Record Label Type:

Indie

Genre:

Folk, Pop

Biography:

Svetlana 'Ceca' Ražnatović
born on June 14, 1973, in Prokuplje, Yugoslavia, now Serbia) is a very popular and successful singer from the Balkans.

She is one of the highest paid artists in the Balkan music industry. She began her career as a folk and turbo folk singer but has evolved into a style that resembles Serbian modern folk-pop-dance music, mostly a mixture of Eastern European, Latin and Oriental styles. She is also popular among the expatriate Balkan population living in Western Europe.
Ceca began singing at the age of 9 in her hometown of Žitorađa. She gratuated from Veterinarian high school.

She entered showbusiness in 1988, at the age of 14, performing at the Ilidža Music Festival in Sarajevo. Her song Cvetak zanovetak (Nagging flower) received acclaim . Ceca was mentored by Dobrivoje Doca Ivanković, a composer and producer of folk music, who launched many careers in the 1970s and 1980s (most notably, Šaban Šaulić).

Her first two albums (Cvetak zanovetak 1988, Ludo srce 1989) were made in Serbian folk music style with some songs having a more modern production (Lepotan, Volim te). To Miki to, her third album, was a major hit in the former Yugoslavia. With 350,000 copies sold, she became the best-selling artist of the Belgrade TV's record label PGP-RTB and third best-selling female folk artist in Yugoslavia. She continued in the same direction with her next album, Babaroga (1991) including a music video comprised of footage from her 18th birthday gala event (Hej vršnjaci).
She continued to work with Futa and Marina Tucaković and later with Tucaković's young protégé Aleksandar Milić Mili whom she continues to work with today. Her next three albums, Sta je to u tvojim venama/Kukavica (1993),Ja još spavam u tvojoj majici (1994) and Fatalna ljubav (1995), which sported one of her biggest hits to date, Beograd (Belgrade), broadened her popularity. With a more modern production of music, music videos, and an evolving style, her popularity has grown, as demonstrated by her 1996 album Emotivna luda. Maskarada,her 1997 album was moderately success . The song Nevaljala from that album became the number one hit in Serbia for 17 consecutive weeks which was a record for any Serbian song in 1997. Her recording schedule has since become erratic because of the birth of her two children, Anastasija and Veljko, and having to deal with family tragedy (see Controversies below). Maskarada (1997), Ceca 2000 (1999), Decenija (2001), Gore od ljubavi (2004), Idealno loša (2006). She has refused many contracts offered by various European musical companies citing lack of time. She has sold over 10 million copies, mainly in Balkan countries. Ceca's popularity over the last 16 years has earned her the nickname "Queen of the Balkans."
Ceca is the president of the "Third Child" humanitarian fund. Its purpose is to increase the birthrate in Serbia and to help families who already have three or more children. She has held several humanitarian concerts raising money for food, clothing, and sundries to benefit the Serbs in Kosovo, after the violent unrest in Kosovo in March, 2004.

Sounds Like:

Discography (studio albums) * Cvetak Zanovetak (1988) * Ludo srce (1989) * Pustite me da ga vidim (1990) * Babaroga (1991) * Šta je to u tvojim venama (1993) * Ja još spavam u tvojoj majici (1994) * Fatalna ljubav (1995) * Emotivna luda (1996) * Maskarada (1997) * Ceca 2000 (1999) * Decenija (2001) * Gore od ljubavi (2004) * London MIX (2005) * Idealno loša (2006)

Artist's Website:

www.ceca-online.com/