Svetlana Piljikić (; ; born 23 April 1981), better known as Seka Aleksić, is a Bosnian-born

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 singer. Born in

Zvornik Zvornik ( sr-cyrl, Зворник, ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in Republika Srpska, on the left bank of the Drina river. In 2013, it had a population of 58,856 inhabitants. The town of Mali Zvornik ("Little Zvornik") lies ...

and raised near

Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...

, she rose to prominence in 2002 with her debut album ''Idealno tvoja''. Aleskić has collectively released nine studio albums to date of predominately

pop-folk Turbo-folk (sometimes referred as pop-folk or popular folk) is subgenre of contemporary pop music with its origins in Serbia, that initially developed during the 1980s and 1990s, with similar music styles in Bulgaria (chalga), Romania (manele ...

music. In addition to her music career, she starred in '' We Are Not Angels 3: Rock & Roll Strike Back'' (2006) and the Serbian adaptation of ''

The Smurfs 2 ''The Smurfs 2'' is a 2013 American 3D fantasy comedy film loosely based on ''The Smurfs'' comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo. It is the second film in the ''Smurfs'' film series and a sequel to the 2011 film ''The Smur ...

'' (2013). Aleksić also had her own

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, called ''Moja desna ruka'' (2010), and has launched several clothing lines over the years. She is currently the second most followed woman from Serbia on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

with over two million followers.

Early life

Svetlana Aleksić was born on 23 April 1981 in

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

to a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

father, Milorad Aleksić, and a

Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

mother, Ibrima. Her parents divorced when she was seven years old. She stated that she was exposed to scenes of

domestic violence 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 ...

from her father as a child. During the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

, Aleksić fled to Serbia with her mother and older brother. They initially lived in

Banja Koviljača Banja Koviljača ( sr-cyrl, Бања Ковиљача, ) is a popular tourist spot and spa town located in the city of Loznica, Serbia. Situated on the west border of Serbia by the Drina River and from Belgrade, it is the oldest spa town in Ser ...

before eventually settling down in the village of Lipolist near

a year later.

Career

Due to struggling financial situation in the family, Aleksić became a working singer from early years. At the age of 19, she moved to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

where she started performing alongside a band. Seka rose to prominence in 2002 by winning at the

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

festival "Moravski biseri" in

Ćuprija Ćuprija (Serbian Cyrillic: Ћуприја, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 19,380, while the municipality has 30,645 inhabitants. History The Romans founded the ...

with the song "Idealno tvoja". It was followed with the release of her debut album of the same name under

Grand Production Grand Production ( sr, Гранд продукција) is a Serbian record label and production company predominantly focused on folk performers. The label produces the weekly television show ''Grand Parada'', launched their own cable television ...

. Her subsequent albums, ''

Balkan 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 who ...

'' (2003) and '' Dođi i uzmi me'' (2005), spawned regional hits such as "Crno i zlatno", "Sviđa mi se tvoja devojka" and "Svi tvoji milioni". Aleksić made her on-screen debut starring in the 2006

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

Srđan Dragojević Srđan Dragojević ( sr-cyr, Срђан Драгојевић, , born 1 January 1963) is a Serbian film director and screenwriter, who emerged in the 1990s as a significant figure in Serbian cinema. From 2010 until 2017, he was affiliated with the ...

, called '' We Are Not Angels 3: Rock & Roll Strike Back''. Her third album '' Kraljica'' was released in November 2007. Selling in 300,000 copies, it became that year's best-selling album by a Serbian artist. ''Kraljica'' produced popular songs like "Aspirin" and "Posldenji let". While promoting her fifth release, titled '' Slučajni partneri'' (2009), Aleksić 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 ...

. It was held on 24 October 2010 to 15,000 people. In 2010, she also appeared on her own reality competition show called ''Moja desna ruka'', which aired on TV Prva documenting the search for her new assistant. Following the release of '' Lom'' in April 2012, she embarked on a tour across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Aleksić provided the voiceover for the character Vexy in the Serbian adaptation of ''

'' (2013). She posed for the cover of the May 2014 issue of the Serbian ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine. In May 2015, Aleksić released ''Lek za spavanje'' through

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'') ...

, featuring hits such as the title song, "Crveni ruž" and "Ti se hrani mojim bolom". Her eighth album "Koma" was subsequently released in April 2017. It provided songs like "Evo" and "Ti i ja smo par". ''Koma'' was followed with her second concert in the Belgrade Arena on 14 April 2018. In May 2022, Aleksić released album ''Bioskop''. She announced her tenth studio album, titled ''Disco Seka'', with its lead single "Priđi ako smeš" in December 2022.

Personal life

Aleksić married former

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

Veljko Piljkić on 12 September 2010. They have to sons - Jovan ( 24 September 2016) and Jakov ( 22 January 2020). Both were conceived through

In vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...

. Seka and her family reside in

Stara Pazova Stara Pazova (, ; hu, Ópazova) is a town and municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 64792, while Stara Pazova municipality has 65,792 inhabitants. The entrance into ...

. She practices

Eastern Orthodox Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

and is vocal about her religiousness. In spite of her beliefs, in August 2022, Piljkić condemned religious rallies against EuroPride in Belgrade and showed her support for the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

in Serbia.

Charity work

In December 2011, she held a benefit concert in

Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. Th ...

for a young man, named Kemal Kremić, who was diagnosed with

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. The event reportedly raised €40,000. Following the

2014 Southeast Europe floods Between 13 and 18 May 2014 a low-pressure cyclone designated ''Tamara'' and ''Yvette'' affected a large area of Southeastern and Central Europe, causing floods and landslides. Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered the greatest damage, as the ...

, Aleksić supplied shelters in Serbia with food and hygiene products.

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Idealno tvoja'' (2002) *''

'' (2003) *'' Dođi i uzmi me'' (2005) *'' Kraljica'' (2007) *'' Slučajni partneri'' (2009) *'' Lom'' (2012) *''Lek za spavanje'' (2015) *''Koma'' (2017) *''Bioskop'' (2022)

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aleksic, Seka Living people 1981 births 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina women singers Bosnia and Herzegovina turbo-folk singers Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Bosniak descent Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Serbian descent People from Zvornik Grand Production artists Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Serbia Yugoslav Wars refugees Refugees in Serbia 21st-century Serbian women singers Serbian turbo-folk singers Serbian folk-pop singers Serbian people of Bosniak descent