Marija Šerifović

Marija Šerifović (Serbian Cyrillic: Марија Шерифовић, pronounced [mǎrija ʃerǐːfoʋitɕ]; born 14 November 1984) is a Serbian singer, talent show judge, and YouTuber. Best known for representing Serbia and winning at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with "Molitva", she is also recognized as one of the most powerful vocalists in the country.

Marija Šerifović
Марија Шерифовић
Šerifović performing in 2009
Background information
Birth nameMarija Šerifović
Born (1984-11-14) 14 November 1984
Kragujevac, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Genres
Occupation(s)
Years active1997–present
Labels
  • City Records
  • Dallas

Additionally, she has served as a judge on the televised singing competition Zvezde Granda (2015-present).

Life and career

Early life

Šerifović was born on November 14, 1984 in Kragujevac to musicians Verica and Rajko Šerifović. According to the column by The Guardian's Germaine Greer, she is of Romani descent and has been out as a lesbian since 2004.[1] She reflected on her sexual orientation as well as on personal struggles such as domestic abuse from her father in a documentary film, titled Ispovest (The Confession), which premiered at Belgrade's Sava Centar in November 2013.[2] Šerifović graduated from a grammar school and also attended music school in childhood.

Career

Šerifović recorded her first song with her mother in 1988, titled "Moje bube". Her debut album Naj, Najbolja, produced by Darko Dimitrov was released in 2003 under City Records. The following year, she took first prize at Pjesma Mediterana music festival in Budva with "Bol do ludila". In 2006, Šerifović released her sophomore album Bez Ljubavi, and a year later held her first concert at Sava Centar.

She gained more significant popularity after winning the Beovizija music festival with "Molitva" and subsequently representing Serbia at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, Finland. On May 12, Šerifović won the contest with a total of 268 points, becoming Serbia's first and, to date, only Eurovision winner. Upon returning home, she was greeted by more than 70,000 people in front of the Civic Assembly of Belgrade, and later also performed in her home town to a crowd of 60,000.[3] Šerifović was ranked among the most deserving winners of Eurovision by the SBS in 2016 and The Independent in 2019, while a fan blog The Eurovision Times declared "Molitva" the third best Eurovision song of all time in 2010.[4][5][6]

Following her Eurovision win, she released her third studio album, Nisam anđeo, which sold 120,000 copies, and a year later Anđeo. Šerifović held her first concert at the Belgrade Arena in May 2010. Hrabro was released in 2014 alongside her autobiography, titled Ispovest.[7] In addition to her singing career, Šerifović has also served as a judge on the televised singing competition Zvezde Granda since 2015, and had winning contestants as a mentor for two consecutive seasons with Džejla Ramović (2019) and Mahir Mulalić (2021).[8][9][10] Between March and May of 2019, she embarked on a tour called 'Druga strana ploče' (The Other Side of the Record), during which she covered her favorite songs from other artists as well as her own hits. It featured seven sold out shows, six of which were in Belgrade's Sava Centar and one SPC Vojvodina in Novi Sad.[11] During the shutdown due to COVID-19 pandemic in September 2020, she also started vlogging on her official YouTube channel. The same year, Šerifović released a compilation The Best Of, which included standalone singles that had been released since 2015.

Discography
Studio albums
  • Naj, Najbolja (2003)
  • Bez Ljubavi (2006)
  • Nisam Anđeo (2008)
  • Anđeo (2009)
  • Hrabro (2014)
Songs
  • Molitva (2007)
  • Pametna i luda (2015)
  • Sama i nervozna (2015)
  • Deo prošlosti (2016)
  • 11 (2017)
  • Nije ljubav to (2018)
  • Prijatelji (2020)

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
2007 Marcel Bezençon Awards Artistic Award Herself Won
2019 Music Awards Ceremony Female Pop Song of the Year "Nije ljubav to" Nominated [12]
Music Video Song of the Year "11" Nominated
Concert of the Year Štark Arena, 24 May 2017 Nominated
Female Artist of the Year Herself Won
2020 Concert of the Year Druga strana ploče (Sava Centar) Won

See also
  • Music of Serbia
  • List of singers from Serbia
  • Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest

References
  1. Greer, Germaine (21 May 2007). "Go, Marija! Eurovision's triumphant lesbian Gypsy". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  2. "Ispovest Marije Šerifović: Lezbejka sam, super je imati odnos sa ženom!". Novosti.rs (in Serbian). 27 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  3. Dejanović, M. (21 May 2021). "Kako je Srbija 2007. godine slavila pobedu na Evroviziji". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  4. "10 Most Deserving Eurovision Winners". SBS. 13 April 2016.
  5. "Eurovision Song Contest: Every winner ranked from worst to best". The Independent. 18 May 2019.
  6. "Best Eurovision Song Ever". The Eurovision Times. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  7. "Ispovest - Marija Šerifović". knjizare-vulkan.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  8. "Počinje snimanje nove sezone: Evo ko su novi članovi žirija "Zvezda Granda"!". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 15 September 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  9. "Džejla Ramović pobjednica Zvezda Granda". ba.n1info.com (in Bosnian). 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  10. Dejanović, M. (27 June 2021). "Šerifović: Svoje kandidate učim kako da se ponašaju i govore". Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  11. "Druga strana ploče – na bini plesao hrvatski voditelj, u publici pala prosidba, Marija najavila povlačenje iz medija". svet.rs (in Serbian).
  12. "Ovo je lista dobitnika regionalnih MAC muzičkih nagrada" (in Serbian). Tracara.com. January 2019.
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