Nikolija (singer) facts for kids

Nikolija Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Николија Јовановић; born October 19, 1989) is a popular Serbian singer and rapper. She is the daughter of famous folk singer Vesna Zmijanac. Nikolija was born in Zagreb and grew up in Belgrade.

She started her music career in 2013 with the song "Ćao zdravo". Since then, she has released four studio albums. These include №1 (2016), Yin & Yang (2019), Aurora (2022), and Lavina (2024). Her music videos have been watched over 700 million times on YouTube.

About Nikolija's Early Life and Education

Nikolija Jovanović was born on October 19, 1989, in Zagreb. She is the only child of singer Vesna Zmijanac and economist Vlada Jovanović. Her parents divorced when she was young. Nikolija spent her childhood years in Belgrade.

In 1995, she appeared in her mother's music video for the song "Kad bih znala kako si". For her last year of high school, Nikolija moved to Athens, Greece. She then studied international business at the American Deree College. She graduated from college in 2013.

Nikolija's Music Journey

Starting Her Career in Music

Nikolija first appeared on TV in 2010. She competed with her mother on the reality TV show Survivor Srbija VIP: Philippines. She was the first person voted off the show. Later, she left the show due to health reasons.

Her music career began while she was studying in Athens. She started performing in local nightclubs. In early 2011, she released her first song, "Crazy 2 Night," with DJ Kas. She used the stage name "Nicole" at that time.

After college, Nikolija moved back to Serbia. Singer Milan Stanković introduced her to important songwriters. She entered the Serbian music scene in April 2013 with "Ćao zdravo". This song had a house sound and featured MC Techa. The song received a lot of public attention. In the summer of 2013, she became more famous. This happened after she was featured on the song "Milion dolara" by Ana Nikolić.

Growing Popularity and First Album

In March 2014, Nikolija joined the Serbian version of Dancing with the Stars. She finished in 8th place after six weeks. That same year, she was featured on "Alkohola litar" by Elitni Odredi. She also released her solo song "Kako posle mene". With these songs, Nikolija started singing more instead of just rapping. She began to move towards a more commercial pop-folk sound.

Her collaboration with Elitni Odredi, "Alkohola litar," is her most popular music video. It has over 75 million views. "Opasna igra" was released in June 2015 and was also very successful. Its music video was the most watched Serbian video on YouTube in 2015. In October, she released her first slower, more emotional song, "Ljubavni maneken."

Nikolija also made her debut on the runway for George Styler. This was at Belgrade Fashion Week in November 2015. On October 20, 2016, she released her first album, No1. It included her earlier songs and three new ones. The album sold 50,000 copies.

Yin & Yang and New Music

Nikolija released "Promeni mi planove" in March 2017. In July, she followed up with "Loš momak," produced by Coby. The music video for "Loš momak" has over 48 million views. In October 2017, she released "Moj tempo." The next year, she released three more songs: "Malo," "Nema limita," and "Slažem." The music video for "Nema limita" has over 45 million views.

Her second album, Yin & Yang, came out on April 24, 2019. It included the title track and "Nije lako biti ja" with rapper Fox. It also had "Loš momak," "Nema limita," and "Slažem" as bonus tracks. A month later, Nikolija and Relja Popović released a duet called "Meduza." This song is Nikolija's most successful on Spotify. In July, she promoted her album at the Ulaz music festival in Belgrade. In September, Jovanović released "Sija grad."

Recent Albums: Aurora and Lavina

Nikolija released "Stav Milionera" in February 2020. This was her last song under IDJTunes. She then signed with Made In BLKN, a new record label started by Relja Popović. Under this label, she released four songs in 2020: "Nakit," "No Plaky," "O bivšima," and "High Life." In December 2020, Nikolija and her half-sister started a fashion brand called About Me.

In 2021, she released two solo songs: "Sve bih" and "Divlja orhideja." In October 2021, Nikolija and Teya Dora released "Ulice." This song was part of the soundtrack for the Serbian thriller movie Južni Vetar 2: Ubrzanje.

In June 2022, Nikolija was featured on Devito's song "Ljubav." In August, she performed at the Music Week Festival in Belgrade. On December 2, 2023, Nikolija released her third album, Aurora. The first song from the album, "Gringo," came out in April. The title track, "Aurora," featured Amna Alajbegović. "Aurora" became Nikolija's first song to appear on the Billboard's Croatia Songs chart. On January 26, 2023, Nikolija performed songs from Aurora at the Music Awards Ceremony in the Belgrade Arena.

In spring and summer 2023, she released two songs with a strong, rhythmic beat: "Nicky" and "Avlije avlije." These were followed by the more melodic "Ljubi jako" in July. On March 15, 2024, Nikolija released her fourth album, Lavina. The album appeared on music charts in Austria and Switzerland. Four songs from Lavina also debuted on the Billboard chart in Croatia. "Nenormalan lik" with Devito reached number three on that chart.

Nikolija's Personal Life

In 2011, Nikolija started dating Greek NBA player Thanasis Antetokounmpo. They broke up in September 2014.

Since 2014, Nikolija has been in a relationship with actor and musician Relja Popović. They met while working on the song "Alkohola litar." They have two daughters, born on September 26, 2016, and July 17, 2021. Nikolija and Relja prefer to keep their family life private. Nikolija and her family live in Vračar, Belgrade. She also has a home in Athens, Greece.

Discography

Studio albums

• №1 (2016)
• Yin & Yang (2019)
• Aurora (2022)
• Lavina (2024)

Filmography

Awards and Nominations