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 the 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.

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

Life and career

Early life

Jovanović was born on 19 October 1989 in Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia, but was raised in Belgrade. She is the daughter of Yugoslavian folk singer Vesna Zmijanac and economist Vlada Jovanović, who served as the chief of marketing at PGP RTS. Her parents are divorced and she has two step siblings from her father's second marriage.[1] 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". For her senior year of high school, she moved to Athens, Greece were she also graduated from the School of Business at the American Deree College.[2]

Career

During her studies in Greece, she started performing in night clubs as a dancer and MC and claims to have worked alongside acts such as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk and Swedish House Mafia. In 2011, Nikolija also released her first song as Nicole, titled "Crazy 2 Night", but failed to make significant success. After returning to Serbia in 2013, she decided to pursue a recording career there by releasing her house rap single "Ćao zdravo" in April through IDJTunes.[3] Same year, Nikolija collaborated with pop singer Ana Nikolić on the song "Milion dolara" from her fourth album of the same name, which brought Jovanović wider exposure. Next year in August, she also collaborated with pop-rap duo Elitni odredi on the single "Alkohola litar", which has garnered over sixty million views on YouTube.[4] This release marked the departure from her initial work to a more commercial pop-folk sound, which she mixed with urban contemporary music, while also embracing singing rather than just rapping.[5] In June 2015, Nikolija scored a summer hit with "Opasna igra".[6][7] Its accompanied music video was also declared the most viewed one by a Serbian artist that year.[8] Her debut album, titled №1, was released on October 20 the following year under City Records to general commercial success with shipments of 50,000 units in Serbia. It included singles that had been released since the beginning of her career, as well as three new ones.

Her sophomore album Yin & Yang, which incorporated elements of trap and latin music, was released on 24 April 2019 through IDJTunes.[9] It was preceded by two singles, the title track and "Nije lako biti ja" featuring Serbian rapper Fox, in March and April, respectively.[10][11] The album also included three standalone releases, "Loš momak" (2017), "Nema limita" and "Slažem" (2018), as bonus tracks.[12][13][14] All ten songs from Yin & Yang simultaneously charted on the official Deezer playlist in Serbia. Then in June, Nikolija was featured on the single "Meduza" from Relja Popović's first solo album.[15]

Next to her music career, she also ventured into a career in fashion. In November 2015, Nikolija modeled for George Styler at Belgrade's Fashion Week.[16] The following year, she was a face of Olivier Rousteing's Balmain X H&M collaboration in Serbia.[17] Nikolija has also done several campaigns with Nike.[18][19]

Additionally, Nikolija appeared on Survivor Srbija VIP: Philippines in 2010 alongside her mother, where she was voted out first and later decided to leave the show due to health issues.[20] In 2014, Jovanović was a contestant on Serbian version of Dancing with the Stars, finishing in eight place. In 2017, she also scored a minor movie role in the post-apocalyptic fiction Volja sinovljeva alongside Žarko Laušević and Sergej Trifunović in the lead roles.[21]

Personal life

Between 2013 and 2014, Jovanović was in a relationship with Greek NBA player Thanasis Antetokounmpo.[22]

In late 2014, she started dating Serbian musician and actor Relja Popović of Elitni Odredi when they collaborated on single "Alkohola litar".[23] On 26 September 2016, Nikolija gave birth to daughter Rea.[24]

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 [25]
2019 Music Awards Ceremony Modern Dance Song of the Year "Nema limita" Nominated [26]
2020 Trap Collaboration of the Year "Meduza" (Relja feat. Nikolija) Nominated [27]
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See also

References
  1. "Mnogi nisu znali da Nikolija ima sestru, evo kako ona izgleda". idjtv.com (in Serbian). 16 June 2019.
  2. "Nikolija Jovanović: moj otac nije bio oduševljen zanimanjem koje sam izabrala" (in Serbian). Hello magazin. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  3. "Ćao, Zdravo (feat. Teca) – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 1 April 2015.
  4. "Alkohola Litar (feat. DJ Mladja & Nikolija) – Single by Elitni Odredi". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 9 September 2014.
  5. "Nikolija u novom spotu ponovo između hip-hopa i folka". tracara.rs (in Serbian).
  6. "Opasna Igra – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 5 June 2015.
  7. "Prošlo je pet godina! Ova Nikolijina numera je bila himna leta". idjtv.rs (in Serbian). 17 June 2020.
  8. "Nećete verovati! Ovo su najgledaniji Jutjub video snimci u Srbiji 2015. godine". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 11 December 2015.
  9. "Yin & Yang by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 25 April 2019.
  10. "Yin & Yang - Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 29 March 2019.
  11. "Nije Lako Biti Ja (feat. Fox) – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 19 April 2019.
  12. "Los Momak – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 21 July 2017.
  13. "Nema Limita – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 14 May 2018.
  14. "Slazem – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 14 August 2018.
  15. "Meduza (feat. Nikolija) – Single by Relja". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 17 June 2019.
  16. "Drugo veče Perwoll Fashion Week-a: Nikolija prošetala pistom". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 24 October 2014.
  17. "Stazama sjaja, zlata i ekstravagancije - Balmain x H&M stigla u Srbiju" (in Serbian). Harper's Bazaar Serbia. 4 November 2015.
  18. "Poznati trčali svoje prve Nike krugove" (in Serbian). Wannabe Magazine.
  19. "Beograd u stilu devedesetih obeležio Air Max Day" (in Serbian). Esquire Serbia. 21 March 2018.
  20. "Nikolija Jovanović: Depresija je bila jača od mene". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 10 November 2010.
  21. "Zavirite na set filma na kojem glume Žarko Laušević, Igor Benčina i Nikolija". Blic.rs (in Serbian).
  22. "Sve se seušilo posle dve godine, bivši dečko Nikolije Jovanović je bio ovaj poznati košarkaš". blic.rs (in Serbian).
  23. "Nikolija i Relja iz Elitnih Odreda u vezi već mesecima" (in Serbian). Tracara.com.
  24. "Nikolija Jovanović i Relja Popović, ćerka stiže na jesen" (in Serbian). Story. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  25. "Ana Nikolić i Nikolija Jovanović na OGAE takmičenju" (in Serbian). Prelistavanje.rs.
  26. "Ovo je lista dobitnika regionalnih MAC muzičkih nagrada" (in Serbian). Tracara.com. January 2019.
  27. "GLASANJE" (in Serbian). Music Awards Ceremony. December 2019.
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