Marija Šerifovic
Encyclopedia
Marija Šerifović is a singer from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...

 with the song "Molitva
Molitva
"Molitva" is a song by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation; the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro having dissolved in June 2006...

". Šerifović was born in Kragujevac
Kragujevac
Kragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...

, Socialist Republic of Serbia
Socialist Republic of Serbia
Socialist Republic of Serbia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of modern day Serbia, which served as the biggest republic in the Yugoslav federation and held the largest population of all the Yugoslav...

, Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

 and is the daughter of Verica Šerifović
Verica Šerifovic
Verica Šerifović is a singer from Serbia, the mother and first teacher of Marija Šerifović who was the winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2007. Her father is of Serbian and Croatian descent, and her mother is of Bosniak, Macedonian and Greek extraction.Verica Šerifović's repertoire consists mostly...

, also a notable singer. She was also one of the judges on Eurosong to choose the Irish entry for Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Eurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...

 and sung Molitva to close the show. She was also a member of the International Jury in Melodifestivalen 2009
Melodifestivalen 2009
Melodifestivalen 2009 was a Swedish song contest held between February and March 2009. It was the selection for the 49th song to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, and was the 48th edition of Melodifestivalen...

, the selection for the Swedish entry to Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....

.

Albums

Marija Šerifović's debut album Naj, Najbolja
Naj, Najbolja
Naj, Najbolja is the 2003 debut studio album from influential Serbian pop singer Marija Šerifović. The album was an immediate success.Videos were shot for the songs "Znaj da znam" and "Naj najbolja".-Track listing:#"Znaj da znam"...

(The Very, Very Best) was released in 2003 and was well received. The biggest hit from the album was the lead single "Znaj da znam" (Know That I Know) composed by Darko Dimitrov
Darko Dimitrov
Darko Dimitrov ) is a Macedonian record producer, songwriter, arranger and record executive. Highly acclaimed for revitalising the Macedonian mainstream pop music scene, which also influenced the surrounding Balkan countries, he also received international recognition for working with many popular...

. In the summer of 2005, she released the single Agonija, which was a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 superstar Despina Vandi
Despina Vandi
Despina Malea , known by her stage name Despina Vandi , is a Greek singer. Born in Tübingen near Stuttgart, West Germany, Vandi's family returned to Kavala, Greece when she was six years old and she later enrolled at the University of Thessaloniki, but eventually dropped out to begin a career in...

's "You're Not Here" .

Her second studio album Bez Ljubavi
Bez Ljubavi
Bez Ljubavi is the second studio album from Serbian pop singer Marija Šerifović. The album was recorded in 2005, but, has been released in 2006.-Track listing:#"Povredi me"#"Jesen bez nas"#"101"#"Na tvojoj košulji"#"Pamti ne po suzama"#"Laž"...

(Without Love) was released in 2006, and was as successful as her debut album. In early 2006, she released first single from the album, the title track. On 28 June 2007 she released an album called: Marija Šerifović: Molitva - The Best Of.

Marija's third studio album Nisam Anđeo (I Am Not An Angel) was released in spring 2008, and it contained 9 new songs.

Festivals

In 2003, she participated in the Budva Festival with the song Gorka čokolada ("Bitter Chocolate") again by Darko Dimitrov
Darko Dimitrov
Darko Dimitrov ) is a Macedonian record producer, songwriter, arranger and record executive. Highly acclaimed for revitalising the Macedonian mainstream pop music scene, which also influenced the surrounding Balkan countries, he also received international recognition for working with many popular...

. In 2004, she took part in the same festival again with a song called Bol do ludila ("pain until madness") and won first prize. The song was a regional chart topper. For the 2005's Beovizija
Beovizija
Beovizija was a music festival established in 2003. Since 2007 it was the national selection for Serbia's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. Beovizija was organised and broadcast live each year by RTS1, on RTRS in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and internationally on Eurovision.tv and RTS SAT...

, then the Serbian semifinal of former Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

's national pre-selection of the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

, Evropesma
Evropesma
Evropesma or Europjesma was a pop festival in Serbia and Montenegro which ran from 2004 to 2006. The winning song represents the country in the Eurovision Song Contest...

, the song was called Ponuda ("Offer"), and it came 18th. That same year, she entered as a favourite and won the Serbian Radio Festival with a song U nedelju ("on Sunday"), written by Leontina Vukomanović. She also received the award for the best vocal performance.

Concerts

On February 21, 2007, Šerifović held her first solo concert at Belgrade's Sava Centar, considered to be a major break in the Serbian music scene. A 4,000-strong audience attended.

During the Croatian parliamentary election, 2007
Croatian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections to the Croatian Parliament were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The campaign officially started on 3 November...

, Marija Serifovic sang in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

 for the Independent Democratic Serb Party.

Beovizija and the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Šerifović won the Beovizija
Beovizija
Beovizija was a music festival established in 2003. Since 2007 it was the national selection for Serbia's representative at the Eurovision Song Contest. Beovizija was organised and broadcast live each year by RTS1, on RTRS in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and internationally on Eurovision.tv and RTS SAT...

 2007 with the song "Molitva
Molitva
"Molitva" is a song by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation; the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro having dissolved in June 2006...

" (meaning "prayer" in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

) on 8 March, winning the combined votes of the jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...

 and televoting
Televoting
Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone.- Broadcast contest televoting :...

 and thus qualified to be the first representative of newly independent Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...

 in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. The song was also recorded in English as "Destiny" and in Finnish as "Rukoilen". There is also a Russian version of the song called Molitva
Molitva
"Molitva" is a song by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation; the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro having dissolved in June 2006...

(Молитва).

As a part of her Eurovision Song Contest promotional tour, Šerifović visited Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Although a promotional video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 was originally planned, a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 will be made which will include both the music video and the preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest.

On 12 March, the draw of the running order for the semi-final and the final was held. Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 was the 15th country to participate in the semi-final, and qualified for the final, where they presented their song in the 17th position, following Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and preceding Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. Her song "Molitva
Molitva
"Molitva" is a song by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation; the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro having dissolved in June 2006...

" (Prayer, Serbian Cyrillic: Молитва) won the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

At the press after Eurovision Marija said: "Tonight I am very proud being a Serb!"

When she landed at the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is Serbia's busiest airport, also known as Surčin , after a nearby Belgrade district.Named after Nikola Tesla, the airport is situated west, of central Belgrade, in the Municipality of Surčin, surrounded by Syrmia's fertile lowlands...

, 70,000–100,000 people prepared a mass rally for her in front of the Civic Assembly of Belgrade.

She held a concert in her birth town Kragujevac on 25 May in front of the town hall. She performed in front of about 60,000 people who came to celebrate the triumph at Eurovision. She explained that the concert was very different in Kragujevac, because in that town, she sang before her friends, colleagues, teachers, neighbours and those whom she generally recognised in her every-day life.

Politics

On 24 December 2007 in Kragujevac
Kragujevac
Kragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...

 and 15 January 2008 in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, Šerifović sang her Eurovision winning hit song "Molitva" (Prayer) at an election rally of the Serbian Radical Party
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...

. She also endorsed the presidential candidacy of the party's president Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolic
Tomislav "Toma" Nikolić is a Serbian politician, President of the Serbian Progressive Party. He is also a former member of the Serbian Radical Party, where he served as Deputy Leader of the party and parliamentary leader during the absence of Vojislav Šešelj...

 adding that her song was "a prayer for a new, different and more honest Serbia". Many of Šerifović's fans were disappointed with her decision to support Mr. Tomislav Nikolić for president, considering that the Serbian Radical Party's platform is traditionally based on a Greater Serbia
Greater Serbia
The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia applies to the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology directed towards the creation of a Serbian land which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to the Serbian nation...

ideal (considered dangerous by some countries located near Serbia), and the fact that the Serbian Radical Party
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party is a far-right Serbian nationalist political party in Serbia, founded in 1991. Currently the second-largest party in the Serbian National Assembly, it has branches in three of the nations that currently border Serbia – all former federal republics of Yugoslavia...

 leader Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj, JD is a Serbian politician, writer and lawyer. He is the founder and president of the Serbian Radical Party and was vice-president of Serbia between 1998 and 2000...

 is imprisoned by the post-war
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...

 ICTY in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

. There has been some speculation that song writers Sasa Milosevic Mare, and Vladimir Grajić Graja who wrote the Eurovision song "Molitva", quit working on Šerifović's new album, because of her political views.

The European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 is considering whether Marija Serifovic should be allowed to continue in her role as one of fifteen "intercultural ambassadors" appointed for the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue
European Year of Intercultural Dialogue
Intercultural dialogue has long been a principle supported by the European Union and its Institutions. The year 2008 was designated "European Year of Intercultural Dialogue" by the European Parliament and the Member States of the European Union...

 (2008) due to her nationalist leanings.

However, before Šerifović went to Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Šerifović participated in an RTS
Radio Television of Serbia
Radio Television of Serbia or Serbian Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Serbia. It broadcasts and produces a variety of news, drama, and sports programming through radio, television and the Internet. RTS is, since July 2001, a member of the European Broadcasting Union. RTS is...

 broadcast called "Avalski toranj", where each of four guests give the names of the three most important Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 ever; as one of her selections, Šerifović chose Dr Zoran Đinđić, ex Serbian Premier and leader of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...

. Also, in elections for the Croatian Parliament, at the end of 2007, Šerifović went to Zagreb to support Milorad Pupovac
Milorad Pupovac
Milorad Pupovac , is Croatian politician and linguist. He is member of Sabor and president of Serb National Council.-Education:...

, a leader of the Democratic Party of Serbia
Democratic Party of Serbia
The Democratic Party of Serbia is a political party in Serbia.-Foundation:The Democratic Party of Serbia was founded when a faction of the Democratic Party that supported its involvement in the Democratic Movement of Serbia split from the party and formed their own in 1992.Soon after the March...

.

2005

  • Ponuda (non-album track), performed at Beovizija 2005, released on the accompanying CD
  • Agonija (non-album track)

2007

  • Bez tebe (non-album track)
  • Molitva
    Molitva
    "Molitva" is a song by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation; the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro having dissolved in June 2006...

    (non-album track), winning song of Beovizija 2007
    Beovizija 2007
    Beovizija 2007 was the 5th edition of Beovizija and the first national selection for the newly independent Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest. It was held on 7 March and 8 March...

     and Eurovision Song Contest 2007
    Eurovision Song Contest 2007
    The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...

  • Molitva - The best of

Konjina

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result
2007 Marcel Bezençon Awards
Marcel Bezençon Awards
The Marcel Bezençon Awards were first handed out during the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia honoringthe best competing songs in the final...

Artistic Award

External links

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