 24th in the grand final. Described as the "Serbian pop alchemist", his music draws from a range of electropop and experimental pop music influences.

Early life

Luka Ivanović was born on 18 May 1992 in Čačak, FR Yugoslavia. He pursued interest in music at the age of 12 when he started writing his own lyrics, and a couple of years later also began creating and producing music. After graduating from the Grammar School of Čačak, he relocated to Belgrade to study English language and literature at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology.

Ivanović stated that his stage name "Luke" comes from the Anglicisation of names, anglicisation of his first name, while "Black" originates from when he as a teenager expressed forty days of mourning for the "death of the Serbian music scene".

Career

2010−2019: Career beginnings, ''Thorns'' and ''Neoslavic''

His career began when the performance of his song "D-Generation" was noticed by the representatives of Universal Music Group, offering him a recording contract. He made his recording debut with the help from the Serbian music collective Zemlja Gruva. In 2014, Black released his first single "Nebula Lullaby" through Spinnup. In May the same year, he had his first live performance at the Belgrade Youth Center as a part of the ''Gruvlend Festival'', which was organized by Zemlja Gruva to showcase new talents. "D-Generation" was officially released in February 2015 as the lead single to Luke's debut EP. The music video for the single was uploaded through Vevo. "D-Generation" was followed by the second single "Holding on to Love" in May 2015. ''Thorns'' the EP was eventually released on 18 September 2015 under Universal. The following month, it was promoted at the Waves Vienna festival and Tvornica kulture in Zagreb, where Black served as the opening act for the band Lust For Youth.

In May 2016, Black released the standalone single "Demons", produced by Venza from Spain. The song was also nominated to represent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, but Radio Television of Serbia ultimately went with "Goodbye (Shelter)" by Sanja Vučić. In June, to promote the single Black embarked on a solo tour in China, performing in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

In April 2017, he performed at a fashion show during the Berlin Alternative Fashion Week, held at the Berghain nightclub. There he announced the release of his single "Walpurgis Night", produced by Swede Oscar Fogelström. Remastered versions of "Demons" and "Walpurgis Night" were included to his second EP ''Neoslavic'', released in July 2018. Later that year, Black made an indefinite break from music.

2020–2023: ''F23.8'' and Eurovision Song Contest

In April 2021, Black independently released "A House on the Hill", which was included on his EP ''F23.8''.

In January 2023, he was announced as one of the contestants of the Serbian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, ''Pesma za Evroviziju '23'', with the song " Samo mi se spava". On 1 March, Black performed during the first semi-final, where he placed sixth and thus qualified for the final. Subsequently, on 4 March, "Samo mi se spava" received the most points out of sixteen finalists by coming second on both the televote and the jury vote, making Luke Black the winner of the competition and Serbian representative for the contest in Liverpool. On 9 May, he performed third during the first semi-final of the Eurovision and qualified through to the final by placing 10th. Black dedicated the performance to the Belgrade school shooting victims. In the grand final, on May 13, he performed fifth and ultimately finished in 24th place out of twenty-six entries with 30 points. Serbian media portal '' Nova.rs'' credited Luke's low placement in the Eurovision to the comparison to the overwhelming success and acclaim of the previous Serbian entry - Konstrakta, the lack of support from the Serbian general public, technical issues in the semi-final on the behalf of BBC, as well as on the song itself.

Post-Eurovision, Black performed at two sold-out headline shows in London and released a single, the Lily Allen and Nirvana inspired "I'm So Happy", in August 2023. In October he was the opening act for Ukrainian band Go_A at the O2 Academy Islington.

On November 16, Black released another single, "God's Too Cool", a bass-heavy dance track produced by fellow London-based musician Shurk (Benjamin Dunkerley). One month later, Black returned to Serbia for a sold-out concert at the Belgrade Youth Center, on the same stage where he first performed live 10 years prior. A number of his artist friends performed together with him for this occasion, including Konstrakta, the Serbian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

2024: ''Chainsaws in Paradise''

On February 29, Black opened the semi-final 2 of ''Pesma za Evroviziju '24'' with a reprise of his winning entry from the previous year, "Samo mi se spava". In the subsequent interview he announced the release of his first full length album, ''Chainsaws in Paradise'', for May 24, followed by a tour through the United Kingdom, Poland and Finland.

During the voting interval, Black performed an extended version of "God's Too Cool" and premiered the alternative metal song "Chainsaws in Paradise", the title track of his upcoming album. The single was released the following day. Black released two more singles from ''Chainsaws in Paradise'' in the following months, "Winter Dahlia" on April 25 and "Drinking Jack With Daddy" on May 8.

Personal life and further education

Black resides in London, England. There, he studied at the Point Blank Music School and subsequently also graduated with a master's degree in music production from the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. Black worked as a graphic designer for a record label in London.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Chainsaws in Paradise'' (2024)

Extended plays

* ''Thorns'' (2015)
* ''Neoslavic'' (2018)
* ''F23.8'' (2021)
* ''Luke Black Remixes'' (2023)
* ''Singles 2015–2018'' (2023)

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Luke
1992 births
Living people
Musicians from Čačak
Serbian pop singers
Serbian electronic singers
Serbian emigrants to the United Kingdom
21st-century Serbian male singers
Pesma za Evroviziju winners
Eurovision Song Contest entrants