Sonja Bakić ( sr-cyr, Соња Бакић; born 22 February 1984 in

Sombor Sombor ( sr-Cyrl, Сомбор, ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the West Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city has a total population of 41,814 (), while its adminis ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

) is a

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

singer and songwriter. She reached fame as a contestant in television show ''Operacija trijumf'', which was broadcast in five countries (Serbia,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

), and made Sonja a regional music superstar.

Early life

Sonja Bakić was born on 22 February 1984 in the town of

, located in the north of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. At the age of seven, her parents enrolled her in a music school where she spent 8 years studying the theory of music and piano.Sonja's biography from her official website
When she started high school she became a member of Iuventus Cantat Youth Choir that in her time won various prizes all over Europe (Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Hungary, Italy) and South Korea and performed in London,

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Rome etc.).Iuventus Cantat Youth Choir
/ref>

Career

''Operacija trijumf''

Sonja Bakić made her breakthrough in a regional reality show for music talents, ''Operacija trijumf'', based on

Endemol Endemol B.V. (stylized in all lowercase) was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted gen ...

's ''

Fame Academy ''Fame Academy'' was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner would receive a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise ''Star Academy'' known un ...

''. ''Operacija trijumf'' 2008 was one of the most watched programs in the region in 2008, in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and

. During the ''Operacija trijumf'', Sonja performed with international music stars, such as

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. Her first two studio albums, '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001), achieved chart success with the singles " I'm Outta Love", " Not That Ki ...

and

Junior Jack Vito Lucente (; born 31 August 1971), known by his stage name Junior Jack, is an Italian house music record producer, producer and DJ based in Belgium. Biography In the early years, Vito Lucente produced several acid house and Eurodance project ...

, and with the regional stars such as

Magazin Magazin is a Croatian pop band from Split. Founded in 1979 under the name Dalmatinski magazin ("Dalmatian Magazine" in Croatian), the band quickly began to make a mark on local pop music festivals with its songs influenced by Dalmatian folk musi ...

Jelena Rozga Jelena Rozga (born 23 August 1977) is a Croatian pop, folk, and electropop singer. Born and raised in Split, Croatia, Rozga was a ballet dancer as a child. She rose to fame in 1996, when she became the lead singer of Magazin, a pop band famous i ...

Kaliopi Kaliopi Bukle (, ; born 28 December 1966 as Kaljopa Bukleska (Macedonian: Каљопа Буклеска)), known professionally as Kaliopi, is a Macedonian singer-songwriter. In her career, Kaliopi has progressed from singing lead vocal with ...

and Colonia. Sonja was a special guest in both semifinal and the final. At the semifinal event, she performed

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the singl ...

song "

Don't Let Go (Love) "Don't Let Go (Love)" is a song by American R&B group En Vogue. It was produced by Organized Noize for the ''Set It Off'' soundtrack (1996), also appearing on the group's third album, '' EV3'' (1997). It was released to radio on September 23, 19 ...

" with other expelled students

Milica Majstorović Milica Majstorović (; born 9 October 1989) is a Serbian singer. She came to media attention as a contestant in regional television show '' Operacija Trijumf'', while her debut single "Savršeni par" was released on 6 January 2009. On 20 Februar ...

and Antonija Besednik. Performances on ''Operacija trijumf'' During the ''Operacija trijumf'', Sonja Bakić performed the following songs: *

— " Left Outside Alone" with Anastacia herself (Gala 1) * U2/

Indexi Indexi was a Bosnian and former Yugoslav rock band popular in Yugoslavia. It formed in 1962 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and disbanded in 2001 when singer Davorin Popović died. Some of their most notable songs are "Svijet u kome ži ...

— "

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

"/"Ti si mi bila u svemu naj,naj" with the student Ivana Nikodijević (Gala 2) *

— "Ginem" with Magazin (Gala 3) *

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...

— " Apologize" with the student Vukašin Brajić (Gala 4) * Negative — "Zbunjena" (Gala 5) *

— " Free Your Mind" with the student Mirjana Kostić (Gala 6) *

— "Rođeni" with Kaliopi (Gala 7) * Colonia — "Plamen od ljubavi" with Colonia (Gala 8) *

Jadranka Stojaković Jadranka Stojaković ( sr-Cyrl, Јадранка Стојаковић, 24 July 1950 – 3 May 2016) was a Bosnian singer-songwriter popular in the former Yugoslavia, known for her unique voice. Her best known hits are "Sve smo mogli mi", "Što te ...

— "Sve smo mogli mi" (Gala 9) *

— "Ožiljak" (Gala 10) *

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

— "

So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * So What (Anti-Nowhere League album), ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * ''So What?: Early Demos and L ...

" (Gala 10) with the students

Nina Petković Nina Petković ( cnr-Cyrl, Нина Петковић; born 10 April 1981) is a Montenegrin singer, musician and television personality. She came to media prominence in regional ''Star Academy'' version, ''Operacija trijumf'', and came fourth. Ea ...

and

Ana Bebić Ana Đolić (; born 7 May 1986) is a Croatian singer, who participated in television shows such as ''Hrvatski Idol'', '' Ne zaboravi stihove!'', and finally ''Operacija trijumf'', which was shown in five countries. Her debut single, " Preživje ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

— "

La Vie en Rose ; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the United States in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard'' cha ...

" (Gala 11) *

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

— "

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song by the British rock band Queen from their 1977 album '' News of the World'', written by guitarist Brian May. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA it p ...

"/"

We Are the Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.

" with the students

Vukašin Brajić Vukašin Brajić ( sr-Cyrl, Вукашин Брајић; ; born 9 February 1984) is a Bosnian Serb pop-rock singer who rose to fame after participating in the first season (2008–09) of ''Operacija trijumf'', the Former Yugoslavia, ex-Yugoslav ...

, Nikola Sarić, Danijel Pavlović and

(Gala 11) *

Jamelia Jamelia Niela Davis (born 11 January 1981) is a British singer, actress and television personality. Her three studio albums each peaked inside the Top 40 and they spawned eight top-10 singles. In addition, Jamelia has won four MOBO Awards, a Q ...

— "

Beware of the Dog Beware of the dog (also rendered as beware of dog) is a warning sign posted at the entrance to a building or other private area indicating that a dangerous dog is within. Such signs may be placed to deter burglary even if there is no dog, or if ...

" (Gala 12) * Negative — "Svet tuge" with the student Vukašin Brajić (Gala 12) *

— "Stupidisco" with Junior Jack (Gala 12) *

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball (electronic musician), David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit versio ...

/Rihanna — "

SOS SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, originally established for maritime use. In formal notation SOS is written with an overscore line (), to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" a ...

"/"

Tainted Love "Tainted Love" is a song composed by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964. In 1981, the song attained worldwide fame after being covered and reworked by British synth-pop du ...

"/" Disturbia" with the students

and

(Gala 12) * En Vogue — "

" with the expelled students

and Antonija Besednik (Semifinal, revival performance)

Solo career

Sonja's first solo performance after Operacija Trijumf was on the stage of

Sava Centar Sava Centar ( sr-cyr, Сава центар) is an international congress, cultural and business center of various multi-functional activities located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is the largest audience hall in the country and the enti ...

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, where she took part in

Beovizija 2009 Serbia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Cipela" written by Aleksandar Kobac, Marko Kon and Milan Nikolić (musician), Milan Nikolić. The song was performed by Marko Kon and Milaan. The Serbian national broadcast ...

, the national preselection for Serbia's representative at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2009 The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Believe (Dima Bilan song), Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the Eu ...

. She performed Ništa Novo, written by Mirko and Snežana Vukomanović. However, her song received in final 0 points from the jury, and only one point from the audience, and Sonja placed last. The song became her first single. Since then, she recorded Kiša, a duet with

, written by Bojan Momčilović and Zoran Radonjić. In September 2009 she toured Serbia, performing in various clubs.Sonja and her band's official website
/ref> In February 2010 she was featured on the Beatshakers' single 'Prisoner'. In autumn 2010 Sonja released the first single from her debut album, that is yet to come out, "Trazim te", co-written by Sonja herself. Special guest on this track is one of the most famous Balkan stars, singer

Tony Cetinski Anthony Cetinski (born 31 May 1969) is a Croatian pop singer. Biography Born into a family of musicians in Pula (then SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia), Cetinski began singing when he was 15 years old with various local groups. He moved from Rovinj to ...

Biography

After completing high school in Sombor, Sonja tried getting into the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, aiming to become a movie director, but ends up studying

Japanese language and literature ''Japanese Language and Literature'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by The Association of Teachers of Japanese. It was established in 1966 as the ''Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese'', obtaining its curre ...

. After two years, she decided to return to Sombor to pursue her musical career. Her band Chicks & Freaks was then formed. She also started studying English language and literature in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, but after two years ends her studies to participate in Operacija Trijumf and eventually become famous.

Personal life

Sonja got together with her guitarist from the band in 2006, and they've been together even since.

Discography

Albums

* 2009: ''Operacija Trijumf Maxi Single, compilation of the Operacija trijumf contestants'' * TBD: '' Upcoming debut album''

Singles

* 2009: "Ništa novo" * 2009: "Kiša"(feat Nina Petkovic) * 2010: Prisoner (feat The Beatshakers) * 2010: "Tražim te" (feat with Tony Cetinski)

Television appearances

* ''3K-Dur'' * ''Neon City'' * ''Operacija trijumf''

References

External links

Official Forum - Discussion, News, Pictures, Videos about Sonja Bakić

Official YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakic, Sonja 1984 births Living people Musicians from Sombor 21st-century Serbian women singers Serbian television personalities Serbian pop singers