Marija Šerifović is a Serbian singer and record producer. She is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with 'Molitva', making her Serbia's first and only Eurovision winner to date. Šerifović is recognised for her powerful and emotional vocal performances.
Life and career
Early life
Marija Šerifović was born on 14 November 1984 in Kragujevac in central Serbia. Her father, Rajko Šerifović, was a drummer, and her mother, Verica Šerifović, is a popular folk singer. She comes from a mixed marriage of a Muslim/Orthodox father and an Orthodox mother. When Verica was nine months pregnant with Marija, her husband left her for another woman with whom he had a son, Danijel, who is also a singer and a vocal coach. Šerifović described her father as an abusive alcoholic who would regularly beat her mother.
2003-2014: Breakthrough and ''Eurovision''
Šerifović released her debut album Naj, Najbolja in 2003 under City Records. The following year she won at the Budva Music Festival with 'Bol do ludila'. She also claimed victory at the Radio Festival in 2005 and released her sophomore record Bez Ljubavi in 2006. A year later she held her first concert in Sava Centar, Belgrade. In the search for the newly formed independent Serbia's entry for 2007 Eurovision Song Contest, Šerifović with 'Molitva' was chosen winner according to the jury and the public vote. On 10 May, she performed fifteenth, placing first with 298 points. Two days after, she claimed victory with 268 points, becoming Serbia's first and to date only Eurovision winner. Returning home, she was greeted by more than 70,000 people in front of the Civic Assembly of Belgrade. She also held a concert in her home town in front of 60,000 co-citizens. The following year, Serbia hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, where Šerifović performed her winning song and handed over the title to Dima Bilan from Russia. She was also in the jury to choose the Irish entry for Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and Swedish for Eurovision Song Contest 2009. 'Molitva' was included in the list ofthe 10 best Eurovision winners according to the SBS in 2016 and to The Independent in 2019, while The Eurovision Times, a fan blog, ranked it as the third best Eurovision song of all time. In 2008, Šerifović released her third album titled Nisam anđeo, and a year later her fourth Anđeo. In May 2010, she held a concert in the Belgrade Arena. Her documentary series, Confession, was broadcast on Prva TV in 2013, in which she talked about her difficult childhood, rose to fame and coming out as a lesbian. In 2014 she released her fifth record, Hrabro.
2015-present: ''Zvezde Granda'' and major success
In July 2015, Šerifović released single "Pametna i luda". In September, she became a judge on the televised singing competition Zvezde Granda alongside Jelena Karleuša. While in October, Šerifović also saw success with "Sama i nervozna". In March the following year, she held a concert in Zetra Olympic Hall in Sarajevo. Then, Šerifovć released "Svoja i tvoja" in May. She ended the year with another single, "Deo prošlosti". Single "11" was released in November 2017. In March of 2018, she also released "Nije ljubav to". Šerifović then performed in the sold out Belgrade Arena and in July at the Koševo City Stadium in Sarajevo. Between March and May of 2019, Šerifović embarked on a tour, titled 'Druga strana ploče', during which she covered her favorite songs from other artists as well as performed her own hits. It listed seven sold out shows, six of which were in Sava Centar in Belgrade and one concert in SPC Vojvodina in Novi Sad. Additionally, in June, Džejla Ramović, mentored by Šerifović, won the 13th season of Zvezde Granda.
