Milan Popović (; born 29 October 1955), better known as Danijel Popović () or simply Daniel (), is a Montenegrin-Croatian pop singer.

Biography

Born to a Montenegrin father and a Belgian mother, Popović was raised in Titograd, but made his name in Zagreb, where he moved in 1977 to pursue a career in pop music. In 1983, as a regional representative of Montenegro ( TV Titograd), he won the right to represent Yugoslavia in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

with the song "Džuli" (''Julie''). His national victory was somewhat unexpected because most observers saw popular folk singer Lepa Brena, a regional representative of Serbia ( TV Belgrade), as a clear favourite. Daniel achieved 4th place in Munich, equaling at the time the best ever Yugoslav placing in the

(

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's 4th-place finish in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

). "Džuli" was also a huge hit in Yugoslavia: the album sold 717,166 copies while the single sold further 80,883 – a huge number for Yugoslavia in both cases. The song was a big hit in many other European countries as well, including Norway, where Daniel played several venues. Early in 1984, he performed at a NRK broadcast TV show prior to the Sarajevo Winter Olympics, playing "Džuli" and a new song called "Miss You". Like many other Eurovision contestants, Daniel failed to build on his triumph, and his commercial appeal gradually declined. By the 1990s, his popularity was already on the wane, though he managed to register one more moderate hit in 1991 – a track called "Daj obuci levisice" (''Please Put On

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...

'') that he competed with in '' Jugovizija 1991'' representing Croatia ( HTV) and placing second, only two points behind the winning song " Brazil" by Bebi Dol. A few years earlier, he had also featured in Lepa Brena's folk hit "Jugoslovenka" ('' Yugoslav Girl''). He stayed in Croatia during the Yugoslav Wars and disappeared into anonymity after a few unsuccessful albums. Tapping into his savings, he opened a studio and started producing records for performers like

Nives Celzijus Nives Zeljković (; born 18 December 1981), known by her stage name Nives Celzijus or Nives Celsius, is a Croatian model, singer and writer. Personal and media life Nives was born in Zagreb, at the time part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yug ...

–her first and so far only album ''Cura moderna'' (''Modern Girl''). He would foray back into singing only occasionally. During the summer of 2001, he took part in the

Sunčane Skale Sunčane Skale was a pop music festival held every summer in Herceg Novi, Montenegro. The festival began in 1994. The festival was held every year from 1994 to 2015, except in 1999 - NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. In 2016, it was cancelled for financi ...

festival in Herceg Novi, but managed to get only 7 points (winner Ivana Banfić received 107). In early 2005, after an extended commercially barren period in Croatia, Daniel moved back to Montenegro, hoping to resurrect his stuttering singing career. In late 2005, his performance in Munich in 1983 was included in a collection of two double DVDs and two double CDs celebrating the 50th anniversary of the

. The collection, which consisted of all the winners as well as a few of the most favourite non-winning contestants, was entitled ''Congratulations'' (''1956-1980)'' and ''Congratulations (1981-2005)''. A glimpse of Daniel's 1983 act could also be seen in the celebration show broadcast from Copenhagen in October 2005. In January 2007, it was reported that Daniel would take part in the Croatian pre-selection for the

, ''Dora'', together with his son Sebastian (20) and daughter Isabella (16), as well as Snježana Ivana Pandl (17). Their song did not make it to the final selection process. In late 2009, he was a contestant on '' Kmetija'' reality show, Slovenian version of '' The Farm''.

Personal life

Daniel has been married 4 times. He wed his first wife Marija in 1978; the couple were divorced by the mid-1980s, when, in 1986, he married a

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

Maja and both had baby Ana Marija, then he married Sanja Bjedov and had two children with her: son Sebastian, and daughter Isabella Kim. The couple separated in 1994 before finalizing their divorce in 1996. By that time Daniel was in a relationship with Sandra Bagarić whom he soon married and had a son Dominik with. Soon after moving from Zagreb to Podgorica in early 2005, the couple separated and divorced. In August 2005, he was hit with public allegations of spousal abuse by his ex-wife Sandra Bagarić who accused him of "repeated, jealousy-induced physical and mental maltreatment". In March 2008, news appeared in certain media outlets about the possibility that Daniel might end up serving time in prison for not paying child and spousal support to his second wife, Sanja Bjedov, and their two children. In spring 2008, a Croatian court ordered him to pay HRK219,000 (~ €31,000) in back spousal and child support payments. In October 2009, during a club appearance in Zagreb his ex-wife Sandra brought their son Dominik along and claimed Daniel owes them €2,000 in unpaid child support.

Discography (Yugoslavian/Croatian album releases)

*'' Bio sam naivan'', Jugoton, 1982 & 1983 (song Prvi ljubavni san replaced with Džuli) *'' Suze i smijeh'', Jugoton, 1984 *'' Lovin’ That Rock’’Roll'', Jugoton, 1985 *'' Tina i Marina'', Jugoton, 1985 *'' Dušu je moju uzela'', Jugoton, 1986 *'' Slomljeno srce'', Jugoton, 1987 *'' Što sam ti srećo kriv'', Jugoton, 1989 *'' Ma daj obuci levisice'', Jugoton, 1991 *'' Danceland'', Croatia Records, 1994 *'' Kao da ne postojim'', Orfej, 1999 *'' Vatra ljubavi'', Tutico/Menart, 1999 *'' Fantazija'', Croatia Records, 2013

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel 1955 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1983 Musicians from Podgorica 20th-century Montenegrin male singers Montenegrin people of Belgian descent Yugoslav male singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Yugoslavia Yugoslav people of Belgian descent Croatian people of Belgian descent Croatian people of Montenegrin descent Ariola Records artists