Altuna Sejdiu ( mk, Алтуна Сејдиу; ; born 14 July 1985), also known professionally as Tuna ( mk, Туна), is a Macedonian-Albanian singer and songwriter.

Life and career

Altuna Sejdiu was born on 14 July 1985 into an Albanian family in the city of

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 ...

, then part of the

Socialist Republic of 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 ...

, present

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 ...

. Her father,

Shaban Sejdiu Shaban Sejdiu ( mk, Шабан Сејдиу; born 6 May 1959) is Macedonian retired freestyle wrestler. An ethnic Macedonian Albanian, Sejdiu, as part of the Skopje Wrestling Club, was trained by notable coaches Risto Takov, who had also train ...

, is a freestyle wrestler and two-time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze medal winner. Tuna discovered her passion for music at an early age participating in various music festivals. Her professional career began in 2002 when she competed in the talent search competition ''Play - Search For A Star'' organized by the Macedonian record label M2 Production. Sejdiu was one of two winners from the competition, which resulted in the release of her first single "Najdi den, najdi nokj, najdi vreme" (Find a day, Find a night, Find time). Tuna later began to establish her career in Albania and turned focus to releasing material in the Albanian language. In 2003, she released her debut self-titled album ''Tuna'', with her successful songs "Piroman" (the Albanian version of "Najdi Nok Najdi Den Najdi Vreme") , "Ciao Machoman" and "12 Muaj/12 Meseci" (12 Months) which was followed by her second album, ''S'ka me diktaturë'', in 2005. In 2008, Tuna unsuccessfully participated in the pre-selection competition

Skopje Fest Skopje Fest ( mk, Скопје фест) or Festival na zabavni melodii Skopje (Фестивал на забавни мелодии Скопје) is one of the main musical events in North Macedonia. SkopjeFest began in 1968 in the Universal Hall ...

in order to represent North Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Prašuvam bez glas". In 2012, it was announced that she would judge alongside

Alban Skënderaj Alban Skënderaj (; born 20 April 1982) is an Albanian singer, songwriter, composer, actor, producer and television personality. Born in Lushnjë and raised in Vlorë, Skënderaj has established himself as a viable artist in Albania and the Alba ...

Pandi Laço Pandi Laço (born 21 March 1964 in Korçë) is an Albanian journalist, songwriter, presenter and scenarist. He is mostly known for his work on Albanian Eurovision songs, of which he wrote several. Pandi has worked with notable Albanian artists inc ...

and

Soni Malaj Soni Malaj (born 23 October 1981), also known mononymously as Soni, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and dancer. Life and career Soni Malaj was born on 23 October 1982 into an Albanian family in the city of Tropojë, then part of the People' ...

on the second series of

X Factor Albania ''X Factor Albania'' is the Albanian version of ''The X Factor''. The first season started on 8 January 2012 and was broadcast by TV Klan. The judges are: Macedonian-Albanian singer Tuna, Albanian singer Soni Malaj, Albanian-American singer Bleo ...

. The same year, she released her single "I Asaj" and experienced significant success throughout the Albanian-speaking World. Her success continued in the following year with the release of her follow-up single "Fenix". In 2019, Tuna announced her third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''Fortuna'', with almost seven songs and released it on 18 March 2019. Throughout the year, she released her follow-up singles "Nuk ma do zemra" and "Amoni", the latter peaking at number seventy eight in Albania.

Discography

Albums

* ''Tuna'' (2003) * ''S'ka me diktaturë'' (2005) * ''Fortuna'' (2019)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuna 1985 births 21st-century Albanian women singers Albanian musicians from North Macedonia Albanian record producers Albanian songwriters Dancing with the Stars winners Living people Macedonian-language singers 21st-century Macedonian women singers Macedonian songwriters Musicians from Skopje