Stoja

Stojanka Novaković (Serbian Cyrillic: Стојанка Новаковић; born 4 June 1972), known by her stage name Stoja (Стоја), is a Serbian pop-folk singer.

She released her first album, Kako je meni sada, through Lazarević Productions in 1998. Later, she chose to release her albums through the record label Grand Production, owned by Saša Popović and Lepa Brena, and within a short time Stoja became one of the most popular and respected singers in the Balkans. She is currently signed to BN Music.

Early life

Novaković was born in the village of Perlez, in the Zrenjanin municipality in northern Serbia. Her father was born in Pukiš, a village in the Lopare municipality in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although some media outlets have wrongly cited Bosnia as her birthplace, she clarified her origin on the talk show "Ništa lično" (Nothing Personal) in November 2012. She was raised in Perlez, where she lived until the age of 25.^[1]

She is said to have received her uncommon and strong voice from her father, Milan.^[2] Her father was not supportive of her singing career and they didn't speak for years because she decided to pursue that career path. It was only after her mother intervened that they reconciled.

Career

Novaković began singing as an amateur in kafanas and discothèques in 1987.^[3] In 1997 she began recording an album for the record label Lazarević Produktion. Kako je meni sada, her debut studio album, was released in 1998.^[4] That first album became a big success.^[5] Later that year, she signed with the label Grand Production, owned by Lepa Brena, and released her second album, Ćiki, ćiki in 1999.^[6] The album featured multiple hit songs, the biggest being "Ćiki, ćiki".

She has worked with her longtime friend and songwriter Stevan Simeunović on almost all of her songs since the beginning of her career. Stoja released the EP Osveta with two songs in 2006 with the band Južni Vetar.^[7]

The song "Revolucija" (Revolution) and its music video were both released in October 2010. The video caused some stir in the media because it featured Stoja bathing in a bathtub full of peppers.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Her tenth studio album entitled Nije da nije (It's Not That It's Not) was released on 6 May 2013 by the Bosnia-based label BN Music, marking the first time in 15 years that Stoja has released an album with a production company other than Grand Production.^[12]

Following the release of Nije da nije, Stoja began releasing non-album singles including "Bela ciganka",^[13] "Ola ola",^[14] "Takvog dečka hoću ja",^[15] and "Lila lila".

Personal life

Novaković was first married at age 16, became a mother at 17 and was widowed at 19 when her first husband lost his life in a 1991 car crash, ending their three-year marriage.^[16] The period after his death was financially difficult for her. She was quoted as saying "I was very poor. I did not have anything to eat."^[17] She became a grandmother at age 33 when her son Milan's first child was born.^[18]

Since 2007, she has lived in Belgrade,^[2] more specifically the Zvezdara neighborhood.^[19] Novaković married architect Igor Jovanović 1 November 2009, after being in an relationship for five years. Their relationship has been on-again-off-again, with the couple constantly breaking up and getting back together.^[20] In a March 2014 interview, Novaković revealed that she once attempted suicide by driving her car into a wall to keep their marriage from dissipating.^[21][22]

On 4 October 2011, Stoja found her mother Katica, who had heart problems and diabetes, dead in bed after being suspicious when Katica did not emerge from her bedroom that morning.^[23][24][25]

Stoja survived a car accident on 28 May 2012 when her car was totaled after being hit by a truck. She escaped with a minor injury to the forehead.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Stoja has said that her favorite singer is Šemsa Suljaković and she has frequently covered Suljaković's songs at concerts and television appearances, and was even interviewed with her in June 2012.^[30]

Discography

• Kako je meni sada (1998)
• Ćiki, ćiki (1999)
• Samo (2000)
• Evropa (2001)
• Zakletva (2003)
• Starija (2004)
• Metak (2006)
• Do gole kože (2008)
• Naj, naj (2009)
• Nije da nije (2013)

Videography

• Starija (2004)
• Metak (2006)
• Ja te Mićo ne volim (2008)
• Do gole kože (2008)
• Kučka (2008)
• Pogrešna (2009)
• Da li si za sex? (2009)
• Kakva sam, takva sam (2010)
• Živi i uživaj (2010)
• Revolucija (2010)
• Pare, pare (2012)

References

Sources

• "Stoja - Ništa lično intervju". YouTube. 3 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012. 

External links

• Official stoja site
• Official Facebook Profile
• Stoja Lyrics
• Stoja Gallery