Todor "Toše" Proeski ( mk, Тодор "Тоше" Проески, ; 25 January 1981 – 16 October 2007) was a Macedonian multi-genre singer and songwriter. Considered a top act of the local Macedonian and Balkan music scene, Proeski's music was popular across multitude of countries of

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

. He was dubbed the "

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

of the

Balkans 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 ...

" by

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

. He died in a car crash on the Zagreb–Lipovac A3 highway, near

Nova Gradiška Nova Gradiška is a town located in the Brod-Posavina County of Croatia, population 14,229 (2011). It is located in the historic region of Slavonia, near the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first word in the name means ''New'', and there ...

in Croatia, on the morning of 16 October 2007, aged 26.Staff writer
Macedonia's government declares day of mourning over singer death
FOCUS News Agency. Retrieved 17 October 2007.

Biography

Early years

Proeski was born in

Prilep Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko. Name The name of Prilep appear ...

Biography at Toše Proeski's Official Site
and grew up in

Kruševo Kruševo ( mk, Крушево ; rup, Crushuva "Crușuva") is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an alti ...

into an Aromanian family. After his musical talent was discovered at the age of 12, he was chosen to perform at the popular children's song festival Zlatno Slavejče (eng.: Golden Nightingale) 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 ...

, performing the song "Јаs i mојоt dеdо" in the

Aromanian language The Aromanian language (, , , or ), also known as Macedo-Romanian or Vlach, is an Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance language, similar to Megleno-Romanian language, Megleno-Romanian, Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian and Romania ...

. This was his first public music performance; however, his successful career began in 1996 when he participated in the teenage music festival Melfest in Prilep. Following this public exposure, he was acclaimed for his strong vocal capabilities. This led to his rise to fame when he participated in the music festival Makfest in

Štip Štip ( mk, Штип ) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2002 census, the city ...

with the song "Pušti me" ("Let Me Go") in 1997. His fanbase quickly grew and he continued to make use of festivals, such as SkopjeFest and OhridFest, as a platform for promotion and publicity. Proeski collaborated with one of Macedonia's acclaimed lyricists and composers,

Grigor Koprov Grigor Koprov ( mk, Григор Копров) (born September 30, 1943)Jozo Tomasevich, War and Revolution in Yugoslavia: 1941 - 1945, Vol. 2, Stanford University Press, 2002, , pp. 160-168. is arguably one of the most famous Macedonian pop music ...

, to produce some of his most successful songs, such as "Usni na usni" ("Lips over Lips") and "Sonce vo tvoite rusi kosi" ("Sun in Your Golden Hair"). In 1999, he released his debut album, ''Nekade vo noḱta'' (''Somewhere in the Night''). In the summer of the same year, Proeski performed his first solo concert in Skopje. In the year 2000, Proeski participated in the Eurovision pre-selection for Macedonia in SkopjeFest. He sang "Solzi pravat zlaten prsten" ("Tears Make a Golden Ring"), which won the

televoting Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone. Broadcast contest televoting Televoting ...

from the public; however, he finished third overall behind

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 ...

and the winners XXL. During that period, he began recording tracks for his second album, ''Sinot božji'' (''The Son of God''), which was promoted by the end of June 2000. The album included songs such as "Nemir" ("Restless") (a duet with

), "Vo kosi da ti spijam" ("Sleeping in Your Hair"), "Izlaži me ušte ednaš" ("Lie to Me One More Time"), as well as "Iluzija" ("Illusion") (Grand Prix at the festival

Slavianski Bazaar The International Festival of Arts “Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk” ( be, Міжнародны фестываль мастацтваў «Славянскі базар у Віцебску», uk, Міжнародний фестиваль мист ...

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

) and "Tajno moja" ("Secret of Mine"). Two songs are composed by Kire Kostov (winning second prize at the festival Sunčane Skale, held 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 ...

, now

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

). The Serbian production house BK Sound purchased the rights to release Proeski's latest album in the other

former Yugoslav republics 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 Yugo ...

, which led to his victory of the Oscar of Popularity in those former republics for the year of 2000, and his sold-out shows in

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 ...

. Proeski embarked on an Australian tour along with other Macedonian singers in 2001.

Rise to regional stardom

In 2001, Proeski gained wider regional popularity in the countries of former-

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, by placing second at the Sunčane Skale festival held on 12, 13 and 14 July in

with the song "Sonce vo tvoite rusi kosi" ( en, The Sun in Your Blond Hair), written by G. Koprov, O. Nedelkovski and K. Ikonomov. After spending his time in recording studios in

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 ...

, Greece, Proeski released his third album "Ako me pogledneš vo oči" ("If You Look into My Eyes") in October 2002 in Macedonian and Serbian. After the release, Proeski went on a tour throughout Macedonia doing intense promotion. He also went to

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 ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, and

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 further promotion. Proeski won

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 ...

in Belgrade in April 2003, with "Čija si" ("To Whom Do You Belong?"), a song that became a huge hit in Macedonia and the other former Yugoslav republics. This song was due to represent

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2003 The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the with the song " I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) a ...

but the EBU stated that too many countries wanted to enter in that year and so some would be forced to withdraw.

(who participated as one country at the time) were one of them. To improve his singing, Proeski took classes in New York from maestro William Riley, who was also coach to famous

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

. When he returned, Proeski held humanitarian concerts throughout Macedonia. He was awarded with the Mother Teresa Humanitarian Award and in 2003 he became a Regional

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

Ambassador. Tose Proeski

In 2004, MKTV chose Proeski to represent Macedonia at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2004 The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European Broa ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, and in February, he performed eight songs, where a jury, televoting, and his own opinion chose the song. The song "Angel si ti" ("You're an Angel") was chosen by all three. In April, Proeski released his album "Dan za nas" ("A Day For Us"), which featured the eight songs from the Eurovision selection in Macedonian. In May, Proeski finished 14th with the song "

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

", which was the English version of "Angel si ti". Prior to the contest, he was popularised by reporters due to his tremendous opera singing ability, at his press conferences. All eight songs were recorded in English, but only the winning song of the national final, "Life", was released. During the TV national final show, after each song was performed, a clip of the song was played in English to show viewers how it would sound if that song won the contest and was performed in English at the

final. In 2004 Proeski was named a

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. The United Nations Intern ...

, and recorded the song "This World" which became the UNICEF anthem. Proeski signed a contract with Dallas Records so his next album could be released in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. To establish himself in these countries, Proeski recorded "Krajnje vreme" with Slovenian singer,

Anja Rupel Anja Rupel (born 19 March 1966) is a Slovene pop singer, songwriter, radio announcer, and journalist. Her father, Fedja Rupel, is a flautist and a professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, and her uncle is the politician and diplomat Dimi ...

. In 2005, Toše's fifth album ''Po tebe'' (''After You'') was released throughout ex-Yugoslavia. ''Po tebe'' is one of the most successful Balkan albums ever. It topped music charts for months in Macedonia,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and

. ''Božilak'' (''Rainbow'') was a compilation of 14 selected traditional Macedonian songs arranged by Saša Nikolovski Gjumar,

Ilija Pejovski Ilija Pejovski (Macedonian: Илија Пејовски) (born 1947) is a Macedonian composer, arranger and pianist. One of the Macedonian composers who began to treat jazz professionally and evolve the genre of Macedonian Jazz,Macedonian and

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 ...

, he also recorded one song in Slovene, "Moja" ("Mine") in 2007, and one in Italian, "Aria" ("Air"), with Italian superstar,

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954Who Is Who
''Bello e possibile'' ...

. The list of artists who collaborated with Proeski includes

Antonija Šola Antonija Šola (; born 5 June 1979) is a Croatian musician, singer-songwriter, lyricist, actress and music producer. She is known for playing a main role of " Tina Bauer-Fijan" in first Croatian soap opera Zabranjena ljubav (2004-2008). In addi ...

, Bora Čorba,

Esma Redžepova Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska ( mk, Есма Реџепова-Теодосиевска, ; 8 August 1943 – 11 December 2016) was a Macedonian Romani vocalist, songwriter and humanitarian. Because of her prolific repertoire, which included hund ...

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954Who Is Who
''Bello e possibile'' ...

Goca Tržan Gordana "Goca" Tržan ( sr-cyr, Гордана "Гоца" Тржан, ; born 8 July 1974) is a Serbian singer, actress and television personality. Life and career Tržan rose to prominence as a member of the Belgrade-based group Tap 011, which ...

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

Tony Cetinski Anthony Cetinski (born 31 May 1969), known professionally as Tony Cetinski, is a Croatian pop singer. Today, he is one of the most popular male singers in Croatia and countries of former Yugoslavia. Biography Born into a family of musicians in ...

Željko Joksimović Željko Joksimović ( sr-Cyrl, Жељко Јоксимовић, ; born 20 April 1972) is a Serbian vocalist, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He plays 12 different musical instruments including accordion, piano, guitar ...

and other notable musicians. Prior to his death, he was a student in his final year in the solo singing department of the Skopje Music Academy.

Songwriting

Proeski also established himself as a songwriter. He wrote several hits for himself including "Ima li dan za nas" ("Is There A Day For Us"), "Slušaš li" ("Are You Listening"), "Malečka" ("Little One") and "Polsko cveḱe" ("Field Flower"). In 2004, Proeski composed "Muza" ("Muse") for

Martin Vučić Martin Vučić ( mk, Мартин Вучиќ, sr-Cyrl, Мартин Вучић) is a Macedonian pop musician. Biography He finished elementary school in Skopje and expressed his interests in music at an early age. He started playing drums at ...

, the

Eurovision Song Contest 2005 The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...

representative for Macedonia. It became the title track for the young artist's second album. In interviews, Proeski stated that he had written over 100 songs but was waiting for the right moments to record them as they were still in demo form. Toše's last concert was held on 5 October 2007 for the Primary Education Project for

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

. The concert raised tens of thousands of

euros The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . T ...

for the primary schools of Macedonia. The concert was attended by over 40,000 people and viewed all over the world. The night before his death, Proeski gave his final interview to the Macedonian Television Station Kanal 5. He talked about his intention to finish his Musical Academy studies, his search for his soul mate, and his new album in the works.

Super Toše

Fight against evil, eliminate enemies, and the victory of the good were the main points of the comic "Super Toše", where the main character was based on Toše Proeski. It was made as a part of the humanitarian campaign under the motto "Superheroe of humanity". The main character has all virtues and characteristics of Toše in aim to build a fictional superhero who will hopefully be an idol of the young. "TToše is idealized, but with this, we want to give the young faith that the good can defeat the evil", said Oliver Romevski, the author of "Super Toše". "His job was not easy. As a weapon, he had his super voice with which he tried to eliminate the evil and defeat his enemies, among who was Mr. Pirate, the common enemy of the world, who was smuggling kids, drugs, and weapons."

Eurovision Song Contest 2004

On the forty-ninth edition of the annual

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 2004, Proeski represented Macedonia with the song ''

''. The song was selected on February 14, 2004, by televoting and 11 membered juries, in a competition with seven other songs written for Proeski. The song was written by Ilija Nikolovski, directed by

Jovan Jovanov Jovan Jovanov ( mk, Јован Јованов) is a Macedonian-Canadian music producer, record engineer and songwriter of pop, R&B, house, and hip-hop. Now based in Toronto, Ontario, Jovanov is working with Canadian artists such as Alx Veli ...

. On the

, with his performance was powerful and energetic in a companion with the back vocals who made an art show on the stage, he got in the finale, where he got 49 points and ended in fourteenth place. After the event, he admitted that he was not satisfied with his finish, putting it down to what he saw as Eurovision voting being based on stage direction as well as the song itself. However, in his home country he was given a warm welcome on his return.

Second big concert in Skopje

On 23 June 2006, he performed his second solo concert at the City Stadium in Skopje. The spectacular concert started with the dance group from Belgrade, in the rhythm of Toše's band, ''Blue Funky Individuals''. The stadium was filled with his fans who sang along with him his biggest hits , , , , ,...'', as well as the songs from his previous albums , , , , , (Life),...''. In the middle of the concert, he was joined by the ethnic singer

Bilja Krstić Biljana "Bilja" Krstić (Serbian Cyrillic: Биљана "Биља" Крстић, Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: ǐʎana bǐːʎa kř̩ːstitɕ born 9 November 1955) is a Serbian singer. She was born in 1955 in Niš and brought up on the folk t ...

and they performed the Macedonian folk song ''Jovano Jovanke'' in a duet. At the end of the performance, Bilja continued alone on the stage with her big hit ''Puce puska''. The concert lasted till midnight, but his fans didn't let him leave, so he got back on the stage and performed ''Po tebe'' again, alongside ''Zajdi zajdi'', the Macedonian folk song.

Croatian Radio Festival

On 9 June 2007, Toše for the

Croatian Radio Festival The Croatian Radio Festival ( Croatian: Hrvatski Radijski Festival, abbreviated as HRF) was a music festival held annually in Croatia from 1997 to 2009. The festival was first held in 1997 in Vodice. It remained in Vodice until 2002, when it was h ...

with his song ''Veži me za sebe'' won a Grand Prix award in the category for pop-rock and urban music with 16.589 points.

Third and final concert in Skopje

Under the motto "The education is everyone's responsibility", the pop star Tose Proeski on 5 October 2007 at 07:30 pm, performed his spectacular concert, again on the City Stadium in Skopje, supported by the organization

. The funds from the tickets (around 10.000 EUR) were used for the five-year project for renovating 100 elementary schools allover Macedonia, for bringing better educational programs and implementing educational reforms. At the press-conference in ''Hotel Continental Skopje'', except Toše, other attendees were representatives of

. The director ''Michael Eddy'' said that he was proud to be working with a star from the rank of Toše Proeski. Toše said that the renovation of the school ''Nikola Karev'' in Krushevo (his hometown) is accelerated. "It is an honor to be a part of a project like this and part of big plans for the education in Macedonia. Every concert of mine is dear to me, but the charity concerts are special to me and they will stay in me forever. If we can improve the education in Macedonia we will have a healthier society", said Toše. At the press conference, he made a statement that he will feel like a Macedonian forever, and he will never leave his country. "The success is always glued with evil because that is in the nature of humans. I hope that I get the support from everyone to fight the evil because I can't do it on my own.", said Toše. As guest stars, on his final concert, Toše was joined by

Adrian Gaxha Adrian Gaxha (, mk, Адријан Гаџа; born 13 February 1984) is a Macedonian-Albanian singer, songwriter, producer, dancer and entrepreneur. Life and career Adrian Gaxha was born on 13 February 1984 into an Albanian family in the ci ...

Bojan Marović Bojan Marović ( sr-cyrl, Бојан Маровић; born 21 May 1984) is a Montenegrin singer and actor. He is from Podgorica where he resides. Biography Bojan was born to parents Darko (1963–2001) and Sanja (1967). On April 7, 2001, his fat ...

and

. After the end of the concert, Toše and his band were given statuettes of

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

by the foundation of the same name as a thank you for the humanitarian work. Toše gave his statuette to his mother Dominika, who taught him about the importance of humanitarian work since he was young. Everything ended with the magnificent firework in honor of Toše. Best lines from his concert that will never be forgotten were "Give me a starry sky" (when he asked his fans to turn on the flashlights on their phones). The concert was represented on 6 January 2008 on A1 Televizija at 03:00 pm – 07:00 pm.

Death

During the early morning of 16 October 2007, at approximately 6:20 am, Proeski died in a car accident on the Zagreb–Lipovac highway near

, Croatia. He was a passenger along with his manager Ljiljana Petrović in a

Volkswagen Touareg The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: ) is a car produced by German automaker Volkswagen Group since 2002 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. A five-seater mid-size luxury crossover SUV, the vehicle was named after the nomadic Tuareg peo ...

driven by Georgi Georgievski. The Touareg crashed into the back of a truck and then into the median barrier, killing Proeski instantly, crushing the third vertebrae of his neck, although the truck sustained no damage. Proeski was asleep in the front passenger seat at the time of the crash. Of the other two passengers, only the driver suffered serious injuries (

head trauma A head injury is any injury that results in trauma to the skull or brain. The terms ''traumatic brain injury'' and ''head injury'' are often used interchangeably in the medical literature. Because head injuries cover such a broad scope of inju ...

). Proeski's body arrived at midnight in

by helicopter of the Macedonian army, and was transported by car to his home town of

. Grieving citizens gathered to pay their last respects at the airport and also in Macedonia Square. The Embassy of the United States of America, the

and the Diplomatic mission of the European Union published official statements on the death of Toše Proeski. 17 October was pronounced a national day of mourning in Macedonia. The three days following his death were pronounced days of mourning in the City of Kruševo. After his death, the government of the Republic of Macedonia, gave him the title "Honorable citizen of Macedonia".

State funeral

The government organized an official

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

for Proeski, which was held on 17 October 2007 in his home town of

, including military honor ceremonies by the

Ceremonial Guard Battalion The Ceremonial Guard Battalion (), also known as the Honour Battalion () is a military unit of the Macedonian Military. The mission of the Ceremonial Guard Battalion is to perform military honors for all events regulated by the rules of engage ...

of the Macedonian Army (personnel of which conducted an honorary rifle salute) and a

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

. The funeral, which was broadcast by the national Macedonian TV, was attended by many domestic and foreign delegations, including the President

Branko Crvenkovski Branko Crvenkovski ( mk, Бранко Црвенковски, pronounced ; born 12 October 1962) is a Macedonian politician who served as Prime Minister of Macedonia from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2002 to 2004, and as President of Macedonia f ...

, the Prime Minister

Nikola Gruevski Nikola Gruevski ( mk, Никола Груевски, pronounced ; hu, Nikola Gruevszki; born 31 August 1970) is a Macedonian politician who served as Prime Minister of Macedonia from 2006 until his resignation, which was caused by the 2016 Mac ...

, members of the

Macedonian Parliament The Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia ( mk, Собрание на Република Северна Македонија, sq, Kuvendi i Republikës së Maqedonisë së Veriut), or the Sobranie ( mk, Собрание, "Assembly"), is t ...

and its President Ljubiša Georgievski and other high-ranking officials, the US and the EU Ambassadors Gillian Milovanovic and Erwan Fouéré and other diplomats, representatives of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

, the

and other organizations, sports clubs, etc. Also, the funeral was attended by many notable musicians from Macedonia and other countries, including:

Kaliopi Kaliopi Bukle ( mk, Калиопи Букле, ; born 28 December 1966), known professionally as Kaliopi, is a Macedonian singer-songwriter. In her career, Kaliopi has progressed from singing lead vocal with her eponymous band in 1980s Yugoslavi ...

Vlado Janevski Vladimir Vlado Janevski ( mk, Владимир Владо Јаневски ) is a popular Macedonian singer. He was North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic ...

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 ...

Elena Risteska 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 in Athens with the song "Ninanajna", and finished in 1 ...

Tijana Dapčević Tijana Dapčević (; mk, Тијана Дапчевиќ, , sr-cyr, Тијана Дапчевић, , ; born 3 February 1976) is a Macedonian-Serbian pop singer. Early life Tijana Todevska was born in Skopje, at the time part of SFR Yugoslavi ...

and her sister

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' ...

, Aki Rahimovski (the

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Parni valjak Parni Valjak (; "steamroller") is a Croatian and former Yugoslav rock band. They were one of the top acts of the former Yugoslav rock scene, and one of the top rock bands in Croatia. Biography Parni Valjak was founded in 1975 in Zagreb. Unl ...

Toni Cetinski Anthony Cetinski (born 31 May 1969), known professionally as Tony Cetinski, is a Croatian pop singer. Today, he is one of the most popular male singers in Croatia and countries of former Yugoslavia. Biography Born into a family of musicians in ...

Ceca Ražnatović Svetlana Ražnatović ( Veličković; sr-cyr, Светлана Ражнатовић, ; ; born 14 June 1973), better known by her stage name Ceca ( sr-cyr, Цеца, ), is a Serbian singer and television personality. Often referred to as the "S ...

Vlado Georgiev Vladimir "Vlado" Georgiev ( sr-cyr, Владо Георгиев, ; born 6 June 1976) is a Serbian singer-songwriter and producer. Georgiev remains one of the most prominent musicians in the Balkans. Georgiev served as a judge on television serie ...

and many others. The religious service was held by the

Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; mk, Македонска православна црква – Охридска архиепископија), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese o ...

led by the Archbishop Stephen of Ohrid, as Proeski was a declared

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

. Numerous websites,

blogs A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

, and

internet forums An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

are filled with the last messages from his fans and friends. A petition was available online for Toše Proeski to be remembered by naming educational facilities, like the local Center for Music Education in

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

, where he had studied to carry his name. This petition is to promote an annual humanitarian concert, carrying his name "Toše Proeski" for the poor and disabled and those of desperate need of medical attention. A page for condolences can be found at the

Kruševo municipality Kruševo Municipality ( mk, Крушево ; sq, Krushevë; rup, Crushuva) is a municipality in the central region of North Macedonia. ''Kruševo'' is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. This municipality is part of the ...

official website. Since his death, each year on 25 January Mile Stojkoski as a symbol of grief and respect runs a marathon in his wheelchair from Prilep to Proeski's grave in Kruševo. Since 2008 Stojkoski run an additional long distance marathon starting from Kruševo in honor of Toše Proeski. These two notable Macedonians both received the Mother Teresa Award for their humanitarian accomplishments and shared a close friendship. An online petition was held for a tribute to be paid to Toše Proeski at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2008 The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

. It gathered over 13,900 signings however it was not honored. Tamara Todevska, singer of the Macedonian Eurovision entry of this year said that their entry was dedicated to a few people including their "angel who is up there watching over us". On 25 April 2011 "Memorial House Todor Proeski" has been opened in Kruševo. At World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2011, in Barcelona, the building won the award "People's Choice Award, by OpenBuildings" as the most beautiful one in the world.

Tribute concerts

On 5 October 2008, the anniversary of Proeski's last concert before his death a tribute concert was held in

. Over twenty singers from various Balkan countries performed. A documentary about the work of Toše Proeski was released on 12 February 2009 in cinemas all over Macedonia. Another concert was held on 24 January 2010, the day before what would have been Toše's 29th birthday. A memorial concert for Toše was held on 2 November 2018. It included many popular Balkan musicians and was held at the SCBT Arena.

National football stadium

On 9 April 2019, North Macedonia's government made a decision to rename the sports stadium "Philip II" in the capital city of Skopje in honour of Toše. The stadium's new name is "Toše Proeski National Arena".

Gallery

Immediately after Toše Proeski's death was announced, the citizens of

and people from all around Macedonia, as well as foreigners, started to gather at the Macedonia Square bringing candles, flowers and messages of condolence in his memory. Also, many institutions such as schools, universities, sports clubs, and business companies joined the spontaneous commemorative campaign. Similar gatherings took place in many other cities around the country, but also around the

, especially in the

former Yugoslav Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

countries and the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

. A mourning ceremony was organized in

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 ...

near

Skenderija Skenderija is a cultural, sports and trade center located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the area of 70,000 square meters there are multipurpose halls where various sports, cultural and trade events are organized throughout the year, as ...

, where around 2000 people gathered to light candles in memory of Toše Proeski.Dnevni Avaz, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Image:Tose Proeski commemoration Skopje Macedonia 5.jpg Image:Tose Proeski memorial Skopje Macedonia 1.jpg Image:Tose Proeski memorial Skopje Macedonia 2.jpg Image:Tose Proeski commemoration Skopje Macedonia 7.jpg Image:Krusevo.jpg

Discography

Albums

* '' Nekade vo noḱta'' (1999) * '' Sinot Božji'' (2000) * '' Ako me pogledneš vo oči / Ako me pogledaš u oči'' (2002) * '' Den za nas / Dan za nas'' (2004) * '' Po tebe / Pratim te'' (2005) * '' Božilak'' (2006) * '' Igri bez granici / Igra bez granica'' (2007) * '' The Hardest Thing'' (2009)

Compilations

* ''The Platinum Collection'' (2008) * ''The Ultimate Collection'' (2009) * ''Toše i prijatelji'' (2010) * ''Toše: Poslednji pozdrav'' (2011) * ''S ljubavlju od Tošeta'' (2011) * ''The Platinum Collection (6 CD Box)'' (2012) * ''The Best Of'' (2013) * ''Secret Place'' (2018)

Filmography

* ''

Zabranjena Ljubav ''Zabranjena ljubav'' ( lit. "Forbidden Love", commonly abbreviated to ZLJ) is a Croatian daytime soap opera about the lives and loves of both young and older characters, focused on Zagreb, capital city of Croatia. Actors Mario Valentić, Anton ...

'' one episode #1.402 Mladic Bosko (2006) * ''Kako Ubiv Svetec'' Tose (2004) * ''Nad Lipom 35'' one episode #2.2 Himself (2007)

Singles chart positions

His chart toppers include: :An em dash (—) indicates that the single did not chart.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Proeski, Tose 1981 births 2007 deaths People from Prilep Members of the Macedonian Orthodox Church Eurovision Song Contest entrants for North Macedonia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2004 Slavianski Bazaar winners 21st-century Macedonian male singers Macedonian pop singers Road incident deaths in Croatia Hayat Production artists Macedonian people of Aromanian descent Aromanian musicians Aromanian-language singers Croatian-language singers Macedonian folk-pop singers