Nina Badrić (; born 4 July 1972) is a Croatian pop singer and songwriter. She began performing in the early 1990s, and competed in " Dora" – the Croatian selection for
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
4 times. She won 7th place in 1993 with "Ostavljam te", 10th place in 1994 with "Godine nestvarne", 18th place in 1995 with "Odlaziš zauvijek", and second place in 2003 with "Čarobno jutro". Badrić eventually represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan with the song " Nebo". She finished 12th in the second semi-final and failed to qualify for the grand final.
Early life
Nina Badrić was born on July 4, 1972 in
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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
, and attended primary school "Otokar Keršovani", and started singing in the children's choir ''Zvjezdice'' at the age of nine. She spent seven years in the choir, while she began doing backing vocals with performers such as the
Parni valjak
Parni Valjak (; trans. '' Steam Roller'') is a Croatian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Zagreb in 1975. They were one of the most popular acts of the Yugoslav rock scene, and have maintained large popularity in all former Yugoslav republics a ...
In the early 1990s she was discovered by Dino Dvornik who helped develop her career. Later, she had her first major appearance on Crovizija, where she won with the song "Ostavljam te", in collaboration with Rajko Dujmić, Jasenko Houra and her first manager Daniel Koletić. Shortly after that she signed her first professional contract with Croatia Records and in 1995 released her first album '' Godine nestvarne''. However, Nina first achieved major success in duet with singer Emilija Kokić on the song "Ja sam vlak".
Badrić released her second album ''Personality'' in 1997 with the record label Zg Zoe Music. Nina won two Porins in 1998 for best female vocal performance and best album of pop and classical music.
She has also covered the song " I'm So Excited" by American R&B group
the Pointer Sisters
The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...
, receiving a degree of international recognition most notably in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Due to the international success of the dance version of the song, she released a dance album, ''Me!'', with the record label Dance Factory, on which she sang in English. She also appeared on the song "Gimme Sunshine" by the band Banditos Bonitos.
In 1999 she released the 13 track album ''Unique'', including two versions of the song "Woman in Love" by
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
and also a remix of "Po dobru ti me pamti". She collaborated with a number of Croatian musicians, including Boytronic.
2000–present
With the single "Nek ti bude kao meni", Nina announced her fourth album, '' Nina'', released in 2000, through the label Croatia Records. It contained twelve songs and was produced by Darko Juranović. It featured the second single "Ako kažeš da me ne voliš" that was supported by a video. In 2003 she released a compilation, ''Collection'', and her fourth studio album ''Ljubav'', consisting of thirteen tracks. The songs "Čarobno jutro" and "Za dobre i loše dane" were released as singles.
On 14 February 2005, Badrić performed at the
Dom sportova
Dom sportova (), is a multi-purpose indoor sports arena located in Zagreb, Croatia. The venue was built in 1972 in the Trešnjevka neighborhood, in the western part of the city. It has 32,000 m2 of floorspace, and it features six halls. The se ...
in Zagreb, in support of the campaign by
UNICEF
UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
to house abandoned children. The concert was filmed and the same year Badrić released a live album on double CDs, ''Ljubav za ljubav – Live'', released through Aquarius Records. In November 2007, she released her seventh studio album, '' 07''. The album opens with the song "Kralj života mog", which is a duet with RomanidivaLjiljana Petrović-Buttler. The tracklist contains another duet, "Ne dam te nikom" with Montell Jordan. The album was recorded over two years and produced by Steve Sidwell. In November 2011, Nina released the album '' NeBo''.
Badrić represented Croatia at 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 (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...
in
Baku
Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
with the song "Nebo". She performed in the second semi-final and failed to reach the top ten and final cutoff, at 12th place with 42 points.
After the Eurovision Song Contest, Badrić embarked on an arena tour of the region. In 2013, Badrić recorded a duet "Duše su se srele" with Bosnian singer Mirza Šoljanin. In January 2015, she recorded another duet, called "Lozinka za raj", with Serbian singer Željko Vasić.
In 2016, Badrić recorded a song "Želim živjeti", together with Shorty, Ivana Husar, Marija Husar, Palić Sisters, Alan Hržica and band Emanuel in support of an
anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...
campaign. In July 2016, Badrić performed her song "Dani i godine" at the wedding of
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Schweinsteiger (name at birth, née Ivanovic; born 6 November 1987) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tenn ...
and
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Bastian Schweinsteiger ( , ; born 1 August 1984) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Earlier in his career, he primarily played as a wide midfielder before later switching to a central mi ...
.
Personal life
She married Bernard Krasnić in 2006; they divorced in 2012. During the campaign for the
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
.
She often makes pilgrimages to
Lourdes
Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...
,
Medjugorje
Medjugorje (, ) is a village in the municipality of Čitluk in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 1981, it has become a popular site of Catholic pilgrimage due to Our ...
and Šurkovac.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
English
Tours
* NeBo Tour (2012–2013)
* Moji Ljudi Tour (2024–ongoing)