Franka Batelić

Franka Batelić (born 7 June 1992), also known as Franka, is a Croatian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame as the winner of the first season of Showtime.[1] She represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Crazy".

Franka Batelić
Franka Batelić in 2018
Background information
Born	(1992-06-07) 7 June 1992 Rijeka, Croatia
Origin	Rabac, Croatia
Genres	Pop, rock, dance
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter voice actress
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Hit Records Karpo Media
Website	franka.com.hr

Life and career

1992–2006: Early life and education

Franka Batelić was born on 7 June 1992 in Rijeka to Ingrid and Damir Batelić.[2] She has a younger brother Nikola who is the singer and guitarist of the Labin-based band "Storm".[3] Batelić began singing at the age of three, initially singing as a soloist with the "Minicantanti" choir and also sang in the church choir of St. Andrew Catholic parish in Rabac.[3][4] Batelić learned to play piano at the Music school, while her father thought her guitar.

After finishing elementary and high school in her hometown, Batelić spent two semesters at the Berklee College of Music, and later enrolled at the Zagreb School of Law.[5] She also attended English language course at the London South Bank University.

2007: Career beginnings

Batelić auditioned for the first series of Showtime in 2007, singing "Come saprei" by Giorgia for judges Jacques Houdek, Ivana Husar and Boris Banović.[6] Batelić won the competition on 22 December 2007 by receiving the highest number of cast televotes in the finals.[7] As a prize, she signed a recording contract with the Hit Records record label.[8] Batelić's winner single "Ovaj dan" was released officially on 14 November 2007.[9]

2008–2013: Breakthrough and continued success

Batelić's second single, "Ruža u kamenu", produced and written by Miro Buljan, Boris Đurđević and Neno Ninčević, was released in May 2008 in Croatia.[10] It was performed at the "12th Croatian Radio Festival" in Opatija where it won the Public's Award in the Pop/Rock category by receiving the most televotes.[11] Later that year, "Ruža u kamenu" was chosen to represent Croatia at the 2008 OGAE Song Contest, an audio event organized by a network of 42 Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs. She won the contest.[12]

"Pjesma za kraj" was released as Batelić's third single in January 2009.[13] The song was recorded for the Croatian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 where it finished 7th with a total of 18 points.[14] In December 2009, Batelić and her dance partner Ištvan Varga won the 4th season of Ples sa zvijezdama, the Croatian version of Dancing with the Stars.[15]

In April 2013, Franka was the opening act on the Beyoncé's concert at the Arena Zagreb, performing before 18,000 people.[16][17]

2017–present: Comeback and Eurovision Song Contest 2018

On 27 November 2017, Batelić confirmed via social media that she will release her comeback single "S tobom" on 4 December 2017.[18] The song was first played on Nives Čanović's 385 Show on Narodni radio on 4 December with Batelić interviewed live.[19] The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Sandra Mihaljević and Igor Ivanović and premiered on RTL Televizija's HR Top show on 10 December 2017.[20] It was announced on 13 February 2018 that Batelić would represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Crazy". She came in 17th in the first semi-final thus not qualifying for the grand finale.[21][22]

Activism

Batelić is an LGBT rights advocate,[23] and an animal rights activist. She was the face of the Croatian 2009 "Animal's Friend" campaign.[24]

Personal life

Batelić married her long-time boyfriend, Croatian football player, Vedran Ćorluka, on 21 July 2018.[25][26]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		CRO [27]
S tobom	Released: 7 December 2018 Formats: Digital download, CD Label: Karpo Media	19

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		CRO [28]
"Ovaj dan"	2007	—	Non-album single
"Ruža u kamenu"	2008	—	S tobom
"Pjesma za kraj"	2009	—	Non-album single
"Možda volim te"		—	S tobom
"Moje najdraže"		—	Non-album singles
"Na tvojim rukama"	2010	—
"Crna duga"	2011	—	S tobom
"Ne!"		—	Non-album singles
"San"	2012	—
"Pred svima"		—	S tobom
"Ljubav je..."	2013	19
"S tobom"	2017	3
"Crazy"	2018	2
"Kao ti i ja"		3
"Ti mi nosiš sreću"		2
"Tajno"		6
"Ljubav, ništa više"	2019	2	Non-album singles
"Sve dok sanjaš"		1
"Samo s tobom meni Božić je" (with Igor Geržina)		1
"Nedodirljivi"	2020	5	S tobom
"Prvi osjećaj"		—	Non-album single
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

As featured artist

Title	Year	Album
"Cijeli svijet" (with AliBi)	2010	Non-album single
"On Fire" (with Eric Destler)	2011	S tobom
"Run" (with Eric Destler)	2012	Non-album single

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominee / work	Result	Ref.
2008	12th Croatian Radio Festival	Public's Choice	Ruža u kamenu	Won	[11]
2009	HR Top 20	New Artist of the Year	Franka Batelić	Won	[29]
	Porin	Best New Artist	Franka Batelić	Nominated	[30]
2010	Zlatna koogla	Best Female Singer	Franka Batelić	Nominated	[31]
		Best Music Video	Možda volim te	Nominated	[31]
2018	Cesarica	Song of the Year	S tobom	Nominated	[32]
			Kao ti i ja	Nominated
2019			Ljubav, ništa više	Nominated	[33]
			Sve dok sanjaš	Won	[34]
		Pop Hit of the Year		Won
	2nd Music Awards Ceremony	Music Video of the Year	Ljubav, ništa više	Nominated	[35]
	TOP.HR Music Awards	Female Artist of the Year	Franka Batelić	Won	[36]

References

1. "Franka Batelić priprema povratak na scenu". Gloria (in Croatian). November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
2. "Franka Batelić se do zore zabavljala na maturalnom plesu". Večernji list (in Croatian). May 14, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
3. "Franka Batelić: Biografija". franka.com.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
4. "Mlada zvijezda Franka Batelić: Danju plešem, noću učim". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). November 15, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
5. "FRANKA BATELIĆ Ekskluzivno o karijeri i vezi s Vedranom Ćorlukom".
6. "Franka Batelić: Došlo je vrijeme da pobjegnem i kažem 'zbogom'". Story (in Croatian). August 11, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
7. "Franka Batelić Showtime". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). December 23, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
8. "Franka Batelić dobila svoj hit, pjesmu "Ruža u kamenu"". 24 sata (in Croatian). February 27, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
9. "Slavuji showtimea premijerno s vlastitim pjesma". Index.hr (in Croatian). November 15, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
10. "Franka Batelić - najslađi izazov otkad postoji reality!". Index.hr (in Croatian). May 30, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
11. "Pobijedila sam na tri natjecanja u godinu dana". Dnevnik Nove TV (in Croatian). November 5, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
12. "Who should represent Croatia at Eurovision 2014?". wiwibloggs. August 13, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
13. "Poslušajte skladbu Franke Batelić s kojom planira pohod na Doru". Index.hr (in Croatian). January 24, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
14. "Franka Batelić nije pobijedila na Dori 2009" (in Croatian). Labin.com. March 1, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
15. "Franka Batelić i Ištvan Varga pobjednici su "Plesa sa zvijezdama"". Večernji list (in Croatian). December 19, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
16. "Franka Batelić: "Beyonce mi je zahvalila što sam došla"".
17. "Beyonce oduševila Zagreb: "Za Hrvatsku me vežu lijepe uspomene"".
18. "Vraća se Franka Batelić, a u kojem obliku – još nije poznato!". Music Box (in Croatian). November 27, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
19. "S kim je Franki život muzika?". Narodni radio (in Croatian). December 4, 2017. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
20. "Franka Batelić o povratku na scenu: 'Sada se mogu u potpunosti dati glazbi'". Novi list (in Croatian). December 10, 2017. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
21. Jiandani, Sanjay (13 February 2018). "Croatia: Franka Batelić to Lisbon!". ESCToday.
22. Farren, Neil (13 February 2018). "Croatia: Franka Batelić to Eurovision 2018". Eurovoix.
23. "Ljubav za sve: Poznati hrvatski glazbenici zajedničkom pjesmo pozvali na glasanje protiv". Jutarnji list (in Croatian). November 25, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
24. "Franka Batelić..." Archived from the original on October 14, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
25. "Vedran Ćorluka i Franka Batelić u novoj godini uživaju na plaži". Story (in Croatian). January 2, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
26. https://www.jutarnji.hr/spektakli/domace-zvijezde/foto-prvi-poljubac-gospode-i-gospodina-corluke-franka-i-vedran-izrekli-sudbonosno-da-na-hrvatskom-vjencanju-godine/7639704/
27. Peak positions in Croatia (albums):
    • For S tobom: "Lista prodaje 7. tjedan 2019" (in Croatian). top-lista.hr. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
28. Peak positions in Croatia:
    • For "Ljubav je...": "HRTop40 Week 52 2013" (PDF) (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
    • For "S tobom": "HRTop40 Week 04 2018" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
    • For "Crazy": "HRTop40 Week 13 2018" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
    • For "Kao ti i ja": "HRTop40 Week 31 2018" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
    • For "Ti mi nosiš sreću": "HRTop40 Week 45 2018" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
    • For "Tajno": "HRTop40 Week 3 2019" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
    • For "Ljubav, ništa više": "HRTop40 Week 34 2019" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
    • For "Sve dok sanjaš": "HRTop40 Week 43 2019" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
    • For "Samo s tobom meni Božić je": "HRTop40 Week 50 2019" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
    • For "Nedodirljivi": "HRTop40 Week 20 2020" (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
29. "Franka Batelić nada godine HrTop20" (in Croatian). Labin.com. January 5, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
30. "Dobar dio nominiranih zaobišao "Porin"" (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. May 9, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
31. "Franka Batelić nominirana za "Zlatnu kooglu"" (in Croatian). Moj.tv. February 17, 2010. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
32. Jurčević, Dario (January 3, 2019). "Publika odlučila - varaždinska pjevačica Zsa Zsa u finalu nagrade Cesarica" (in Croatian). eVaraždin. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
33. "Cesarica - Nominirani" [Cesarica - Nominations] (in Croatian). cesarica.org. Archived from the original on November 29, 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
34. Milla, Samir (21 January 2020). "Franka zapjevala prvi put nakon poroda i dobila Cesaricu za hit godine" (in Croatian). Večernji list. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
35. "Počeo je MAC 2020: Muzički spektakl koji okuplja izvođače najrazličitijih žanrova" (in Bosnian). Azra. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
36. "Najveća glazbena imena uveličala prvu dodjelu TOP.HR Music Awards" (in Croatian). hdu.hr. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.

External links

• Franka Batelić at AllMusic
• Franka Batelić discography at Discogs
• Franka Batelić on IMDb

Achievements
Preceded by Mario Valentić & Ana Herceg	Ples sa zvijezdama winner Season 4 (2009 with Ištvan Varga)	Succeeded by Nera Stipičević & Damir Horvatinčić
Preceded by Jacques Houdek with "My Friend"	Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018	Succeeded by Roko with "The Dream"