| Severina Vučković | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Severina |
| Born | 21 April 1972 Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Origin | Split, Croatia |
| Genres | Pop, dance-pop, adult contemporary |
| Occupations | Singer, actress |
| Years active | 1989–present |
Severina Vučković (pronounced [sɛʋɛrǐːna ʋût͡ʃkɔʋit͡ɕ]; born 21 April 1972) is a Croatian singer and actress. She is commonly referred to by her stage name Severina.
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Severina's style can be described as pop with various folk and cabaret influences. As a child, she took smaller parts in theatre and opera productions in her native Split. During the 1980s, having won numerous awards at local festivals, she launched her professional career at an early age, which ultimately resulted in her moving to Zagreb in 1989 to expand her career further. In the same year, she recorded her first studio album titled Severina. During the 1990s, she established herself as a national pop icon with chart-topping hits such as "Dalmatinka" (1993), "Paloma nera" (1993), "Trava zelena" (1995), "Od rođendana do rođendana" (1996), "Djevojka sa sela" (1998), "Prijateljice" (1998), "Ja samo pjevam" (1999), "Ante" (1999) and others.
Following the huge success of her 2001 album Pogled ispod obrva, Severina's 2002 concert tour Virujen u te further confirmed her status of one of the most popular Croatian music artists. After a two year break, she released her 8th studio album Severgreen in 2004. In 2006, she won the Dora 2006 festival with the song "Moja štikla" and represented Croatia at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, Greece, on May 20, 2006, finishing 13th with 56 points. The song caused some controversy in Croatia when a few journalists and musicologists claimed the song resembled the music of Serbia. However, prominent Croatian ethno-musicians such as Dunja Knebl and Lidija Bajuk disagreed, and both the song's composer Boris Novković and Severina herself have claimed that the song includes Croatian folk music influences from the Dalmatian Zagora (Inner Dalmatia) such as ganga and rere singing and lijerica instrumentation.
Severina's long-anticipated 10th studio album Zdravo Marijo (Hail Mary), mostly composed by Goran Bregović, was released in May 2008. After the first single from the album Gas, Gas was released, accusations followed once again that particularly due to the brass elements and mischievous, prankish lyrics, the song closely resembled turbo-folk, another type of music played in Serbia. Additionally, after having made several public appearances wearing clothes depicting religious imagery (most notably a tight shirt with an image of the Virgin Mary with Severina showing ample cleavage), some protested the abuse of religious elements, calling them offensive. However, the album has been popular and Severina released four more official music videos for singles "Tridesete" composed by Sezen Aksu, "Gade", "Haljinica Boje Lila" and "Zdravo, Marijo" (title track) composed by Bregović. On December 15, 2009, Severina released her next single called "Lola", which is the part of the Miligram compilation.
In 2003 Severina landed her first theatre role at the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka (HNK Rijeka) and played the title role in the rock opera Karolina riječka (English: Caroline of Rijeka). Two years later she produced and acted in the monodrama Čekajući svog čovika (Waiting for my Man) at the Kerempuh theatre in Zagreb. In 2007 she was cast for one of the main roles in HNK Rijeka's musical Gospoda Glembajevi (The Glembays; based upon Miroslav Krleža's 1929 play). Although the decision to cast Severina was met with criticism by some commentators who questioned her acting credentials, the musical premiered in March 2007 with considerable success.[1]
Severina also starred in a 2006 Bosnian film Duhovi Sarajeva set in Sarajevo. In 2007 she made a 5-minute cameo appearance playing herself in the Slovenian film Petelinji zajtrk (Rooster's Breakfast), one of the most successful Slovenian films in recent decades.
In 2004 Vučković was involved in an internationally reported sex scandal after a sex tape featuring her and Bosnian Croat businessman Milan Lučić leaked onto the Internet, which was reported by the Croatian online tabloid Index.hr. The highly sexual and graphic nature of the video and the fact that Lučić was married when the tape was filmed shocked the Croatian public. Vučković had earlier opposed premarital sex in her public appearances and was known to be a devout Roman Catholic.[2] Vučković sued the website that released the tape for damages, claiming that the video was stolen from her and that it was her intellectual property,[3][4] but her lawsuit was later dismissed by a Zagreb district court in July 2004.[5]
In late 2010 Severina met wealthy Serbian businessman Milan Popović at his birthday celebration, where she was hired to perform. They soon began dating, and in August 2011 she announced that she was pregnant with her first child.[6] The relationship has caused a massive media interest in Croatia and neighbouring countries.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Boris Novković with "Vukovi umiru sami" |
Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 |
Succeeded by Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić with "Vjerujem u ljubav" |