Željko Joksimović ( sr-Cyrl, Жељко Јоксимовић, ; born 20 April 1972) is a

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 Hungar ...

n vocalist, composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He plays 12 different musical instruments including accordion,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

and drums. Joksimović is multi-lingual, being fluent in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

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 ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, Polish and French as well as his native Serbian. A singer-songwriter, Joksimović has been successful composing for other artists throughout 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 ...

. He has written five ballads that have represented their respective countries at the Eurovision Song Contest: "

Lane moje "Lane moje" ( sr-cyr, Лане моје, ; literally "My Fawn", figuratively "My Darling") is the name of the song performed by Serbian musician Željko Joksimović at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 for , in which it finished second. Inspired ...

", " Lejla", " Oro", "

Nije ljubav stvar Serbia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Nije ljubav stvar" written by Željko Joksimović, Marina Tucaković and Miloš Roganović. The song was performed by Željko Joksimović, who had previously represented Serbia ...

" and " Adio". He also composes music for films, television series and theater shows. He represented Serbia and Montenegro in 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 Bro ...

with the song "Lane moje", placing second. He also represented

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

with the song "Nije ljubav stvar", placing third. During 2013, 2014 and 2015, he was a judge on '' X Factor Adria'', the Western Balkan edition of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''.

Career

Early beginnings

Željko Joksimović was born on 20 April 1972 in Belgrade and grew up in the city of

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the administrative area of Valjevo had 90,312 inhabitants, 59,073 of whom were urban dwell ...

. Joksimović's family originates from the Vasojevići clan Željko's first international success came at the age of 12, when he won the title of ''First Accordion of Europe'' at the prestigious music festival in Paris. He graduated music at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-ba ...

and launched his professional music career in 1997. In 1998 he won a contest at the Pjesma Mediterana festival with the song "Pesma Sirena", which led to opportunities to perform at more prestigious festivals in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. The Serbian musician won the "Grand-Prix" award at two festivals in that country.

1999–2003: ''Amajlija'', ''Rintam'' and ''111''

The young singer was promoted as a folk and pop artist. His first studio album, titled ''

Amajlija Amajlija (Serbian Cyrillic: Амајлија; transl. '' Amulet'') is a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Novi Sad in 1979. Led by vocalist and guitarist Bogoljub "Čombe" Banjac, Amajlija reached the peak of popularity in the late 1980s ...

'', included "Pesma Sirena" along with seven other tracks. His first big success was with the single "7 godina", written by himself and Leontina Vukomanović. The song went to No. 1 on the Serbian pop music charts, and became very popular in other

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. In 1999 he won his first big prize when becoming the Grand Prix winner of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in

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 c ...

. In 2001, Joksimović released his second studio album ''

Vreteno ''Vreteno'' ( sr, Вретено) or ''Rintam'' ( sr, Ринтам) is the second studio album by Serbian singer-songwriter Željko Joksimović. It was released in 2001 by City Records in Serbia and Montenegro and most countries from Yugoslavia ...

'' named after a song on the album. Other tracks on the album included "Rintam", "Balada", "Gadura" and the duet with Haris Džinović "Šta će meni više od toga". Three music videos were produced for songs on this album. ''111'' was released in 2002, soaring to No.1 on the pop charts of Serbia and other countries of the region. Some of the songs included were "Varnice", "Zaboravljaš" and "Karavan". In 2003, Joksimović wrote the song "Čija si" for Macedonian music singer

Toše Proeski 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 wa ...

which led him to win

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 ...

2004: Eurovision Song Contest 2004

Serbia and Montenegro, sending an entrant for the first time to

2004 Eurovision Song Contest 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 Br ...

, decided on their representative through

Evropesma ''Evropesma'' ( sr-Cyrl, Европесма) or ''Europjesma'' ( cnr, Еуропјесма) was a pop song contest in Serbia and Montenegro which ran from 2004 to 2006. The winning song represented the country in the Eurovision Song Contest. It ...

2004, a music festival and contest in Serbia and Montenegro. Joksimović won the contest with "

Lane Moje "Lane moje" ( sr-cyr, Лане моје, ; literally "My Fawn", figuratively "My Darling") is the name of the song performed by Serbian musician Željko Joksimović at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 for , in which it finished second. Inspired ...

", composed by Željko himself, along with lyricist Leontina Vukomanović. In the semi-final, Joksimović placed first. However, in the final he placed second behind Ukrainian singer

Ruslana Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko ( uk, Руслана Степанівна Лижичко, ''Ruslana Lyzhychko''; born 24 May 1973), known mononymously as Ruslana, is a World Music Award and Eurovision Song Contest winning recording artist, holdi ...

, but received the "Marcel Bezencon Press Award" (Best Composer Award). "Lane Moje" was the best selling single in Serbia and Montenegro. The song has become popular amongst many Eurovision fans and it is often rated as one of the best non-winning songs.

2004–2007: After first Eurovision, ''IV'' and ''Platinum Collection''

After the success in the Contest, the same year, Joksimović founded ''MINACORD PRODUCTION''. Since then, he works and composes in his own studio. In 2007 he composed and released the single "Ledja o Ledja" which gained a large popularity over the countries where Željko usually performs. In 2005, he once again composed a song for Serbia and Montenegro's national pre-selection for Eurovision called

. Željko composed the ballad "Jutro" (Morning) which was performed by

Jelena Tomašević Jelena Tomašević ( sr-cyr, Јелена Томашевић, ; born November 1, 1983) is a Serbian pop singer of international career famed for her strong vocal performances. She has won numerous awards for her songs and represented Serbia at 20 ...

. In October 2005, he composed and performed a duet with Austrian singer Tamee Harrison. The song was titled ''I Live my Life For You"'' which was a success throughout Europe. Around this time, Željko wrote his first film score. In cooperation with ''Cobra production'' he composed music for the movie ''Ivkova slava'' (Ivko's fame). The same year he released his fourth studio album ''" IV"'' or ''"Ima nešto u tom što me nećeš"''. In this album he changed the music style that was typical about him. The songs in the album are Pop

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 ...

s with some ethnic Serbian folk elements. In 2006, he composed the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 song ''Lejla'' for

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 ...

, performed by

Hari Mata Hari Hari Mata Hari is a Bosnian pop band. Hari Mata Hari is the stage name for the singer Hari Varešanović. The group originated from the city of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The group has performed over 1,000 concerts and sol ...

. The song finished in third place, making it Bosnia's best performance in the contest. He also won the prestigious Best Composer Award (COMPOSERAWARD 2006), assigned to Željko by all composers who participated in that festival. In 2007, he released his second greatest hits compilation called '' Platinum Collection'' which included two new singles "Devojka" and "Nije do mene". He also composed the music for the TV series "Ranjeni orao" and "Ono nase sto nekad bejase". The same year, in front of 18,000 people Joksimović made a concert where he sang all of his hits 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 million ...

released in the DVD titled "Koncert Beogradska Arena".

2008–2011: Eurovision hosting and ''Ljubavi''

ESC 2008 - Presenters at the 1st semifinal

In early 2008, Željko Joksimović composed a song that was performed by

in the Serbian national final for the Eurovision song selection, Beovizija 2008, called " Oro". The song is a folk ballad with traditional folk Serbian elements. Because 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 ...

has been won by Serbia, the contest that year came in the country. On 24 March 2008 it was announced by the 2008 Eurovision organisers RTS that together with

Jovana Janković Jovana is a Serbian feminine name. People with the name include: *Jovana Brakočević, Serbian volleyball player * Jovana Crnogorac, Serbian cyclist * Jovana Damnjanović, Serbian football player *Jovana Jakšić, Serbian tennis player * Jovana Jan ...

he would host 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 ...

in Belgrade, giving him two roles in the contest. Tomašević's song finished on the 6th place over 25 countries in the final. The song came six with 160 points, with OGAE Greece ranking it as their favourite of the year. After a year of a music pause he released his fifth studio album named '' Ljubavi'' (2009) by the production of Minacord and City Records. " Ljubavi" is the name of the pilot single of the album too. The single has a large success in Serbia and the neighbouring countries. In early 2010 he released the second single from the album called "Žena Za Sva Vremena". On 12 June 2010, he performed his biggest concert yet. It was held on the Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

, which can seat 37,500, though attendance for concerts can be expanded to reach about 80,000, in front of over 40,000 persons.

2012: Eurovision return

Joksimović represented Serbia in the

in Baku, Azerbaijan. The song was called "Nije ljubav stvar" composed and performed by Joksimović. The lyrics are by Marina Tucaković and Miloš Roganović. The English version of the song called "Synonym" by Ljilja Jorgovanović. The arrangements of both versions were done by Željko Joksimović and Alek Alekov. The postproduction and mastering was done by James Cruz, an award-winning audio-mastering engineer in his New York studio. The song was a great success, finished on third place. He married

in January 2012.

2015: Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Željko Joksimović was invited by

RTCG Radio and Television of Montenegro ( cnr, Радио и Телевизија Црне Горе, Radio i Televizija Crne Gore; abbr. /RTCG) is the public service broadcaster of Montenegro. A state-owned company with its headquarters in Podgorica, i ...

to compose song for Knez who represented Montenegro in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Joksimović composed song ''Adio'' and the song has three versions, in Serbian, French and

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

. Serbian lyrics are written by Marina Tucaković and Dejan Ivanović, while English version is signed by Swedish songwriters Nicole Rodriguez, Tami Rodriguez, and Serbian Milica Fajgelj and Dunja Vujadinović.

Recent concerts

In November 2018, Željko Joksimović had a concert in Arena Zenica – after eight-year break. He gave another concert entitled "Dva sveta" (Two worlds) 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 ...

a month later. Зеница 20190809 222425

On 9 August, Joksimović closed Zenica summer fest 2019 by free public two-hour performance on

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 valley, about north of Sarajevo. The city is k ...

city square.

Discography

Studio albums

* 1999 ''

'' ity Records* 2001 ''

'' ity Records* 2002 '' 111'' ity Records* 2005 '' IV'' ity Records* 2009 '' Ljubavi'' inacord

Live albums

* 200

'' Koncert Beogradska Arena, Beogradska Arena Live inacord Records* 201

''Dva Sveta - Koncert Sava Centar (Live) inacord Records

Compilations

* 2003 ''

The Best Of Željko Joksimović ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' * 2007 '' Platinum Collection'' * 2010 ''Ultimate Collection''

Singles

* 2004 ''Leđa o leđa'' ity Records* 2004 ''Lane moje'' CD+DVD GP RTS* 2004 ''Lane moje/Goodbye'' (maxi-single) arner Music Group* 2005 ''I live my life for you'' (with Tamee Harrison) arner Music* 2007 ''Devojka'' inacord* 2007 ''Nije do mene'' inacord* 2008 ''Ono naše što nekad bejaše'' inacord* 2010 ''Dođi sutra'' inacord* 2012 ''

'' inacord* 2013 ''Ludak kao ja'' inacord* 2015 ''Ranjena zver'' inacord* 2017 ''Milimetar'' inacord* 2018 ''Ponelo me'' inacord* 2018 ''Menjaj pesmu'' inacord* 2019 ''Možda je to ljubav'' inacord

Duets

* 2001

Haris Džinović Haris Džinović (; born 26 September 1951) is a Bosnian and former Yugoslavian folk singer, composer and lyricist. Džinović is one of the best known singers of Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geogra ...

– ''Šta će meni više od toga'' * 2004

Dino Merlin Edin Dervišhalidović (; born 12 September 1962), known professionally as Dino Merlin (), is a Bosnian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. Born in Sarajevo, he was the founder and leader of Merlin, which eventually became one of ...

�
''Supermen''
* 2005 Tamee Harrison �
''I Live My Life For You''
* 2012 Samuel Cuenda
Su amor me venció
* 2009 Miligram - ''Libero'' * 2014

Daniel Kajmakoski Daniel Kajmakoski-Gragevinac ( mk, Даниел Кајмакоски-Граѓевинац, born 17 October 1983) is a Macedonian singer and songwriter. He is best known for having won the first series of X Factor Adria. He represented Macedoni ...

– ''Skoplje - Beograd'' * 2014 Toni Cetinski – ''Zabluda'' * 2018

Emina Jahović Emilija "Emina" Jahović (, ; born 15 January 1982), also known mononymously as Emina, is a Serbian- Turkish singer-songwriter, actress and businesswoman of Bosniak origin. Born and raised in Novi Pazar, she rose to prominence through music fes ...

– ''Dva aviona''

Soundtracks

* 2005 "Ivkova slava", (Željko Joksimović,

& Nikola Kojo) inacord – City Records* 200
"Ranjeni Orao"
inacord – City Records

Other works

* 2003

– Song: ''Cija Si'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović, Album: '' Den Za Nas/ Dan Za Nas'' * 2005 Nava Medina – Song: ''Malah Shomer'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović * 2005 Jelena Tomasevic – Song: ''Jutro'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović, Album: ''Oro'' GP -RTS* 2006

– Song: ''Lejla'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović, Album: ''Lejla'' iH* 2009

Halid Bešlić Halid Bešlić (; born 20 November 1953) is a Bosnian folk singer and musician who has been performing professionally since 1979. Bešlić's singing career was one of the most successful in Yugoslavia, and continues today throughout the entire ...

– Song: "Miljacka" – Composer: Željko Joksimović, Album: ''Halid 08 Bešlić'' * 2008 Jelena Tomasevic – Song: ''Oro'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović, Album: ''Oro'' GP -RTS* 2008 Eleftheria Arvanitaki – Song: ''To Telos mas Des'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović, Album: ''Mirame''

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

* 2008 Melina Aslanidou – Song: ''Poso'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović, Album: ''Best of – Sto dromo'' Sony BMG *2008 Song:

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla ( ; ,"Tesla"
''

"Nikola Tesla" – Zeljko Joksimovic
YouTube (25 June 2008). Retrieved on 2012-08-29. – Composer: Željko Joksimović feat.

Album
balkan Routes vol.1:Nikola Tesla
Protasis] * 2011 Lepa Brena – Song: ''Biber'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović * 2011 Lepa Brena – Song: ''Ne bih bila ja'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović * 2013 Saša Kapor – Song: ''Hotel Jugoslavija'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović * 2014 Knez – Song: ''Adio'' – Composer: Željko Joksimović

Eurovision Song Contest entries

Entries in Beovizija

* 2003 - "Čija si" (Чија си) by

- 1st * 2004 - "Zamisli" (Замисли) by Leontina Vukomanović - 3rd * 2005 - "Jutro" (Јутро) by

- 1st *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

- " Oro" (Оро) by

- 1st

Entries in Evropesma / Europjesma

* 2004 - "Lane moje" (Лане моје) by Željko Joksimović - 1st * 2004 - "Zamisli" (Замисли) by Leontina Vukomanović - 12th * 2005 - "Jutro" (Јутро) by

- 2nd

References

External links

Željko Joksimović's Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joksimovic, Zeljko 1972 births Living people Serbian composers English-language singers from Serbia Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Serbia and Montenegro Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Serbia Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2004 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2012 Musicians from Valjevo Singers from Belgrade 21st-century Serbian male singers Serbian folk-pop singers Serbian pop singers Serbian singer-songwriters Hayat Production artists Serbian multi-instrumentalists 21st-century multi-instrumentalists Balkan Music Awards winners Slavianski Bazaar winners 20th-century Serbian male singers