Nikolija (singer)

Nikolija Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николија Јовановић, born on 19 October 1989), often simply known as Nikolija, is a Serbian singer, rapper and model. After initially gaining media attention for being the daughter of folk singer Vesna Zmijanac, she embarked on a music career herself with her single "Ćao zdravo" in 2013. Nikolija subsequently saw commercial success with debut album №1 released in October 2016, which marked her crossover into pop-folk music. Following several successful singles, her sophomore album, Yin & Yang, was released in April 2019, which incorporated elements of trap and latin music.

Nikolija
Birth nameNikolija Jovanović
Born (1989-10-19) 19 October 1989
Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
OriginBelgrade, Serbia
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • rapper
  • model
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2010–present
Labels

Early life

Jovanović was born on 19 October 1989 in Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia, but was raised in Belgrade. Her parents, Yugoslavian folk singer Vesna Zmijanac and economist Vlada Jovanović, who worked as the marketing chief at the PGP RTS, divorced soon after she had been born. Nikolija showed interest in music during middle school when she won the town singing competition with her performance of Aladdin's "A Whole New World". Jovanović moved to Athens, Greece for her senior year of high school were she later attended the School of Business at the American Deree College.[1]

In 2010, she appeared on Survivor Srbija VIP: Philippines alongside her mother, where she was the first contestant to be voted out and eventually voluntarily walked from the show. During her studies Nikolija also started her music career in Greek night clubs as a dancer and MC and claims to have performed alongside acts such as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk and Swedish House Mafia. In 2011, she also released her first song as Nicole, titled "Crazy 2 Night", but failed to make significant success.

Career

2013-2019: Career beginnings, №1 and Yin & Yang

After graduating from college in 2013, Nikolija decided to pursue a recording career in Serbia. She started collaborating with producers and songwriters from Atelje Trag, Marko Peruničić and Nebojša Arežina, on her house rap single "Ćao zdravo" (Bye, Bye), which was released on April 9, 2013.[2] Pop singer Ana Nikolić then offered her to perform guest verses on the lead single "Milion dolara" (Million Dollars) from her fourth album of the same name after hearing Nikolija's rapping demos in Atelje Trag, which she accepted. The collaboration became a hit and it brought Nikolija wider exposure. Same year she also released a self-titled song in November, which is recognized as one of the first mainstream rap songs by a female artist in Serbia.

The following year, Nikolija was confirmed as a contestant on the Serbian version of Dancing with the Stars. The show began airing in May and she got eliminated sixth. Nikolija was then featured on the single "Alkohola litar" (Liter of Alcohol) by the pop-rap duo Elitni odredi in August and released solo song "Kako posle mene" (How After Me) in October.[3] These releases marked the departure from her previous work to a more commercial pop-folk sound, which she mixed with urban contemporary music, while also embracing singing rather than just rapping.[4] In December, Nikolija also collaborated with Montenegrin singer Dado Polumenta on "Premija" (Premium).

In June 2015, she released "Opasna igra" (Dangerous Game) and its accompanying music video, which was declared the most viewed one by a Serbian artist that year.[5][6] Later, Nikolija also announced her debut album and released first ballad in her career, titled "Ljubavni maneken" (Love Mannequin), in October.[7]

Another promotional single, "Niko kao mi" (No One Like Us), was released in July of 2016. Her debut album, titled №1, which included songs that had been previously released as well as three new tracks, was subsequently dropped on 20 October under City Records, a month after Nikolija gave birth to her daughter. It saw general commercial success with shipments of 50,000 units in Serbia.

Following №1, three singles were released in 2017, "Promeni mi planove" (Change My Plans), "Loš momak" (Bad Boy) and "Moj tempo" (My Tempo).[8][9][10] Also that year, Jovanović scored a minor movie role in the post-apocalyptic fiction Volja sinovljeva alongside Žarko Laušević and Sergej Trifunović in the lead roles.[11] In March 2018, she released "Malo" (Little).[12] Then in May "Nema limita" (No Limit) was released with accompanying music video, which was inspired by the scenes from Volja sinovljevs.[13][14] Another single, titled "Slažem" (I'm Stacking), was released in August.[15]

Her sophomore album Yin & Yang was released on 24 April 2019 through IDJTunes. It was preceded by two singles, the title track and "Nije lako biti ja" (It's Not Easy Being Me), featuring Serbian rapper Fox, in March and April, respectively.[16][17] All the songs from Yin & Yang simultaneously charted on the official Deezer playlist in Serbia. In June, Nikolija was featured on the single "Meduza" (Medusa) by Relja Popović.[18] In September, she subsequently released "Sija grad" (The City's Shining).[19] At the end of the year, Nikolija was among top ten most streamed Serbian artists on music services.

2020-present: Upcoming projects

Her first single of 2020 was "Stav milionera" (Millionaire's Attitude), released in February. The follow-up singles, "Nakit" (Jewelry) and "No Plaky" (No Crayin'), were released through Relja Popović's recently established label Made In BLKN respectively in March and June.[20]

Personal life

Jovanović dated Greek NBA player Thanasis Antetokounmpo between 2013 and 2014.[21]

In late 2014, she began a relationship with Serbian musician and actor Relja Popović of Elitni Odredi when they collaborated on "Alkohola litar".[22] Following the release of the single Elitni Odredi fell apart to focus on solo projects.[23] However, fans fuled by media disinformations blamed Nikolija for the group's breakup despite that both members denied these allegations.[24][25] On 26 September 2016, Jovanović gave birth to daughter Rea.[26]

Discography
Studio albums

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
2013 OGAE Video Contest Music Video of the Year "Milion dolara"
(Ana Nikolić ft. Nikolija)		 Nominated [27]
2019 Music Awards Ceremony Modern Dance Song of the Year "Nema limita" Nominated [28]
2020 Trap Collaboration of the Year "Meduza" (Relja feat. Nikolija) Nominated [29]

See also

References
  1. "Nikolija Jovanović: moj otac nije bio oduševljen zanimanjem koje sam izabrala" (in Serbian). Hello magazin. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  2. "Ćao, Zdravo (feat. Teca) – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 1 April 2015.
  3. "Alkohola Litar (feat. DJ Mladja & Nikolija) – Single by Elitni Odredi". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 9 September 2014.
  4. "Nikolija u novom spotu ponovo između hip-hopa i folka". tracara.rs (in Serbian).
  5. "Opasna Igra – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 5 June 2015.
  6. "Nećete verovati! Ovo su najgledaniji Jutjub video snimci u Srbiji 2015. godine". Blic.rs (in Serbian).
  7. "Ljubavni maneken - Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 20 October 2015.
  8. "Promeni Mi Planove – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 9 March 2017.
  9. "Los Momak – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 21 July 2017.
  10. "Moj Tempo – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 18 October 2017.
  11. "Zavirite na set filma na kojem glume Žarko Laušević, Igor Benčina i Nikolija". Blic.rs (in Serbian).
  12. "Malo – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 20 March 2018.
  13. Story.rs. "Nikolija hrabra buntovnica" (in Serbian).
  14. "Nema Limita – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 14 May 2018.
  15. "Slazem – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 14 August 2018.
  16. "Yin & Yang - Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 29 March 2019.
  17. "Nije Lako Biti Ja (feat. Fox) – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 19 April 2019.
  18. "Meduza (feat. Nikolija) – Single by Relja". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 17 June 2019.
  19. "Sija Grad- Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States).
  20. "Nakit - Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 20 March 2020.
  21. "Sve se seušilo posle dve godine, bivši dečko Nikolije Jovanović je bio ovaj poznati košarkaš". blic.rs (in Serbian).
  22. "Nikolija i Relja iz Elitnih Odreda u vezi već mesecima" (in Serbian). Tracara.com.
  23. "Srećan kraj - Exkluziv Magazin". prva.rs.
  24. "Nikolija rasturila Elitne odrede - Otkazani svi nastupi". tracara.rs (in Serbian).
  25. "IDJ ga vraća na scenu, Vlada Matović otkrio da li sprema nove pesme, ali i šta misli o povratku Elitnih odreda". idjtv.com (in Serbian).
  26. "Nikolija Jovanović i Relja Popović, ćerka stiže na jesen" (in Serbian). Story. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  27. "Ana Nikolić i Nikolija Jovanović na OGAE takmičenju" (in Serbian). Prelistavanje.rs.
  28. "Ovo je lista dobitnika regionalnih MAC muzičkih nagrada" (in Serbian). Tracara.com. January 2019.
  29. "GLASANJE" (in Serbian). Music Awards Ceremony. December 2019.
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