Nikolija Jovanović, 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 her 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, which incorporated elements of trap and latin music.
Life and career
Early life
Jovanović was born on 19 October 1989 in Zagreb, SFR Yugoslavia, but was raised in Belgrade. She is the daughter of Yugoslavian folk singer Vesna Zmijanac and economist Vlada Jovanović, who served as the chief of marketing at PGP RTS. Her parents are divorced and she has two step siblings from her father's second marriage. Nikolija showed interest in music during middle school when she won the town singing competition with her performance of Aladdin's "A Whole New World". She moved to Athens, Greece for her senior year of high school were she later attended the School of Business at the American Deree College.
Career
Nikolija rose to prominence in 2010 by appearing on alongside her mother, where she was the first contestant to be voted out and eventually voluntarily walked from the show. During her studies in Greece, she also started performing in night clubs as a dancer and MC and claims 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 graduating from college in 2013, Nikolija decided to pursue a recording career in Serbia. Her first single "Ćao zdravo" was released in April through IDJTunes. Pop singer Ana Nikolić then offered her to perform guest verses on the lead single "Milion dolara" from her fourth album of the same name after hearing Nikolija's rapping demos, which she accepted. The collaboration became a hit and it brought Nikolija wider exposure. The following year, Nikolija was confirmed as a contestant on the Serbian version of Dancing with the Stars. The show began airing in May and she got eliminated sixth. Same year, Nikolija received more significant success with her forthcoming singles "Alkohola litar", featuring pop-rap duo Elitni odredi, in August and "Kako posle mene" in October. These releases marked the departure from her previous work to a more commercial pop-folk sound, which she mixed with urban contemporary music, while also embracing singing rather than just rapping. In June 2015, she released "Opasna igra" along with a music video, which was declared the most viewed one by a Serbian artist that year. Her debut album, titled №1, was released on October 20, 2016 under City Records. It included singles that had been released since the beginning of her career, as well as three new songs. It saw general commercial success with shipments of 50,000 units in Serbia. Following №1, three singles were released in 2017, "Promeni mi planove", "Loš momak" and "Moj tempo". Also that year, Jovanović scored a minor movie role in the post-apocalyptic fictionVolja sinovljeva alongside Žarko Laušević and Sergej Trifunović in the lead roles. In March 2018, she released "Malo". Then in May "Nema limita" was released with accompanying music video, which was inspired by the scenes from Volja sinovljevs. Another single, titled "Slažem", was released in August. Her sophomore album Yin & Yang was released on 24 April 2019 through IDJTunes. It was preceded by two singles, the title track and "Nije lako biti ja", featuring Serbian rapper Fox, in March and April, respectively. Nikolija then collaborated with Relja Popović on the single Meduza in June. In September, she subsequently released "Sija grad". At the end of the year, Nikolija was among top ten most streamed Serbian artists on music services. Her first single of 2020 was "Stav milionera", released in February. The follow-up singles, "Nakit" and "No Plaky", were released through Relja Popović's newly established label Made In BLKN in March and June, respectively.
Personal life
Between 2013 and 2014, Jovanović was in a relationship with Greek NBA player Thanasis Antetokounmpo. In late 2014, she started dating Serbian musician and actor Relja Popović of Elitni Odredi when they collaborated on single "Alkohola litar". On 26 September 2016, Nikolija gave birth to daughter Rea.
