Marija Šerifović facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marija Šerifović
Šerifović in 2012
Background information
Native name	Марија Шерифовић
Born	(1984-11-14) 14 November 1984 (age 40) Kragujevac, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Genres	Pop adult contemporary
Occupation(s)	Singer producer TV personality YouTuber
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1998–present
Labels	City Records IDJTunes Dallas Records

Marija Šerifović (Serbian Cyrillic: Марија Шерифовић; born 14 November 1984) is a famous Serbian singer. She was born in Kragujevac. Marija is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. She won with her song "Molitva" in Helsinki, Finland. This made her Serbia's first and only winner of the contest so far.

Šerifović started her music career in 1998. She has released six studio albums and many single songs. She also worked as a judge on the Serbian TV show Zvezde Granda from 2015 to 2025. Marija has won several awards, including the Artistic Marcel Bezençon Award for "Molitva". She is known for her powerful ballad songs. Many people think she is one of the best female pop singers in Serbia.

Early Life and First Steps in Music

Marija Šerifović was born on 14 November 1984 in Kragujevac. She is the only child of musicians Verica and Rajko Šerifović. Her half-brother, Danijel Pavlović, is also a singer.

Marija finished school at the First Grammar School in Kragujevac. She started her music journey in 1998. Her first performance was on television with the song "Moje bube". She recorded this song with her mother.

Building a Music Career

2003-2006: Early Albums and First Concerts

Marija's first album was called Naj, Najbolja. It was released in 2003 by City Records. The next year, she took part in the Pjesma Mediterana music festival in Budva. She won first prize with her song "Bol do ludila".

In 2006, she released her second album, Bez Ljubavi. A year later, she held her first big concert. This concert was at Sava Centar in Belgrade.

2007-2010: Eurovision Victory and New Albums

In March 2007, Marija competed in Beovizija. This was the Serbian national competition to choose a singer for Eurovision. She performed the song "Molitva". On 8 March, she won the competition. She got the most votes from the public and came second with the jury. This made her the first singer to represent Serbia at Eurovision since the country became independent in 2006.

At the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki, Marija sang "Molitva" in the semi-final on 10 May. She came in first place with 298 points. Then, in the grand final on 17 May, she performed again. Her performance won the 52nd Eurovision with 268 points. When she returned home, about 70,000 people greeted her in front of the House of the City Assembly of Belgrade.

In 2008, she released her third album, Nisam anđeo. It sold 120,000 copies. The next year, she released Anđeo, which sold 100,000 copies. Marija also announced a concert at the Belgrade Arena for 11 May 2009. In 2010, she was on the TV show Farma. She left the show after 27 days.

2011-2020: New Music and TV Judging Role

In November 2013, a documentary film about Marija called Ispovest (Confession) was shown at Sava Centar. In the film, she talked about her personal challenges. The next year, she also released a book with the same name. In May 2014, Marija released her fifth album, Hrabro. It sold 50,000 copies.

In September 2015, she became a judge on the singing competition Zvezde Granda. As a mentor, she helped two contestants win the show. These were Džejla Ramović in 2019 and Mahir Mulalić in 2021. In 2015 and 2016, she released three popular songs: "Pametna i luda", "Sama i nervozna", and "Svoja i tvoja".

Marija held a concert at Zetra Hall in Sarajevo in March 2016. She also performed at the National Theater in Belgrade that same month. In December 2016, she released "Deo prošlosti". A year later, in November, she released the single "11". Marija performed again to a sold-out Belgrade Arena on 25 May 2018.

Between March and May 2019, she went on a tour called Druga strana ploče. On this tour, she sang covers of her favorite songs by other artists, as well as her own hits. She had seven sold-out shows. Six were at Belgrade's Sava Centar and one in SPC Vojvodina, Novi Sad. The second part of the tour started a year later. It was planned to have four shows at Sava Centar, but the last one was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same year, she released a The Best of album.

2021-Present: "Dolazi ljubav" Album

In March 2022, Marija Šerifović held five concerts. These were in Banja Luka, Zagreb, and Belgrade. The concerts were part of her Druga strana ploče Vol.3 tour. The concert in Zagreb had 10,000 people in the audience. In late December 2022, she released the single "Dobar Vam dan". This song got over a million views in its first 24 hours.

On 6 October 2023, Marija released her sixth studio album. It is called Dolazi ljubav. She spoke about the album on the Serbian show Kec na jedanaest on 15 October. She shared how much love and emotion she put into making the songs. She also said that "Pola sunca", which features Matija Cvek, and "Drugačija" were special songs on the album. "Pola sunca" was very successful. It reached number three on Billboard's Croatia Songs chart on 21 October 2023.

The Impact of "Molitva"

In May 2007, the Serbian magazine Nedeljnik wrote about Marija's Eurovision performance. They noted that she focused on her singing, not on a big show. Marija said, "I like to hear music, not to watch it". The article compared her international success to famous tennis players like Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković, and Novak Djokovic.

In 2010, The Eurovision Times said "Molitva" was the third best Eurovision song ever. In 2016, Special Broadcasting Service listed Marija among the top ten most deserving Eurovision winners. In 2019, "Molitva" was also placed at number ten on The Independent's list of Eurovision winners.

Personal Life and Public Appearances

Marija Šerifović became a mother to a son in December 2023. Her son was born through surrogacy.

In January 2008, Marija performed at a political event. She has since said she regrets this. She explained it was a paid job, not a sign of her political views. Because of this, her role as an ambassador for the European Union was questioned.

During an interview on the show Kec na jedanaest, Marija shared that she feels most at home in all the countries that were once part of Yugoslavia.

Marija Šerifović's Albums

• Naj, Najbolja (2003)
• Bez Ljubavi (2006)
• Nisam Anđeo (2008)
• Anđeo (2009)
• Hrabro (2014)
• Dolazi ljubav (2023)

Marija Šerifović on TV

Awards and Recognitions

Concert Tours

• A sad malo ja Tour (2018–2020)
• Dolazi ljubav Tour (2024–ongoing)

See also

In Spanish: Marija Šerifović para niños

• Music of Serbia
• List of singers from Serbia
• Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest