Tea Tairović

Tea Tairović-Vardaj ( sr-Cyrl, Tea Таировић-Вардај; born 26 April 1996) is a Serbian singer, songwriter and dancer. Born and raised in Novi Sad, she rose to prominence as a contestant on the reality television singing competition '' Zvezde Granda'' (2015–2016). Following the release of her single "Hajde" (2021), she broke through into the mainstream and has to date released four studio albums: ''Balkanija'' (2022), ''Balerina'' (2023), ''Tea'' (2024) and ''Aska'' (2025), as well as numerous standalone singles, that gained great commercial success. Recognizable for her performances, which include belly dance and Latin dance, and for covering songs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, Tairović was described in Serbia as "Shakira of the Balkans".

Early life

Tairović was born on 26 April 1996 in Novi Sad, FR Yugoslavia. Her mother, Božica Malević, worked as a television presenter and her father, Zoran Tairović, is an academic painter. Through her father, she is of Romani descent. Her paternal grandmother died from the consequences of the 1999 NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia, which saw her father's house destroyed.

Tairović has been dancing since the age of three, when she started ballet school, and won second place at the World Championship in Show Dance. She trained in standard and Latin American dances, ballet and jazz ballet. She graduated from the Gymnasium Svetozar Marković, and then entered the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Novi Sad. She expressed that she has no intention of studying psychology because her dream since childhood has been to become a singer.

Career

2013–2016: ''Zvezde Granda'' and career beginnings

Tairović released her first single "Da si moj" in 2014; however, the song did not meet greater audience reactions, until 2015, when she appeared on the singing competition show '' Zvezde Granda'', after she had already participated in the competition once in 2013.

She sang songs by Severina, Ana Nikolić, Tijana Dapčević, Aleksandra Radović, Nina Badrić, and others. In the final, she sang the songs "Ti ne znaš kako je" by Nina Badrić and "Plamen od ljubavi" by Colonia. As a prize, the record label Grand Production gave her the song "Karakterna osobina," which was released in the summer of 2015. In late 2016, she released single "Meni odgovara" under the IDJTunes music label. Tairović then released the single "Igračica" in 2017.

2017–2021: Breakthrough and further success

In April 2017, Tairović released the song "Nevolja," which was written and produced by the Bosnian hip-hop duo Buba Corelli and Jala Brat. In June of the same year, Tairović achieved great success with the song "Otkad tebe znam," a collaboration with Serbian turbo-folk singer Šaban Šaulić. The song was one of the biggest hits of 2017 in the Balkans, accruing over 80 million views on YouTube to date. In September of the same year, she released a collaboration "Idu dani" (''Days Are Passing'') with the Serbian rapper Rimski. In November of the same year, she released the song "Drama" with the Macedonian folk singer Menil Velioski, which showcased a change in Tairović's sound. Towards the end of the year, Tairović released her first ballad "I u dobru i u zlu."

Ahead of the summer 2018, Tairović released a duet with Ivana Krunić called "Brat na brata." Several months later, she released a collaboration with DJ Shone called "Medikament." She released her first self-written single called "Polako" in January 2019, which also became a big hit in the Balkans. She premiered the single in the show ''Zvezde Granda Specijal''. In March 2019, she released song "Mala" in collaboration with Serbian rapper Tozla. During the same year, she released four more songs, two of which were duets. On 18 July of the same year, Tairović released song "Dolce i Gabbana." A few days later, on 26 July, Tairović released song "Samo moj," a collaboration with the Austrian singer Monika. In October of the same year, Tairović released song "Bliznakinja."

On 26 April 2020, she released song "Svetica." In May 2021, Tairović achieved great success with the song "Hajde" that became a major hit in the Balkans, and is her biggest song to date. It is a cover of a traditional Kosovo Albanian wedding song "Hajde luj qyqek," particularly Yllka Kuqi and Yll Demaj's 2017 rendition. Its lyrics were co-written by Tairović and Serbian singer-songwriter Sanja Vučić, and its music video accumulated over 100 million views on YouTube. In September of the same year, she released song "Na jednu noć," which also became a commercial success and has accumulated over 60 million views on YouTube. "Hajde" and "Na jednu noć" also entered ''Billboard'''s newly established Croatia Songs chart in February 2022.

2022–2023: ''Balkanija'' and ''Balerina''

On 21 May 2022, she independently released her studio album, ''Balkanija'', under her own established music label T Music. ''Balkanija'' consists of nine songs, each of them accompanied by a music video. The album was a success in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia region. The tracks "Dva i dva" and "Dubai" respectively peaked at numbers 7 and 17 on the ''Billboard'' Croatia Songs chart. All nine music videos from the album have amassed nearly 280 million views on YouTube, as of February 2023.

Tairović released her second studio album, ''Balerina'' (''Ballerina''), on 16 May 2023. It included stand-out hits like the title track, featuring Serbian rapper Voyage, and "Izrael i Palestina." ''Balerina'' also entered the official album charts in Austria and Switzerland, peaking at numbers 17 and 79 respectively. On 17 June 2023, Tairović held her first major solo concert at the Tašmajdan Stadium in Belgrade which was attended by more than 12,000 people. The concert featured guest performances from Serbian singer Sanja Vučić and Bulgarian singer Galena, who collaborated with Tairović on the 2023 single "Abracadabra".

Discography

* ''Balkanija'' (2022)
* ''Balerina'' (2023)
* ''Tea'' (2024)
* ''Aska'' (2025)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Tours

Headlining

*Balkanija Tour (2022)
* Na Jednu Noć Tour (2023–2024)
* Neka Gori Balkan Tour (2024-2025)

Co-headlining

*USA Tour (2021)

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tairovic, Tea
1996 births
Living people
Serbian folk-pop singers
21st-century Serbian women singers
Grand Production artists
Musicians from Novi Sad
Serbian people of Romani descent
Romani women singers