Seid Memić, known by his stage name Vajta, (born 8 March 1950, in

Travnik Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

) is a Bosnian singer and the vocalist for the Yugoslav

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Teška industrija Teška Industrija (trans. ''Heavy Industry'') is a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian and SFR Yugoslav, Yugoslav Rock music, rock band formed in Sarajevo in 1974. The group was formed in 1974 by keyboardist Gabor Lenđel, guitarist Vedad Hadžiavdi� ...

("Heavy Industry"). In 1973, Vajta moved to

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, which is when his music career began in earnest. From 1975 to 1976 he was a vocalist for Teška Industrija, who enjoyed great commercial success throughout the

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

countries but later dissolved. Soon, though, Vajta left the band to start a career as a pop singer. In the years from 1979-85, the albums "Zlatna Ribica" (Goldfish), "Vajta 2 Ponoćni valcer" (Midnight Waltz), "Tebi pjevam" (Singing to You) and "Kad bulbuli pjevaju" (When Bulbuls Sing) brought him to the heights of popularity throughout the former Yugoslavia and made him a household name. He became internationally known at the

1981 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Dublin, Ireland, following the country's victory at the with the song "What's Another Year" performed by Johnny Logan. Organised by the Euro ...

, where he represented

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. He achieved 15th place for Yugoslavia with the song "Lejla", which became a hit and is still known throughout the

countries. He hosted the kids' programme ''Nedeljni zabavnik'' in the 1980s. With the breakout of the

Bosnian war The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

, he moved to Germany. He settled in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, where he lives today. In early 2007, Teška Industrija reunited and released a new album. In 2009, Vajta attained popularity by participating in the

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show ''

Farma Farma may refer to: * ''Farma'' (franchise), the name of a number of reality TV shows originating with ''The Farm'' in Sweden ** ''Farma'' (Croatian TV series) ** ''Farma'' (Czech TV series) ** ''Farma'' (Polish TV series) ** ''Farma'' (Serbia ...

'', where he was evicted in the 6th duel on April 10.

References

1950 births Living people People from Travnik Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Yugoslav musicians Bosnia and Herzegovina rock singers 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina male singers Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Germany Eurovision Song Contest entrants {{BosniaHerzegovina-singer-stub