Maya Berović

Maja was born 8 July 1987 in the village of Malešići, part of the Ilijaš municipality near Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She lost her father when she was three years old.[1] The Berović family lived in Malešići until the end of the Bosnian War in 1995, alongside her mother and older brother; Maja relocated to Bratunac where her mother is originally from. In a 2016 interview, Berović described her childhood during the Bosnian War:

"I had the bad fortune to belong to the generation that grew up during the war in Bosnia. I carry many ugly, and beautiful memories from that period of my life. The ugly memories include my family's relocation in search of a peaceful life, even though, at the time, I was not fully aware of the horrors of the situation. I spent most of my days playing, like any child."[2][3]

In Bratunac, she attended school and first began practising music. From age 12 she used to sing in local discotheques every weekend until she turned 18. Berović grew up listening to artists such as Dragana Mirković, Lepa Brena and Ceca and lists them as her musical influences.

Still a teenager, Maya was signed to the Belgrade-based record label Grand Production and released her debut studio album Život uživo (Life, Live) in August 2007,[4] achieving initial success with the song "Džin i limunada" (Gin and Lemonade). She soon parted ways with Grand Production and over a year later, in December 2008, she released her second studio album Crno zlato (Black Gold) under the short-lived label IN Music.[5] Two months after the release of Black Gold, Maya debuted a self-released non-album single "Koliko te ludo volim ja" (How Madly I'm in Love with You) in February 2009.[6]

Her big breakthrough came in February 2011 upon the release of her third and eponymous album, Maya,[7] and the success of the feminist ballad "Djevojačko prezime" (Maiden Surname), which was the recipient of the "Hit of the Year" award in Sarajevo.[8] She signed a recording contract with the record label City Records and released the single "Leti ptico slobodno" (Fly Bird, Freely) in June 2012.[9][10] Her fourth studio album, titled Djevojka sa juga (Girl from the South), was first released 17 October in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and 20 October in neighboring countries.[11] She has said that she was "extremely satisfied" with her new labels support of her music.[12] Following the release, Maya held her first concert in Belgrade in 2013.[13]

In April 2014 Berović participated in Pink Music Festival With a club-oriented song called "Alkohol" (Alcohol), which was the most-listened to of the 26 entries.[14] The music video was done by the video production company IDJVideos and premiered on 9 May 2014.[15] Opasne vode (Dangerous Waters), her fifth album and second consecutive project with City Records, was released 27 October 2014, and[16] "Alkohol" served as the lead single. In addition to an updated and slightly different sound, a new fashion style also accompanied the new record.[17][18]

In March 2016 Berović released "Pauza" (Pause), a non-album single. The single sparked controversy because of Maya singing in Serbian instead of Bosnian that she sang in before. Maya claimed she had done that because her Serbian songwriters wrote in their language and the lyrics didn't always sound good when she translated them to Bosnian.[19] However, she proceeded to sing in Serbian even when working with Bosnian songwriters. On 8 July 2016, Berović's 29th birthday, she released "To me radi" (That makes me) featuring Bosnian rappers Jala Brat and Buba Corelli.[20] It was the first collaborative song in her career and would eventually become one of her greatest hits.

Maya continued collaboration with Jala and Buba with her sixth studio album Viktorijina tajna (Victoria's Secret). It was released on 2 July 2017 through City Records, produced by the Sarajevo-based Imperia Productions. This album has more urban sound than her previous pop-folk releases. Viktorijina tajna has reached enormous success, reaching more than 100 million views on YouTube and dominating charts on streaming service Deezer. All songs from the album became instant hits and thanks to its success Maya had all venues she had performed in sold out, she even went on a US tour with Jala and Buba which also went very successfully. This album is arguably by far the most successful in Maya's 10 year old career. On July 9 2018 she released her seventh album 7, again with Jala Brat and Buba Corelli.

On 1 November 2019, she released two new songs, "Zmaj" (Dragon) and "Uloga" (Role).

Maya married Alen Dragosav on 31 July 2016.[21] They currently reside in Graz, Austria and Belgrade, Serbia.[22]