Elena Risteska ( mk, Елена Ристеска, ; born 27 April 1986), sometimes known as simply Elena, is a Macedonian singer. She represented Macedonia in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the with the song "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

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

with the song "

Ninanajna Macedonia (officially under the provisional appellation "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", abbreviated "FYR Macedonia") participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Ninanajna" written by Darko Dimitrov and Rade Vrčakov ...

", and finished in 12th place; this was the highest ever finish for the country until Risteska's record was beaten in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. Risteska is also an occasional songwriter, writing for artists such as 4Play,

Lambe Alabakoski Lambe Alabakovski ( mk, Ламбе Алабаковски, ; born 15 November 1987, in Ljubojno, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Macedonian singer. Biography Alabakovski attended the Euro-College in Kumanovo. He won the M2 Production's Play: Search For A ...

, and Aleksandra Pileva. She took part in the second season of the Serbian version of ''

Your Face Sounds Familiar ''Your Face Sounds Familiar'' ( Spanish: ''Tu cara me suena'') is a Spanish interactive reality television franchise series where celebrity contestants impersonate singers. The format, similar to Dutch television series ''Soundmixshow'', was ...

'', where she placed second in the final as

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Biography

Early life

Risteska was born in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

on 27 April 1986 in then

SR Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...

to parents Acko and Desa. She showed an interest in the

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

at an early age, inheriting her

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

al interest from her mother but also pursuing other hobbies and interests. In 1994, she joined the KUD "Kočo Racin", which was a

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

for folk dance and

songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

. Elena took part in school activities such as singing in the "Young Imitators" show and becoming a member of the drama club. In 1996, Risteska made her television debut during the ''Mak-Karaoke Show'' performing the song "Flamingo" on the commercial channel A1. The same year she started studying the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and French languages. She started to sing in the school

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

and went to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

for her first

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

with the folk dance club. In 1998, she took part in many competitions and won many local, national, and international awards in drawing. In 2000, Risteska toured

with the folk dance club again.

Professional start

Risteska rose to fame in North Macedonia by competing and winning the music-based

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show "''Play - Search For A Star''". Her debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Ona Drugoto" ("The Other Thing") became a hit in North Macedonia, resulting in her successful debut album ''

Den i Nok ''Den i Nok'' ( mk, Ден и Ноќ, italic=yes; ''Day and Night'') is the debut album of the Macedonian pop musician Elena Risteska. Following the release of the album in 2003, Risteska garnered popularity in several Balkan countries ...

'' (''Ден и Ноќ''). The album included various songs which also became successful singles in North Macedonia and other

Balkan countries The Balkans ( ), also known as 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 throughout the whol ...

. She is also an occasional

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, writing for artists such as 4Play,

, Aleksandra Pileva, Maja Sazdanovska, Robert Bilbilov, Verica Pandilovska, Adnan, Emil and Anja Veterova. Following the success of her debut album, she began promoting herself outside of North Macedonia. In 2004, she performed at the

Golden Stag Festival The Golden Stag Festival ( ro, Cerbul de Aur) is the most popular Romanian song contest and awards, held annually in the town of Braşov, Romania. History The Golden Stag was first held in 1968, but after 1971 it was banned by the Communist l ...

in Braşov,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and in 2005 she performed "Ni na nebo, ni na zemja" ("Neither heaven nor earth") at 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 ...

music festival in

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 in ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. Her

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was broadcast on

MTV Adria MTV Adria was a localized version of the music and entertainment channel MTV Europe, customized for the Balkan countries that used to be constituent parts of Yugoslavia. It served the following countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedon ...

and her popularity continued to grow.

Eurovision Song Contest 2006

On 4 March 2006 Elena Risteska won the North Macedonia pre-selection contest for 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 "

". The song was composed and produced by

Darko Dimitrov Darko Dimitrov ( mk, Дарко Димитров ; born January 21, 1973) is a Macedonian songwriter, record producer, arranger and record executive. Highly acclaimed for revitalising the Yugoslav mainstream pop music scene, which also influence ...

, with

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

by Rade Vrčakovski. The song is an uptempo, pop song which includes elements of R&B,

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. She made a video shot for the song together with the Macedonian production "Tomato". In the video she was presented as shiny care girl that wants love. Risteska qualified for the final, and after spending most of the night on the edge of the top ten (which would guarantee automatic final qualification for North Macedonia in 2007), she eventually finished 12th with 56 points, her country's highest finish ever until 2019 when

Tamara Todevska Tamara Todevska ( mk, Тамара Тодевска, pronounced , born 1 June 1985), also known mononymously as Tamara, is a Macedonian pop singer. Tamara began her music career in 2003 following the release of her debut studio album '' Sino' ...

came 7th with 305 points.

After Eurovision Song Contest - 2007

In July 2006, Elena performed "Ne Mogu" ("I Can’t" in

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...

) at the Sunčane Skale festival where she placed 10th overall. Elena traveled to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

in September to perform as a guest in Armenia’s Eurovision 2006 representative Andre’s concert. She was well received by the audience, which was expected since her Eurovision song "Ninanajna" was a summer hit and a popular

ringtone A ringtone, ring tone or ring is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming call. Originally referring to and made by the electromechanical striking of bells, the term now refers to any sound on any device alerting of a new incoming ...

in Armenia. In October, Elena released a new single called "

Esen Vo Mene "Esen Vo Mene" ( mk, Есен во мене, English translation: "Autumn In Me") is a single by the Macedonian singer and song-writer Elena Risteska realized in 2006. It is the fourth single from her second studio album ''192''. Later in 2008 ...

" ("Autumn In Me"). The song was composed by

. After her hits released over the previous year, Risteska's second album, '' 192'', was released at the end of 2006. It contains "Ninanajna", "Esen Vo Mene", a Macedonian version of "Ne Mogu" and new material. In 2007, Elena took part in

Skopje Fest 2007 Macedonia (officially under the provisional appellation "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", abbreviated "FYR Macedonia") participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Mojot svet" written by Grigor Koprov and Ognen Nedelko ...

, the national selection for the

. Although she was not a performer this time, she wrote the lyrics for the song "Belo e se" ("Everything is White"), which was performed by Lambe Alabakoski and came in third place with 101 points. At the

Eurovision Song Contest 2007 The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Helsinki, Finland, following the country's victory at the with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

, she delivered the results of the national televoting of North Macedonia during the final night. Risteska participated in the Radijski Festival on 15 December 2007, performing the song "Kreveta dva". It is the Serbian version of her song ''Ima li kraj''. Elena finished in second place together with

Karolina Gočeva Karolina Gočeva ( mk, Каролина Гочева, ; born 28 April 1980), sometimes credited as Karolina Gocheva or known only as Karolina, is a Macedonian pop singer. Gočeva launched her music career in 1991 with a performance at a local ch ...

. Elena won two awards, one for best interpretation and the other from Radio OSM Pale. At the end of 2007 she made her first

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and Kos ...

studio album, titled '' Milioner''. It contained mostly the same songs from "192", re-recorded in Serbian, with some exceptions.

2008 - present

In 2008, Risteska released her first

single, " Million Dollar Player" (the English version of the popular song "Milioner"), with a music video. The video is a production of "Corrino Media Group" with director Mike Static. Leroy Chambers, author of the lyrics, takes part in the video as her "Millionaire". After that, she returned to older projects. She shout a video for the song " Nekade Daleku " from the album ''192''. Besides the Macedonian version, she shouted a video for the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n version of the same song called " Bye, Bye " included in the album ''Milioner''. Director of the video was Aleksandar Ristovski - Princ. In the middle time she made a new duet with "Parketi" called "Sakam Da Te Galam". On 19 December 2008, Risteska held her first solo concert in

. It was staged at the Metropolis Arena and featured guests such as

Lambe Alabakovski Lambe Alabakovski ( mk, Ламбе Алабаковски, ; born 15 November 1987, in Ljubojno, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Macedonian singer. Biography Alabakovski attended the Euro-College in Kumanovo. He won the M2 Production's Play: Search For A ...

, Tuna, Parketi, and Regina. In 2009, she released a video for her song " Usni Kako Temno Mastilo". The same as her previous videos director was again Aleksandar Ristovski - Princ. On 3 November 2009 Elena released her single " Dosta" which is the first single from Elena's fourth studio album. On 14 March 2010 Elena released her second single of her fourth studio album named "Sakam Po Dobro Da Te Pamtam". Later that year, Elena released her single "Srekna Nov Godina" (Happy New Year). 2010 was the year of the fourth M2 Search For A Star which was the show that Elena was discovered in, but this time Elena had the role of a judge along with Ivo Jankoski, Darko Dimitrov & Vesna Petrusevska.The following year Elena was chosen as "Best Song in the Balkans from North Macedonia for 2010" with her hit single "Sakam Po Dobro Da Te Pamtam"(I want to remember you for good).On 24 June 2011 Elena & Lambe Alabakovski released their second duet titled "Najdobro Do Sega" (The Best Til Now), a music video was later recorded for the song which had already become a summer hit single. Later that year in August, Risteska held a special concert in Ohrid, North Macedonia, she performed many traditional Macedonian songs and some of her past hits but with a traditional arrangement. In September 2012, she announced that her new single will called "Opasni Vreminja". It was released in October with new video. She shot her new video in many different places such as

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

and other cities in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. In late 2014, she was a contestant of the second season of the Serbian version of ''

''. She imitated artists such as Nina Badric, Severina,

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

, and Esma Redzepova. She won only in the fifth week, as

singing "

Booty Booty may refer to: Music *Booty music (also known as Miami bass or booty bass), a subgenre of hip hop * "Booty" (Jennifer Lopez song), 2014 *Booty (Blac Youngsta song), 2017 * Booty (C. Tangana and Becky G song), 2018 *"Booty", a 1993 song by G ...

", but she was chosen by the public to participate in the finals. She placed as the runner-up in the finals as

, singing " End of Time".

Artistry

Influences

Risteska is best known for her distinct mezzo-soprano vocal range and stage presence. Throughout her career, Risteska has drawn frequent comparisons to Beyonce and Christina Aguilera. In terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, she has been citing both as influences in her work. She has also covered Beyonce's song

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

in 2010. She stated in an interview that in her earliest youth,

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

were her main influences, but as she grew she found more inspiration in Beyonce Knowles and

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

. In 2010, Risteska also covered "

Hit The Road Jack "Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by the rhythm and blues singer Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. The song was a US number 1 hit in 1961, and won a Grammy award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' signat ...

" with

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (2003) * '' 192'' (2006) * '' Milioner'' (2008) * ''The Very Best of ... Elena Risteska'' (2009) * ''Bez Šminka'' (2016)

Compilations

*''Play: Search for a new Star (Compilation)'' * '' Makedonija Zasekogaš'' * ''Oriental Garden - VOL 7'' * ''Najdobro od Makedonija (The Best of Macedonia)'' * Best Of Elena Risteska & Lambe Alabakovski

Solo Singles

*2002: "Ona Drugoto" *2003: "Den I Nok" *2003: "Raj I Pekol" *2003: "Vo Tvojot Svet" (with Adnan) *2003: "Ne Sakam Da Krijam" *2004: "Pobeda Za Nas" (with Emil Arsov) *2004: "Ni Na Nebo, Ni Na Zemja" *2006: "

" *2006: "Ne Mogu" *2006: " Ljubav Nije Za Nas" (with Grupa Regina) *2006: "

" *2007: " 192" *2007: " Milioner" (featuring Leroy Chambers) *2007: "Kreveta Dva" *2008: " Million Dollar Player *2008: " Nekade Daleku/ Bye, Bye" *2008: "

More Sokol Pie More Sokol Pie (English: A Falcon is Drinking) is a traditional folk song from the region of Macedonia, particularly popular in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. There are several versions of this song. Probably the earliest record of an early versio ...

" *2008: "Sakam Da Te Galam" (with Parketi) *2009: " Usni Kako Temno Mastilo/

Usne Boje Tamnog Mastila "Usni Kako Temno Mastilo" ( mk, Усни како темно мастило, English translation: Lips like dark ink) is a single by the Macedonian singer Elena Risteska. For first time was recorded in 2006 in Macedonian, but later in 2008 Ser ...

" *2009: " Dosta" *2010: "A moževme" *2010: "Sakam Po Dobro Da Te Pamtam" *2010: "Srekna Nova Godina" *2011: "Najdobro Do Sega" (with Lambe Alabakovski) *2012: " Opasno Vreme" *2012: "Ne laži me" *2013: "Što si ti" *2015: "Doživotno" *2015: "Na ista adresa"

Featured Singles

*2006: "Zaspana Ubavica" feat.

Vrčak Rade Vrčakovski ( mk, Раде Врчаковски ; born 17 November 1980 in Strumica) better known by his stage name Vrčak (Врчак) is a Macedonian singer. He represented North Macedonia(with

feat. Vrčak) *2008: "Sakam Zeleno" (feat. other singers) *2008: "Come and Get Me" (with SnowBlack) *2009: "Icelenie" (feat. other singers) *2011: "Makedonija"(Memorija) (feat. other singers)

Awards

Golden Lady Bug

* Discovery of the Year 2006: * Female Singer of the Year

Night of Stars

2004: * Most Attractive Singer of the Year

Sunčane Skale

2006: * Princeton Award for Debut of the Year 2007: * Duet of the Year: "Love Is Not For Us"

High School Union

* Discovery of the Year 2006: * Most Successful Female Singer of the Year

Other awards

* SMS Hit of the Year (as voted by the listeners of Antenna 5 radio) * Female Singer of the Year (as voted by the listeners of MS television) 2006: * Duet of the Year: " Ljubav Nije Za Nas" (Love is not for us)" (Oscar of Popularity)

Radijski Festival

2007: * The best interpretation * The award from Radio OSM Pale

Balkan Music Award

* Best Song in the Balkans from Macedonia - 2010

References

External links

Elena Risteska official website

Elena Risteska Fansite

Elena Risteska Fan ClubOfficial Facebook Fan Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Risteska, Elena 1986 births Living people Musicians from Skopje Eurovision Song Contest entrants for North Macedonia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2006 Macedonian pop singers 20th-century Macedonian women singers Macedonian songwriters Members of the Macedonian Orthodox Church English-language singers Sopranos