Dino Jelušić is a Croatian rock singer and musician, born on June 4, 1992 in Požega. He showed his musical talent as a boy – in 2003 he won the first edition of the Eurovision Children’s Song with a song “You are my first love”. Today, he performs as a member of the American Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) and as the singer of the legendary hard rock band Whitesnake. At the same time, he leads his own rock band Jelusick, in which he is the frontman and the main composer. Find out more about Dino’s beginnings, career development and major successes below.
Beginnings and Children’s Eurosong
Dino Jelušić comes from a musical family – his father is a professional musician. His parents introduced him to music from an early age, so Dino composed his first song of his own at the age of seven, and already performed on television and festivals at the age of five. The culmination of that early period was participation in the first children’s Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 in Copenhagen, where ten-year-old Dino won with the song ‘You are my first love’. That victory launched his music career into the international scene – in the years that followed, he held tours in the USA, Scandinavia and Australia. Already in 2005, he was nominated for the Croatian music award Porin as the youngest candidate, and he also performed at big festivals (along with greats like UB40 and Ronan Keating).
Switching to rock and independent albums
During his adolescence, Dino’s voice changed, so he decided to direct his career towards hard rock and progressive music. He listened to bands like Whitesnake, Dream Theater, Toto and the like, which influenced his new musical direction. After a short break in 2011, he releases his first rock album ‘Living My Own Life’, inspired by exactly such performers. The album was recorded in Australia (producer Mark Berry) and was released in August 2011. In 2014, he released a concept album ‘I’ve been through everything’, a story based on a novel about a ten-year-old boy surviving through a war camp. At the same time, Dino formally completed his musical education: in 2020, he obtained a master’s degree in music at the Music Academy in Zagreb.
Key albums and releases:
- 2003. – But. 1 (debut solo album; Croatian version and English version).
- 2011. – Living My Own Life (first rock album).
- 2014. – I went through everything (conceptual album based on the novel by Marijan Gubina).
Collaboration with bands and projects
Dino Jelušić participates in several music projects and bands:
- Animal Drive (2012–2021) – a hard rock band that Dino founded and in which he was a singer and author. Animal Drive has released an album “Be!” (2018) and EP “Back to the Roots” (2019), and the band stopped working in 2021 after breaking up with the publisher.
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) (2016–) – American symphonic rock band. In 2016, Dino became their tour singer and since then he has been performing with them on world tours.
- Whitesnake (from 2021) – legendary English hard rock band. In June 2021, Dino announced that he was joined by David Coverdale in Whitesnake, thus continuing to build an international career in a familiar rock environment.
- Jelusick (since 2023) – a new band led by Dino under his own name. debut album “Follow the Blind Man” It was released in September 2023, bringing Dina’s original songs designed for the second Animal Drive album.
Greatest successes and rewards
Dino Jelušić achieved numerous successes and career awards:
- 2003. – winner of the Children’s Eurovision Song Contest (Junior Eurovision) in Copenhagen.
- 2005. – nominated for the Porin music award as the youngest candidate.
- 2015 – He won four awards at the Discovery International Festival in Bulgaria.
- 2016 – winner of the global singing competition New Wave in Sochi.
- 2019 – winner of HRT’s music show “Stars sing” (Partner Tara Thaller).
Conclusion
Dino Jelušić is a unique example of a musician who managed to grow from a children’s star into an internationally respected rock singer. His career began with an impressive victory at the Children’s Eurovision Song Contest, and continued as a long-term tour with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and engagement in the great band Whitesnake. In addition, Dina’s author’s work through the band Jelusick confirms his versatility and persistence. New material announcements are underway – band Jelusick saves the album “Apolitical Ecstasy” for 2025, and the first single “Seasons” He has already attracted the attention of the audience.
For everyone who wants to follow Dino’s work, we recommend visiting his official pages and profiles on social networks and listening to his music on streaming platforms. His story shows how talent, hard work and love for music can lead to great successes.
Sources: Articles on Wikipedia and music portals. Featured image: DinoRocker, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
