Nikolija (singer)

Nikolija Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николија Јовановић; born 19 October 1989) is a Serbian singer and rapper. Born in Zagreb and raised in Belgrade, she is the daughter of singer Vesna Zmijanac. Recognized for pioneering mainstream urban and rap music as a female artist in Serbia, Nikolija debuted with the single "Ćao zdravo" in April 2013.[1]

Nikolija
Николија
Birth nameNikolija Jovanović
Born (1989-10-19) 19 October 1989
Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
OriginBelgrade, Serbia
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • rapper
  • model
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2010–present
Labels
Partner(s)Thanasis Antetokounmpo (2011–2014)
Relja Popović (2014–present)

She has since released three studio albums: №1 (2016), Yin & Yang (2019) and Aurora (2023), as well as numerous standalone singles. The single "Pilot" earned Nikolija the MAC Award for the 2023 Female Trap Song of the Year. Additionally, she competed on the reality television shows Survivor Srbija VIP: Philippines (2010) and Ples sa Zvezdama (2014).

Early life

Jovanović was born on 19 October 1989 in Zagreb. She is the only child of singer Vesna Zmijanac and economist Vlada Jovanović, who operated as the chief of marketing at PGP RTS.[2][3] Her parents divorced shortly after she had been born and Jovanović has two step-siblings from her father's second marriage.[4] Nikolija spent her childhood in Belgrade. In 1995, she appeared in her mother's music video for the song "Kad bih znala kako si". For her senior year of high school Nikolija relocated to Athens, Greece. There she subsequently started attending The School of Business & Economics at the American Deree College, from which she graduated in 2013 with a degree in international business.[5][6]

Career

2010-2016: Career beginnings and No1

Jovanović made her first public appearance in 2010 by competing alongside her mother on the reality TV series Survivor Srbija VIP: Philippines, where she was the first contestant to be voted out.[7] Nikolija subsequently voluntarily left the show on medical grounds.[8] Her music career began during her studies in Athens where she started performing in local nightclubs as a dancer and MC, claiming to have worked next to acts such as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk and Swedish House Mafia.[9] At the beginning of 2011, she released her first song "Crazy 2 Night" featuring DJ Kas under the stage name "Nicole", but failed to make a significant success.[10]

After graduating from college, Nikolija relocated back to Serbia where she was introduced by singer Milan Stanković to prominent songwriters and producers Nebojša Arežina and Marko Perunučić, who would become her frequent collaborators.[11] She came on to the Serbian music scene with the single "Ćao zdravo" featuring Serbian rapper Teča, released in April 2013 under IDJTunes. The single received polarizing public reception due to its provocative lyrics and S&M-inspired music video.[12] During the summer of 2013, she rose to further prominence after she had been featured on the song "Milion dolara" by Ana Nikolić,[13] which also served as the title track for her fourth album. In November, Nikolija released a self-titled rap song.

In March 2014, Nikolija was announced as a contestant of the Serbian spin-off of Dancing with the Stars,[14] where she finished in 8th place after six weeks of competing.[15] In August 2014, she collaborated with Serbian pop-rap duo Elitni odredi on "Alkohola litar". The single went on to become Nikolija's highest-performing music video to date, having amassed over 70 million views as of December 2021.[16] She also had a solo release, titled "Kako posle mene", in October 2014. With these two singles Nikolija drew wider popularity by embracing singing rather than just rapping, as well as by crossing over to more commercial pop-folk sound, which she mixed with urban music influences, creating a style of music that would become signature for her.[17]

"Opasna igra" was released in June the following year to commercial success as well.[18] Its music video was declared the most viewed Serbian video on YouTube in 2015.[19] In October, she released her first balladic single, called "Ljubavni maneken".[20] Nikolija made her runway debut for George Styler at the Belgrade Fashion Week in November the same year.[21] On 20 October 2016, she released her debut album №1 under City Records, featuring previously released singles and three new songs: "101 Propušteni poziv", "Plavo more" and "Pucaj zbog nas".[22] It was sold in 50,000 copies.[23]

2017-2022: Yin & Yang and Aurora

In March 2017, Nikolija released "Promeni mi planove".[24] In July, it was followed by the single "Loš momak", produced by Coby.[25] Single's accompanied music video has collected over 47 million views. Same month, it was revealed that Nikolija would star as a post-apocalyptic warrior alongside Žarko Laušević and Sergej Trifunović in a Mad Max-inspired movie, titled Volja sinovljeva, directed by Nemanja Ćeranić.[26][27] In October 2017, she released "Moj tempo".[28] During the following year, Jovanović released three singles in succession: "Malo", "Nema limita" and "Slažem". Music video for "Nema limita", which was directed by Ćeranić and inspired by Volja Sinovljeva, has amassed over 45 million views.

Her second studio album Yin & Yang was released under IDJTunes on 24 April 2019.[29] It was preceded by two official singles: the title track and "Nije lako biti ja" featuring Serbian rapper Fox and it also included three standalone releases: "Loš momak", "Nema limita" and "Slažem" as bonus tracks on the physical edition.[30] A month after the album's release, it was announced that Nikolija and Relja Popović would release their duet "Meduza" as a part of Relja's first solo project.[31] With over seven million streams, their collaboration is currently Nikolija's most successful release on Spotify. In July, she promoted her album at the Ulaz music festival in Belgrade.[32] In September, Jovanović released "Sija grad".[33]

In February 2020, Nikolija released "Stav Milionera", which would become her last official single under IDJTunes.[34] She was subsequently signed to the newly established record label Made In BLKN, founded by Relja Popović in distribution deal with IDJTunes. Under new label she released a series of four singles during 2020: "Nakit", "No Plaky", "O bivšima" and "High Life". In December that year, Jovanović and her half-sister launched a fashion brand, called About Me, with streetwear designed by her.[35] In the following year, she had two solo releases: "Sve bih" and "Divlja orhideja", while in October 2021, Nikolija and Teya Dora released "Ulice" from the soundtrack for the Serbian thriller Južni Vetar 2: Ubrzanje. By the end of 2021, IDJ TV enlisted Nikolija among the most-streamed Serbian artists on Spotify of that year.[36]

In June 2022, Nikolija appeared on Devito's single "Ljubav".[37] In August, she held a concert during the Music Week Festival in Belgrade.[38][39] Her third studio album Aurora was announced for late 2022.[40][41] Released digitally on 4 December through Made In BLKN, it included seven tracks that had been released individually. The lead single "Gringo" was released in April.[41] The album's title track, featuring Bosnian singer and the winner of the first season of IDJ Show, Amna, peaked at number 24 on Billboard's Croatia Songs chart.[42]

2023-present: Upcoming forth studio album

On 26 January 2023, Nikolija performed at the Music Awards Ceremony in the Belgrade Arena. The performance included the chorus from her forthcoming single "Prezime", which was written by Rasta.[43] During the ceremony, she also won the Female Trap Song of the Year Award for "Pilot".[44] In the acceptance speech Jovanović reflected on her influence on female artists on the regional music scene, saying:

"When I started, I was alone in this genre, and now I'm glad that there are so many of us. That's why I dedicate this award to all brave women. We can do everything!"[45]

During the spring and summer of 2023, she released the singles "Nicky", "Avlije avlije" and "Ljubi jako".[46][47] The latter was accompanied by a vertical video, filmed by Nikolija and her half-sister in Athens, and a fan-made music video.[48]

Personal life

In 2011, Nikolija began dating Greek NBA player Thanasis Antetokounmpo.[49] In September 2014, it was reported that the two were no longer together.[50]

Jovanović has been in a relationship with actor, musician and former member of Elitni Odredi, Relja Popović, since they collaborated on the single "Alkohola litar" in 2014.[51] Together they have two daughters, born on 26 September 2016 and 17 July 2021.[52][53] The couple tends not to publicly discuss details of their private life and children.[54]

Nikolija has been vocal about cyberbullying she has received since the beginnings of her career, specifically when her relationship with Popović was alleged to be the reason behind the breakup of Elitni Odredi in early 2015, which has since been denied by both members of the group.[55][56][57] In April 2023, Jovanović received overwhelming praise for her honesty and transparency after she had opened up on TikTok about her much speculated past plastic surgeries and her developing relationship with her own body acceptance.[58] Nikolija has also expressed her public support to social equality in general, especially in the sense of gender equality and LGBT rights.[1][59]

Discography
Main article: Nikolija discography
Studio albums

Filmography
See also: Nikolija discography § Videography
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2011 Survivor Srbija Herself (contestant) VIP Season 1; 16th place (Quit)
2014 Ples sa zvezdama Season 1; Eliminated 6th
TBA Volja sinovljeva TBA
List of music videos with cameo appearances, showing year released and artists
Year Title Artist(s) Ref.
1995 "Kad bih znala kako si" Vesna Zmijanac
[60]
2020 "Poziv" Cvija
[61]

Awards and nominations
List of awards and nominations of Nikolija
Year Award Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
2013 OGAE Video Contest Music Video of the Year "Milion dolara"
(Ana Nikolić ft. Nikolija)		 Nominated [62]
2019 Music Awards Ceremony Modern Dance Song of the Year "Nema limita" Nominated [63]
2020 Trap Collaboration of the Year "Meduza" (Relja feat. Nikolija) Nominated [64]
2023 Female Trap Song of the Year "Pilot" Won [44]
Balkan Trap Song of the Year "Dodole" Nominated

References
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  2. "NIKAD VIĐENA PORODIČNA FOTOGRAFIJA: Pogledajte kako je izgledala Nikolija Jovanović kao beba". story.rs (in Serbian). 28 August 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  3. A. Kolarević (6 January 2020). "Dali ste znali - Nikolijin otac je doktor nauka". nova.rs (in Serbian). Nova S. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
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