Nikolija (singer)

Nikolija Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николија Јовановић, born on 19 October 1989), often simply known as Nikolija, is a Serbian singer, rapper and model. After initially gaining media attention for being the daughter of folk singer Vesna Zmijanac, she embarked on a music career herself with the single "Ćao zdravo" in 2013. Nikolija subsequently saw commercial success with debut album №1, released in October 2016, which marked her crossover into pop-folk music. Following several successful singles, her sophomore album, Yin & Yang, was released in April 2019.

Nikolija
Birth nameNikolija Jovanović
Born (1989-10-19) 19 October 1989
Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • rapper
  • model
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2010–present
Labels
Associated acts

Early life

Jovanović was born on 19 October 1989 in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (today Croatia), but was raised in Belgrade, Serbia. She is the daughter of Serbian folk singer Vesna Zmijanac and economist Vlada Jovanović, who served as the chief of marketing at PGP RTS.[1] Her parents are divorced and she has two step-siblings from her father's second marriage.[2] Nikolija demonstrated an affinity for music during middle school when she won the town singing competition with her performance of Aladdin's "A Whole New World". She grew up listening to hip-hop and R&B acts such as 2Pac, Eminem, 50 Cent, Beyoncé and Christina Aguilera. For her senior year of high school, Nikolija moved to Athens, Greece were she also began attending Deree College, graduating in 2013 with a degree in international business.[3]

Career

Music

During her studies in Greece, she started performing in night clubs as a dancer and MC, claiming to have worked alongside acts such as Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk and Swedish House Mafia. In 2011, Nikolija also released her first song as Nicole, titled "Crazy 2 Night", but failed to make significant success.

After returning to Serbia in 2013, she decided to pursue a recording career there by releasing her house rap single "Ćao zdravo" in April through IDJTunes.[4] Same year, Nikolija collaborated with pop singer Ana Nikolić on the song "Milion dolara" from her fourth album of the same name, which brought Jovanović wider exposure. Next year in August, she also collaborated with pop-rap duo Elitni odredi on the single "Alkohola litar", which has garnered over sixty million views on YouTube.[5] This release marked the departure from her initial work to a more commercial pop-folk sound, which she mixed with urban contemporary music, while also embracing singing rather than just rapping.[6] In June 2015, Nikolija scored a summer hit with "Opasna igra".[7][8] Its accompanied music video was also declared the most viewed one by a Serbian artist that year.[9] Her debut album, titled №1, was released on 20 October the following year under City Records to general commercial success with shipments of 50,000 units in Serbia. It included singles that had been released since the beginning of her career, as well as three new songs.

Her sophomore album Yin & Yang, which incorporated elements of trap and latin music, was released on 24 April 2019 through IDJTunes.[10] It was preceded by two singles, the title track and "Nije lako biti ja" featuring Serbian rapper Fox, in March and April, respectively.[11][12] The album also included three standalone releases, "Loš momak" (2017), "Nema limita" and "Slažem" (2018), as bonus tracks.[13][14][15] All ten songs from Yin & Yang simultaneously charted on the official Deezer playlist in Serbia. Then in June, Nikolija was featured on the single "Meduza" from Relja Popović's first solo album.[16]

Other ventures

Next to music, Nikolija also ventured into fashion. In November 2015, she modeled for George Styler at the Belgrade Fashion Week.[17] The following year, Nikolija was a face of Olivier Rousteing's Balmain X H&M collaboration in Serbia.[18] She has also took part in several publicity campaigns for Nike.[19][20] In December 2020, Nikolija and her step-sister launched a fashion brand, called About Me, with clothing designed by her.[21]

Additionally, Jovanović appeared on Survivor Srbija VIP: Philippines in late 2010 alongside her mother, where she was voted out first and later decided to leave the show due to health issues.[22] In March 2014, Jovanović became a contestant on Serbian version of Dancing with the Stars where she was eliminated during the sixth week, earning her eight place.

In 2017, she also scored a minor movie role in the post-apocalyptic fiction Volja sinovljeva alongside Žarko Laušević and Sergej Trifunović in the lead roles.[23]

Personal life

Between 2011 and 2014, Jovanović was in a relationship with Greek NBA player Thanasis Antetokounmpo.[24][25]

In late 2014, she started dating Serbian musician and actor Relja Popović of Elitni Odredi after they collaborated on single "Alkohola litar".[26] The couple went public about their relationship in January the following year. On 26 September 2016, Nikolija gave birth to daughter Rea.[27]

Discography
Studio albums

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
2013 OGAE Video Contest Music Video of the Year "Milion dolara"
(Ana Nikolić ft. Nikolija)		 Nominated [28]
2019 Music Awards Ceremony Modern Dance Song of the Year "Nema limita" Nominated [29]
2020 Trap Collaboration of the Year "Meduza" (Relja feat. Nikolija) Nominated [30]

See also

References
  1. A. Kolarević (6 January 2020). "Dali ste znali - Nikolijin otac je doktor nauka". nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. "Mnogi nisu znali da Nikolija ima sestru, evo kako ona izgleda". idjtv.com (in Serbian). 16 June 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  3. "Nikolija Jovanović: moj otac nije bio oduševljen zanimanjem koje sam izabrala" (in Serbian). Hello magazin. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  4. "Ćao, Zdravo (feat. Teca) – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 1 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  5. "Alkohola Litar (feat. DJ Mladja & Nikolija) – Single by Elitni Odredi". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 9 September 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. "Nikolija u novom spotu ponovo između hip-hopa i folka". tracara.rs (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  7. "Opasna Igra – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 5 June 2015. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  8. "Prošlo je pet godina! Ova Nikolijina numera je bila himna leta". idjtv.rs (in Serbian). 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. "Nećete verovati! Ovo su najgledaniji Jutjub video snimci u Srbiji 2015. godine". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  10. "Yin & Yang by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 25 April 2019. Archived from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  11. "Yin & Yang - Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 29 March 2019.
  12. "Nije Lako Biti Ja (feat. Fox) – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 19 April 2019. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  13. "Los Momak – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 21 July 2017. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  14. "Nema Limita – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  15. "Slazem – Single by Nikolija". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 14 August 2018.
  16. "Meduza (feat. Nikolija) – Single by Relja". Apple Music, iTunes (United States). 17 June 2019. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  17. "Drugo veče Perwoll Fashion Week-a: Nikolija prošetala pistom". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 24 October 2014. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  18. "Stazama sjaja, zlata i ekstravagancije - Balmain x H&M stigla u Srbiju" (in Serbian). Harper's Bazaar Serbia. 4 November 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  19. "Poznati trčali svoje prve Nike krugove" (in Serbian). Wannabe Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  20. "Beograd u stilu devedesetih obeležio Air Max Day" (in Serbian). Esquire Serbia. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  21. "Nisam očekivala ovoliki odziv: Nikolija lansirala svoj brend About me". idjtv.com (in Serbian). 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  22. "Nikolija Jovanović: Depresija je bila jača od mene". Blic.rs (in Serbian). 10 November 2010.
  23. "Zavirite na set filma na kojem glume Žarko Laušević, Igor Benčina i Nikolija". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  24. "Nikolija Jovanović zaljubljena u košarkaša". hello.rs (in Serbian). 9 June 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  25. "Sve se seušilo posle dve godine, bivši dečko Nikolije Jovanović je bio ovaj poznati košarkaš". blic.rs (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  26. "Nikolija i Relja iz Elitnih Odreda u vezi već mesecima" (in Serbian). Tracara.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  27. "Nikolija Jovanović i Relja Popović, ćerka stiže na jesen" (in Serbian). Story. Archived from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  28. "Ana Nikolić i Nikolija Jovanović na OGAE takmičenju" (in Serbian). Prelistavanje.rs. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  29. "Ovo je lista dobitnika regionalnih MAC muzičkih nagrada" (in Serbian). Tracara.com. January 2019. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  30. "GLASANJE" (in Serbian). Music Awards Ceremony. December 2019. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
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