Dino Jelusick facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dino Jelusick
Jelusick in 2019
Background information
Birth name	Dino Jelusić
Born	(1992-06-04) 4 June 1992 (age 33) Požega, Croatia
Genres	Hard rock blues rock heavy metal progressive rock groove metal
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter record producer
Instruments	Vocals keyboards guitar
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Frontiers Records

Dino Jelusić (born on June 4, 1992), known as Dino Jelusick, is a talented singer, musician, and songwriter from Croatia. He became famous when he won the very first Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2003. Dino is also the founder and lead singer of the rock band Animal Drive. Since 2016, he has toured with the American rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In 2021, he joined the legendary band Whitesnake. In 2023, he released an album called Follow the Blind Man with his own band, Jelusick.

Early life

Dino Jelusić was born in Požega, Croatia. He spent most of his childhood in Zagreb, the capital city. He loved music from a very young age. In 2020, he earned a master's degree from the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb.

Career

First Musical Steps and Junior Eurovision (1997–2005)

Dino started singing and performing when he was only three years old. His parents also played music, so he grew up surrounded by it. By age five, he was already appearing on TV and at festivals.

When he was seven, Dino wrote his first English song. In 2003, at age eleven, he took part in the first-ever Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark. He won the competition with his song "Ti si moja prva ljubav" ("You Are My First Love").

After his big win, Dino released his first album, No. 1, in 2003. An English version came out a year later. He toured in the United States, Scandinavia, and Australia. He even performed four large concerts in Denmark for 100,000 people. In 2005, at just twelve years old, he was nominated for the Croatian music award Porin. He also performed at the Langeland festival in Denmark alongside famous artists like UB40.

Changing His Sound to Rock and Metal (2006–2014)

Around 2007, as Dino grew older, his voice naturally changed. He had always loved rock and metal music, listening to bands like Whitesnake and Dream Theater. So, he decided to change his musical style to hard rock and metal.

In 2009, Dino started recording a new album. It was called Living My Own Life and came out in 2011. Between 2012 and 2013, he worked on an international music project in South Africa called Synkropation. He performed for a huge audience of 50,000 people.

Dino Jelusick performing in 2014.

In 2014, Dino won second place at the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk festival in Belarus. After this, he had some voice problems and needed surgery. Once he recovered, he recorded another album called Prošao sam sve (meaning "I went through everything"). This album was based on a true story about a boy who survived a war.

New Bands and Projects (2015–Present)

In 2015, Dino joined an American-Croatian band called Stone Leaders. He also became a member of the Croatian metal band The Ralph. In 2017, he released an album with them called Enter Escape.

Dino won several awards in 2015 and 2016, including four awards at the Discovery festival in Bulgaria. He also won at New Wave in Russia, which is a big singing contest for young performers.

A major moment in Dino's career happened in February 2016. He had been thinking about quitting music due to challenges in Croatia. But then, the American rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra saw a video of him singing Queen's "The Show Must Go On". They were looking for new singers, and after an audition, Dino was chosen to join their tour!

While touring with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Dino also focused on his main project, Animal Drive. He formed this progressive hard rock band in 2012. Animal Drive was inspired by the band Whitesnake. In 2017, they signed a record deal with Frontiers Records. This was a big deal because they were the first Croatian rock band to sign with such a major label. Their first album, Bite!, came out in 2018 and was highly praised. They also released an EP of cover songs in 2019.

Dino also appeared on Croatian TV shows. In 2019, he won the competition Just the Two of Us with his partner, actress Tara Thaller. He also collaborated with other musicians, including Tony Hernando and George Lynch, releasing albums with their projects.

Dino Jelusick (left) performing with Whitesnake in Helsinki, Finland, on June 6, 2022.

In June 2021, Animal Drive broke up. Soon after, in July, Dino joined the famous rock band Whitesnake as a backing vocalist. In 2022, he sang all the vocals on Michael Romeo's solo album, War of the Worlds, Pt. 2. Critics loved his performance on the album.

After a legal issue with his former record label, Dino started recording new songs with his own band, Jelusick, in November 2022. Their first album, Follow the Blind Man, was released in September 2023.

In December 2023, Dino joined a new progressive metal band called Whom Gods Destroy. Their first album, Insanium, came out in March 2024. From late 2023 to early 2024, Dino was also a mentor on The Voice Hrvatska, the Croatian version of The Voice TV show.

Selected discography

See also

In Spanish: Dino Jelusić para niños