Jelena Karleuša | |
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Jelena Karleuša |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jelena Karleuša |
Also known as | JK |
Born | 17 August 1978 Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia |
Genres |
(early) Turbo Folk, Pop |
Occupations | Singer, fashion designer, columnist, television personality |
Years active | 1995–present |
Labels | City |
Website | www.karleusa.com |
Jelena Karleuša Tošić (Serbian: Јелена Карлеуша Тошић; born 17 August 1978), professionally known under her maiden name Jelena Karleuša and initials JK, is a Serbian pop singer, fashion designer and former columnist. She rose to fame with her debut turbo-folk album Ogledalce (1995), and has since been a popular Serbian female singer. She is married to football player Duško Tošić, with whom she has two daughters.
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Jelena Karleuša was born on 17 August 1978[1] to Serbian father Dragan, a senior police officer,[2] and a Slovene mother Divna. She was born and raised in Fontana, Novi Beograd, Belgrade (Yugoslavia then, Serbia now), but did not finish her schooling. In 2004, Karleuša married Bojan Karić, the son of Serbian businessman Sreten Karić. They divorced after two months.
In 2008, Karleuša married Serbian football player Duško Tošić, who currently plays for Red Star Belgrade.[3] On 7 September 2008, she gave birth to their first daughter, Atina, named after Greek goddess Athena. Their second daughter, Nika, was born on 7 September 2009, and named after Greek goddess of victory Nika.
She began her singing career as a turbo folk singer in the mid-90s and gained popularity with her debut album, Ogledalce (1995), selling more than 100,000 copies in Serbia and Montenegro. Later, she started singing pop music exclusively. She has since had several #1 hits, most of which were written by Marina Tucaković. Jelena has released nine studio albums, which charted in Serbia, Montenegro and neighboring countries such as Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bulgaria. Her biggest hits are: "Ženite se momci", "Zovem se Jelena", "Gili, gili", "Ludača", "Nije ona, nego ja", "Još te volim", "Manijak", "Samo za tvoje oči", "Moj dragi", "Slatka mala", "Upravo ostavljena", "Ide maca oko tebe", "Nisi u pravu", "Casino", "Tihi ubica", "Testament", "Jedna noć i kajanje", "Baš je dobro biti ja", "Ko ti to baje", "Insomnia", "Muškarac koji mrzi žene" and "Nova religija (Plava Šeherezada)".
Karleuša's single, "Insomnia", featuring Mirza Hamzić, was downloaded 1.5 million times from her website, just a day after its official premiere on the final night of the reality show Big Brother. "Insomnia" became the third most viewed video on YouTube, with over 4 million viewers for two weeks.[4] The song is a cover of the Bollywood hit "Dance Pe Chance" from the film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.[5] Karleuša's second single, "Muskarac koji mrzi zene", was released on January 4, 2011. Fans soon noticed a striking resemblance to "Lucifer (Shinee song) " by Korean boy band SHINee, which has sparked angry responses from fans and netizens. SHINee's entertainment company, SM Entertainment, stated that they would launch a copyright violation investigation.[6][7] Her third single "Nova religija (Plava Šeherezada)" was premiered on June 26, 2011. On the scene she performed an unusual performance with belly dancing and for this performance she painted herself in light brown color.[8] The song is a cover from another Bollywood hit "Dum Dum" from the film Band Baaja Baaraat.
In 2006, Karleuša launched her own fashion brand, named JKWear.[3] The collection included dresses and other accessories. In 2010, she was guest star on the reality show Big Brother All Stars VP for two days.[9] The same year, it was rumoured Karleuša would start her political career,[10][11] as she openly supported the ideas of Zoran Đinđić and Čedomir Jovanović.[11]
In 2010, Karleuša began writing her own column for the Serbian newspaper Kurir, in which she criticized and mentioned Serbian celebrities such as politicians Boris Tadić, Čedomir Jovanović and Ivica Dačić, and singers Lepa Brena and Svetlana Ražnatović.[12] She stopped writing it in November 2010 as she was "afraid for her own security".[13][14] Her column drew criticism, with some people stating she was just trying to draw attention.[15]
Karleuša has often been called the biggest gay icon of the Balkans, mostly because of her fighting for LGBT rights but also because of her looks some describe as camp and her songs that are hugely popular among the gay population in the Balkans.
Year | Award | Category | Result |
1998 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity (Banja Luka) | Album of the Year "Vestice vile" | Won |
1999 | Golden Melodies | Album of the Year "Zovem se Jelena" | Won |
1999 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity | Album of the Year "Gili, gili" | Won |
2000 | Golden Melodies | Best Female Dance Singer | Won |
2001 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity | Best Female Dance Singer | Won |
2002 | Golden Melodies | Album of the Year "Ludaca" | Won |
2003 | Beovizija 2003 | Album of the Year "Samo za tvoje oci" | Won |
2004 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity | Best Female Musician | Won |
2005 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity | Album of the Year "Magija" | Won |
2005 | Serbian Grammy's | The Duet "Ne smem da se zaljubim u tebe" | Won |
2006 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity (Banja Luka) | Best Female Singer | Won |
2008 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity | Album of the Year "JK Revolution" | Won |
2009 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity (Banja Luka) | Best Female Pop Singer | Won |
2010 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity (Banja Luka) | Song of the Year "Insomnia" | Nominated |
2010 | GayEcho Annual Gay Icon Awards 2010 | Gay Icon of the Year[16] | Won |
2010 | Loud & Queer Annual Awards 2010 | LGBT person of the Year[17] | Won |
2011 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity | Best Female Folk Singer[18] | Nominated |
2011 | Serbian Oscar Of Popularity (Banja Luka) | Best Female Pop Singer[19] | Won |