Severina Vučković (born 21 April 1972), better known mononymously as Severina, is a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n singer-songwriter and actress. In 2006, the Croatian weekly '' Nacional'' listed her among the 100 most influential Croats, calling her "the only '' bona fide'' Croatian celebrity". She represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Greece, with the song " Moja štikla", finishing 12th. She won the award "Zlatna ptica" for the best selling artist of the decade in Croatia. In 2015, she was the most searched person on

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

in Croatia and Slovenia.

Career

Music

Severina's style can be described as pop with various folk and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

influences. As a child, she took smaller parts in theatre and opera productions in her native Split. During the 1980s, having won numerous awards at local festivals, she launched her professional career at an early age, which ultimately resulted in her moving to

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 Sl ...

in 1989 to expand her career further. ''Severina'' (albums, 1990 and 1992) In 1990, she released her first studio album titled ''Severina''. The album served as her breakthrough to the national platform. It included 10 songs such as: "Vodi me na ples", "Sve do zore" and "Svirajte mi rokeri". Those songs, along with "Budim se s imenom tvojim", "Zamisli" and "Tvoja prva djevojka" from her next eponymous record (released in 1992), became a huge hit among younger fans. ''Dalmatinka'' (album, 1993) The leading song from her third studio album, '' Dalmatinka'', became a Croatian evergreen and captured the emotions of many at the time of release. In the song, Severina sang about her love for the native Dalmatia, white color and the Virgin Mary ("First to me is Mary, second to me is white color, and third is your love"). The album had total of 10 songs among which were: "Ne bi ti oprostila", "Ne spavaj mala moja" (cover), "Paloma Nera" and others. Both "Paloma Nera" and "Dalmatinka" became number 1 on national top list. ''Trava zelena'' (album, 1995) ''

Trava zelena ''Trava zelena'' () is the fourth album by Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map ...

'' achieved spectacular success. The title song, "Trava zelena", was the most popular song of the year and Severina's primacy on the Croatian media platform became stronger than ever before. The composer of the album was Zrinko Tutic. The album had total of 10 songs including: "Trava zelena", "Vatra i Led", "Mr. Taliman", etc. ''Moja stvar'' (album 1996) ''

Moja stvar ''Moja stvar'' () is the fifth album by Croatian singer Severina. It was released in 1996 by Croatia Records. This is Severina's first album on which she is signed as the author of the title track and several other songs.Djevojka sa sela'' was composed and written partially by Zrinko Tutić and partially by Severina herself. The title song "Djevojka sa sela" is one of her biggest hits. It was proclaimed an anthem of Croatian National Football Team while their involvement in European Football Championship during which they ranked at number 3. ''Djevojka sa sela'' was her last album composed by Tutic and his production company Tutico. They departed after the release because of the dispute over her contract. ''Ja samo pjevam'' (album, 1999) Severina's seventh studio album, '' Ja sam pjevam'', was a continuation of the pop sounds heard on her previous albums. It had total of 10 songs. The composer of this album was Đorđe Novković with whom Severina started working on her next album. ''Pogled ispod obrva'' (album, 2001) Following the success of her 2001 album '' Pogled ispod obrva'', Severina's 2002 concert tour ''Virujen u te'' further confirmed her status of one of the most popular Croatian music artists. This was her first major tour on which she performed in most of the big cities on the Balkans including Sarajevo, Bosnia and Ljubljana, Slovenia. ''Severgeeen'' (album, 2004) After a two-year break, she released her 9th studio album '' Severgreen'' in 2004. This was her first bigger project and public appearance after the sex-tape scandal which occurred in 2003. The album was influenced by jazz music. In 2006, she won the Dora 2006 festival with the song " Moja štikla" and represented Croatia at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, Greece, on 20 May 2006, finishing 13th with 56 points. The song caused some controversy in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

when a few journalists and musicologists claimed the song resembled the music of

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

. However, prominent Croatian ethno-musicians such as

Dunja Knebl Dunja Knebl (born 1946, Zagreb) is an acoustic folk and ethno music singer/performer and translator from Croatia. Knebl was born in Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia and lived in Skopje, Belgrade, Karlovac, but has also lived in Washington, Moscow a ...

and Lidija Bajuk disagreed, and both the song's composer

Boris Novković Boris Novković (born 25 December 1967) is a Croatian singer-songwriter. He has been active since the 1980s. Biography Novković was born in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia. His interest in a musical career was cultivated ...

and Severina herself have claimed that the song includes Croatian folk music influences from the

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...

n Zagora (Inner Dalmatia) such as ganga and rere singing and lijerica instrumentation. After the contest she started working on her 10th studio album together with Goran Bregović, one of the most successful music composers in the Balkans. ''Zdravo Marijo'' (album, 2008) Severina's long-anticipated 10th studio album '' Zdravo Marijo'' ('' Hail Mary''), mostly composed by Goran Bregović, was released in May 2008. Ater having made several public appearances wearing clothes depicting religious imagery (most notably a tight shirt with an image of the Virgin Mary with Severina showing ample cleavage), some protested the abuse of religious elements, calling them offensive. However, the album has been popular and Severina released four more official music videos for singles "Tridesete" composed by Sezen Aksu, "Gade", "Haljinica Boje Lila" and "Zdravo, Marijo" (title track) composed by Bregović. Following the release of the album, Severina went on to her second big regional tour. On 15 December 2009, Severina released her next single called "Lola", which is the part of the ''Miligram'' compilation. ''Dobrodošao u klub'' (album, 2012) Her album and tour ''

Dobrodošao u klub ''Dobrodošao u klub'' () is the eleventh studio album by Croatian recording artist Severina (singer), Severina, which was released in December 2012 by Dallas Records. ''Dobrodošao u Klub Tour'' stands out as the successful tour. Songs from the a ...

'' (''Welcome to the club'' or DUK') held her at the top of Croatian pop music for all of 2012 and 2013, and established her position as the most popular pop singer in Ex-Yu countries. The album had total of 12 songs, 7 of them singles. The first two songs that were released were "Brad Pitt" and "

Grad bez ljudi ''Grad bez ljudi'' (English: ''City without people'') is a song by Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful ...

". "Brad Pitt" became one of the biggest hits of 2011. "Italiana", released in the summer of 2012, was viewed more than half a million times in the first 24 hours and has around 60 million views to this day. Later on, she released "Uzbuna", "Dobrodošao u klub" and "Tarapana". In support of the album she embreak on her second headlining Dobrodošao u Klub Tour. She performed, yet again, in every large city in the region. The tour started in Rijeka in March 2013 and continued in Belgrade (in front of 20,000 people), Zagreb (in front of 19,000 people), Sarajevo (in front of 15,000 people), Ljubljana (in front of 11,000 people) and her native Split (in front of 12,000 people). The whole tour sold more than 250,000 tickets. Post-DUK era In 2013, Severina released the song "Hurem", named after

Hürrem Hurrem Sultan (, ota, خُرّم سلطان, translit=Ḫurrem Sulṭān, tr, Hürrem Sultan, label=Modern Turkish; 1500 – 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana ( uk, Роксолана}; ), was the chief consort and legal wife of the Ottoma ...

. Composer and writer of "Hurem" is Andrej Babić, and arrangers are

Ivan Popeskić Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulga ...

and Branko Berković. In March 2014, she released the song "Alcatraz", called after Alcatraz. The composer and writer of "Alcatraz" is

Miloš Roganović Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name Sportsmen * Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower * Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer * Miloš Budaković, Serbian foo ...

and arrangers are

, Filip Miletić and

Dušan Alagić Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in countries of Yugoslavia; and among Slovaks and Czechs. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular name ...

. Soon after, she released the song "Brazil" to support the national football team of Croatia during the

World Cup 2014 The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

in Brazil. In July 2014, she released "Uno momento" (One moment), a duet with Serbian band Ministarke. The song was noted for its provocative video clip. The song was composed by Filip Miletić and written by

. It turned out to be highly popular across the Balkans, becoming a summer hit in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In October 2014, she released a song with Serbian singer Saša Matić called "More tuge" ("Sea of Sorrow"). Composer is also Matić, writer is

Miloš Smiljanić-Žuća Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name Sportsmen * Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower * Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer * Miloš Budaković, Serbian foo ...

and arranger is

Dejan Abadić Dejan (Cyrillic: Дејан) is a Serbian masculine given name, derived from the Slavic verb ''dejati'', meaning "to act, to do". The name and the derived surname Dejanović are common among South Slavs. The name is first recorded in 1325 (1333 ...

. At the end of 2014 she released the song "Generale" with Croatian band Uciteljice. ''Halo'' (album, 2019) At the beginning of 2017 she released the song named "Kao". On 27 March she released the second official video from the upcoming album, ''Otrove'' featuring Bosnian rapper and producer

Jala Brat Jasmin Fazlić (born 16 October 1986), known by his stage name Jala Brat, is a Bosnian rapper and hip-hop recording artist, songwriter and producer. He is best known for collaborating with another Bosnian rapper Buba Corelli. Jala also repres ...

. The song raised around 15 million views in less than a month, and 29 million views after two months. The third song with its video, ''Mrtav bez mene'', was released on 5 June. In June 2018 she released a music videos for collaborations with Croatian singer Petar Grašo named "Unaprijed Gotovo" ("Already Done") and with Serbian singer Ljuba Stanković named "Tutorial". In August 2018 she released a music video for a song named "M.A.G.I.J.A." ("M.A.G.I.C.") featuring Jala Brat.

Theatre and film

In 2003 Severina landed her first theatre role at the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka (HNK Rijeka) and played the title role in the rock opera ''Karolina Riječka'' (English: ''Caroline of Rijeka''). Two years later she produced and acted in the monodrama ''Čekajući svog čovika'' (''Waiting for my Man'') at the Kerempuh theatre in

. In 2007 she was cast for one of the main roles in HNK Rijeka's musical ''Gospoda Glembajevi'' (''The Glembays''; based upon Miroslav Krleža's 1929 play). Although the decision to cast Severina was met with criticism by some commentators who questioned her acting credentials, the musical premiered in March 2007 with considerable success. Severina also starred in a 2006

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

n film ''Duhovi Sarajeva'' set in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajev ...

. In 2007 she made a 5-minute cameo appearance playing herself in the Slovenian film ''Petelinji zajtrk'' (''Rooster's Breakfast'').

Personal life

Sex tape scandal

In 2004, Vučković was involved in an internationally reported sex scandal after a sex tape featuring her and Bosnian Croat businessman Milan Lučić leaked onto the Internet, which was reported by the Croatian online tabloid Index.hr. The graphic nature of the video and the fact that Lučić was married when the tape was filmed shocked the public. Vučković sued the website that released the tape for damages, claiming that the video was stolen from her and that it was her intellectual property. In 2004 part of the lawsuit about intellectual property was dismissed by the court, but was approved violation of privacy with a compensation of 100,000 kuna.

Relationships

At the beginning of her career, Severina was reported to have been in a relationship with the singer Zrinko Tutić, who was married at the time. Afterwards, she entered into a relationship with singer Alen Marin of the band ''Kojoti''. She later entered into a relationship with music producer Ante Pecotić. In 1999, Severina entered into a brief relationship with the Bosnian model Adnan Taletović, whom she met while filming a music video. In 2000, while still in a relationship with Bosnian Croat general Stanko Sopta, she began an affair with Milan Lučić, a married businessman with whom she recorded a sex tape, which was leaked to the public in 2004. At the time of the tape's release, Severina was reported to be in a relationship with Srećko Vargek, but the two soon broke up. Severina soon entered into a relationship with the economist Mate Čuljak. The relationship lasted a year and a half, but the couple broke up one week before Severina's 35th birthday. Severina soon began dating sports entrepreneur Slavko Šainović. After two and a half years of dating, the couple broke up. In December 2010, Severina met wealthy Serbian businessman Milan Popović at his birthday celebration, where she was hired to perform. They soon began dating, and in August 2011 she announced that she was pregnant with her first child. On 21 February 2012, she gave birth to a boy named Aleksandar in Split. During the period she lived between Belgrade, Vršac and

. In October 2012, Severina announced that she and Popović have separated and that she has moved back to Zagreb. At the same time it was announced she had her son baptized in a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

church in Rijeka. Several months later the couple reunited until separating for good in August 2013. Since then the couple have been embroiled in custody disputes, with Popović claiming he was not allowed access to see their son, a claim Severina denied. On 22 October 2015, Severina married Serbian footballer

Igor Kojić Igor Kojić (; born 30 July 1987) is a Bosnian Serb former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career In November 2008, while playing for Hajduk Beograd, Kojić gained national attention for his performance in a Serbian Cup game versus Vojvod ...

Bale Bale may refer to: Packaging * Cotton bale * Hay or straw bale in farming, bound by a baler * Paper bale, a unit of paper measurement equal to ten reams * Wool bale, a standard-sized and -weighted pack of classed wool Places * Bale Zone in ...

, Istria. The couple formally divorced in Zagreb on 19 August 2021.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Severina'' (1990) * '' Severina'' (1992) * '' Dalmatinka'' (1993) * ''

'' (1995) * ''

Moja stvar ''Moja stvar'' () is the fifth album by Croatian singer Severina. It was released in 1996 by Croatia Records. This is Severina's first album on which she is signed as the author of the title track and several other songs.Djevojka sa sela'' (1998) * '' Ja samo pjevam'' (1999) * '' Pogled ispod obrva'' (2001) * '' Severgreen'' (2004) * '' Zdravo Marijo'' (2008) * ''

'' (2012) * ''Halo'' (2019) * ''Sorry'' (2023)

EPs

* ''Bojate Bane Buski'' (2004) * ''Moja štikla'' (2006) * ''

Moja štikla / Moj sokole Moja štikla / Moj sokole (English: ''My High-Heel / My Falcon'') is an EP by Croatian singer Severina. It was released in 2006 by Dallas Records. The song "Moja štikla" (lyrics written by Severina herself), was the Croatian entry at the Euro ...

'' (2006)

Live albums

* ''Paloma nera – uživo'' (1993) * ''Virujen u te (najbolje uživo!)'' (2002) * ''Tridesete – uživo'' (2010) * ''Dobrodošao u klub live'' (2014)

Singles

Tours

*''Zdravo Marijo Tour'' (2008–12) *'' Dobrodošao u Klub Tour'' (2013) *'' Magic Tour'' (2019)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Severina 1972 births Living people Musicians from Split, Croatia Croatian pop singers Croatian folk-pop singers 21st-century Croatian women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Croatia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2006 Hayat Production artists Croatian expatriates in Serbia LGBT rights activists from Croatia Controversies in Croatia Sex scandals