Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in
Kragujevac
Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...
as the daughter of
Verica Šerifović, she rose to prominence in 2003 with her debut album ''
Naj, Najbolja
''Naj, Najbolja'' ( en, The Very, Very Best) is the debut album from Serbian pop singer Marija Šerifović
Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kragujevac as the d ...
''. Šerifović is arguably best known for representing
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 ...
and winning 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 ...
with "
Molitva
"Molitva" ( sr-Cyrl, Молитва; "Prayer") is a song with music by Vladimir Graić, lyrics by Saša Milošević Mare, and sung by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, performed for . ...
". To date, she has released five studio albums and several standalone singles of predominately
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
ic songs. Šerifović is recognized as one of the best female vocalists in Serbia.
In addition to her singing career, Šerifović has served as the judge on the
televised singing competition ''
Zvezde Granda
''Zvezde Granda'' ( sr-Cyrl, Звезде Гранда; "''Grand Stars''") is a Serbian singing competition show, created by Saša Popović. The show has been airing since 2004 on several networks in the western Balkans, and is considered to be ...
'' (2015-present).
Personal life
Šerifović was born on November 14, 1984 in
Kragujevac
Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...
to musicians
Verica
Verica (early 1st century AD) was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.
From his coinage, he appears to have been king of the, probably Belgic, Atrebates tribe and a son of Commius. Th ...
and Rajko Šerifović. According to the column by ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
s
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century.
Specializing in English and women's literatu ...
, she is of
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
descent and has been
out as a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
since 2004. Šerifović reflected on her sexual orientation as well as on personal struggles, such as
domestic abuse
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...
from her father, in a documentary film ''Ispovest'', which premiered at Belgrade's
Sava Centar
Sava Centar ( sr, Сава центар) is an international congress, cultural and business centre of various multi-functional activities located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is the largest audience hall in the country and entire forme ...
in November 2013. She graduated from the First Grammar School in Kragujevac.
Career
In 1998, Šerifović made her debut with a television performance of the song "Moje bube", which she recorded with her mother. Her debut album ''
Naj, Najbolja
''Naj, Najbolja'' ( en, The Very, Very Best) is the debut album from Serbian pop singer Marija Šerifović
Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kragujevac as the d ...
'', 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 ...
was released in 2003 under
City Records
City Records (full legal name in Serbian: Предузеће за издавачко-пропагандну делатност City Records д.о.о. Београд/''Preduzeće za izdavačko-propagandnu delatnost City Records d.o.o. Beograd'') ...
. The following year, she won the first prize at
Pjesma Mediterana
''Pjesma Mediterana'' ( sh-Cyrl, Пјесма Медитерана, lit=Song of the Mediterranean; formerly ''Music Festival Budva'', sh-Latn-Cyrl, Muzički festival Budva, Музички фестивал Будва) was a pop music festival held ...
music festival in
Budva
Budva ( cnr, Будва, or ) is a Montenegrin town on the Adriatic Sea. It has 19,218 inhabitants, and it is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budva riviera, is the center of Montenegrin tourism, kno ...
with "Bol do ludila". In 2006, Šerifović released her sophomore album ''
Bez Ljubavi
''Bez Ljubavi'' ( en, Without Love) is the second studio album from Serbian pop singer Marija Šerifović
Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kragujevac as the da ...
'', and a year later held her first concert in
Sava Centar
Sava Centar ( sr, Сава центар) is an international congress, cultural and business centre of various multi-functional activities located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is the largest audience hall in the country and entire forme ...
.
In March 2007, she gained more significant popularity by winning the
Beovizija
''Beovizija'' ( sr, Беовизија) was a music festival established in 2003. Since 2007 it was the national selection for Serbia's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. ''Beovizija'' is organised and broadcast live each year by RTS1 ...
music festival with "
Molitva
"Molitva" ( sr-Cyrl, Молитва; "Prayer") is a song with music by Vladimir Graić, lyrics by Saša Milošević Mare, and sung by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, performed for . ...
" and becoming the first representative of the
Republic 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 ...
at 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 ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland. In the Eurovision's semi-final on May 7, Šerifović placed first with "Molitva" and thus qualified for the grand final. Subsequently, in the final held on May 12, she was declared the winner with 268 points. Additionally, "Molitva" received the Artistic
Marcel Bezençon Award
Marcel may refer to:
People
* Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel
* Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder
* Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian ...
.
Šerifović was also ranked among the most deserving winners of Eurovision by the
SBS in 2016 and ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' in 2019, while a fan blog ''The Eurovision Times'' declared "Molitva" the third best Eurovision song of all time in 2010. Upon returning home, Šerifović was greeted by more than 70,000 people in front of the Civic Assembly of Belgrade, and later also performed in her home town to a crowd of 60,000.
Following her Eurovision victory, she released albums ''
Nisam anđeo'' (2008) and ''
Anđeo'' (2009). In 2010, Šerifović participated in second season of the
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 ''
Farma
''The Farm'' is a reality competition television franchise created by the Swedish producer Strix. Sold to more than 40 countries, ''The Farm'' is one of their most popular formats, including '' Survivor'', '' The Bar'' or ''Fame Factory''. In s ...
'', where she voluntarily left after 27 days. Same year, she announced her first solo concert in the
Belgrade Arena
Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mill ...
for 11 May. Her fifth studio album ''
Hrabro'' was released in 2014 alongside her autobiography, titled ''Ispovest''.
During 2015 and 2016, she released a series of three songs: "Pametna i luda", "Sama i nervozna" and "Svoja i tvoja". In September 2015, Šerifović was announced as the judge on the
singing competition
A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, soloists, composers, conductors and musicologists. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets.
Examples ...
show ''
Zvezde Granda
''Zvezde Granda'' ( sr-Cyrl, Звезде Гранда; "''Grand Stars''") is a Serbian singing competition show, created by Saša Popović. The show has been airing since 2004 on several networks in the western Balkans, and is considered to be ...
''. As the mentor on the show, she had the winning contestant for two consecutive seasons with
Džejla Ramović in 2019 and Mahir Mulalić in 2021. In March 2016, Šerifović held a concert in
Zetra Hall,
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
. Same month she also performed at the
National Theater in Belgrade
The National Theatre ( sr-cyr, Народно позориште, Narodno pozorište) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia.
Founded in the later half of the 19th century, it is located on the Republic Square, at the corner of Vasina and Fr ...
, which saw polarizing reception from the general public and indignation from actors' union. In December 2016, Šerifović released the single "Deo prošlosti" under IDJTunes. A year later in November, she released the single "11". Šerifović sang again in the sold-out Belgrade Arena on 25 May 2018.
At the beginning of 2019, Šerifović performed "11" at the
2019 Music Awards Ceremony, where she was also received the Female Singer of the Year award. Between March and May of 2019, she embarked on a tour called ''Druga strana ploče'', where she sang the covers of her favorite songs from other artists as well as her own hits. It featured seven sold out shows, six of which were held in Belgrade's
Sava Centar
Sava Centar ( sr, Сава центар) is an international congress, cultural and business centre of various multi-functional activities located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is the largest audience hall in the country and entire forme ...
and one in
SPC Vojvodina
SPC Vojvodina ( sr-cyr, СПЦ Војводина), short for Sports and Business Center Vojvodina ( sr, Спортски и пословни центар Војводина, Sportski i poslovni centar Vojvodina), commonly referred to as SPENS ( s ...
,
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
. The second rendition of the tour began a year later. It was supposed to include four live shows in Sava Centar, however, the last one was eventually cancelled due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
During the pandemic shutdown in September 2020, Šerifović started vlogging on her official
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel. Same year, she also released a greatest hits-compilation under Dallas Records. During March 2022, Šerifović held five concerts in
Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
,
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
and
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
under the title ''Druga strana ploče Vol.3''.
The one in Zagreb was held to an audience of 10,000 people. In late December 2022, she released the single "Dobar Vam dan", which scored over million views in the first 24 hours.
Discography
*''
Naj, Najbolja
''Naj, Najbolja'' ( en, The Very, Very Best) is the debut album from Serbian pop singer Marija Šerifović
Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kragujevac as the d ...
'' (2003)
*''
Bez Ljubavi
''Bez Ljubavi'' ( en, Without Love) is the second studio album from Serbian pop singer Marija Šerifović
Marija Šerifović ( sr-cyr, Марија Шерифовић, ; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer. Born in Kragujevac as the da ...
'' (2006)
*''
Nisam Anđeo'' (2008)
*''
Anđeo'' (2009)
*''
Hrabro'' (2014)
Filmography
Awards and nominations
See also
*
Music of Serbia
Music of Serbia represents the musical heritage of Serbia, both historical and modern. It has a variety of traditional music styles, which are part of the wider Balkan musical tradition, with its own distinctive sound and characteristics.
Music ...
*
List of singers from Serbia
*
Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Serbia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 14 times since making its debut in . Serbia previously participated as part of (both the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from to and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in ) and as ...
References
External links
*
*
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Serifovic, Marija
1984 births
Living people
Musicians from Kragujevac
21st-century Serbian women singers
Serbian pop singers
Eurovision Song Contest winners
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Serbia
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2007
Lesbian musicians
Serbian people of Romani descent
Megatrend University alumni
21st-century LGBT people
LGBT Romani people
LGBT singers from Serbia