Severina Vučković (born in 1972) is one of the most famous and influential singers in the region. In the media, she is often called the “queen of the Croatian variety show” because of a series of hits and awards. During more than three decades of her career, she recorded a number of albums and achieved numerous concert successes throughout the former Yugoslavia. For example, she won Dora in 2006 with the song “My heel” and represents Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest (Athens in 2006), where she took 13th place. Her popularity is also reflected in numbers – she is the only person in Croatia whose YouTube channel has reached more than a billion views.
Career start and early successes
Severina fell in love with music in her childhood. Along with her two older sisters (Zdenka and Marijana), she attended a music school in Split from an early age, but soon left it to devote herself to her career. Already at the age of ten, she performed in a school play (“Frane Štrapalo”). Her professional breakthrough happened at the beginning of 1990: she won the radio competition “Demo X” of Radio Zagreb and recorded her first album Severina. At the same time, she won awards at festivals – in 1990, a jury won at the Split Festival, and a year later she performed on her first major tours (eg in Australia). with another album (Severina, 1992) begins a collaboration with composer Zrinko Tutić, and will record the following hit albums with him.
The most important moments in Severina’s career include:
- 1990: victory in the competition demo x and release of the first album Severina.
- 1993: album Dalmatian (with the hit singles “Dalmatinka” and “Paloma Nera”) brings the peak of early success. In the same year, she held her first regional tour in Croatia and Slovenia.
- 1999: album I’m just singing returns Severina to the top of the charts; From that album come hits such as the song of the same name and “Ante”. In July 2000, she held a big concert at the Poljud stadium in Split in front of more than 20,000 people.
- 2006: Wins on Dora with a song My heel, which brings her an invitation to the Eurovision Song Contest (Athens 2006, 13th place).
- 2012: album Welcome to the club (English. Welcome to the Club) once again strengthened its popularity: accompanied by hit singles “Brad Pitt” and “City without people”, the new concert tour gathered over 250,000 spectators throughout the region.
- 2019: releases an album Halo (Hello), with the hit single “Poisons” in collaboration with rapper Jala Brat. Those singles soon collected tens of millions of views on YouTube.
Greatest hits and musical style
Severina’s musical style goes through various genres – from pop and ethno-motive to rock sound and disco-electropops. Some of her biggest hits have become evergreens of Croatian entertainment. The list of the most famous includes songs like “Dalmatian” (1993), “Green Grass” (1995) and “My thing” (1996), as well as ballads “You are my heart” (1993) and “Ante” (2000). from the album Girl from the village (1998) The song of the same name and “Friends” stood out, and the title “Djevojka sa sela” even became an informal anthem of the Croatian national football team. It also showed itself in the expressions of world rhythms: for example, a duet “Uno Momento” (2014) with the Serbian Band of Ministers became a summer hit with over 130 million views on YouTube.
International success and Eurosong
Unlike some singers who only perform at home, Severina also performed in front of an audience outside of Croatia. In addition to tours in the region and the diaspora, she stood out by winning the Croatian Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song “My heel”. At the international competition (Athens 2006), she achieved 13th place, which is one of Croatia’s better results in that period. In any case, that performance further expanded her reputation beyond the borders of Croatia. Later, she also tried her hand at television: in 2023, she became a member of the jury in the RTL show Superstar Croatia, thereby expanding the visibility and audience of new generations.
Private life and relationships
Severina was named after her father – her father Sever (a Serb from Drniš) died when she was little, so she was named after him. Seve often emphasizes that her grandfather named her by directions (north – north). The acting genetic trait comes from the family – the famous actor Aljoša Vučković is her distant cousin. He has two more sisters in the family. Although she is best known for her music, she has also jumped into film and theater waters (eg a play Karolina Rijeka 2003 and film Ghosts of Sarajevo 2007, which she recorded in Sarajevo).
As for her love life, she was in the center of the media several times. She was in a relationship with Serbian entrepreneur Milan Popović for a long time; In February 2012, she gave birth to his son Aleksandar. Their engagement was terminated in 2015, and Severina married the then younger Serbian soccer player Igor Kojić (son of singer Dragan Kojić Keba) in November. The marriage with Kojić ended in 2021. The reason for the split was precisely the dispute over the custody of his son Aleksandar – after a long procedure, the court decided in 2024 that Aleksandar would stay with his father in Serbia, while Severina continues to have regular meetings with the son. Sevina talks about that period openly and through her songs (e.g. the song “Tako ti je sine moj” which she performed in 2024). It should also be mentioned that she is one of the few pop stars who publicly supported LGBT rights in Croatia (2013).
rewards and achievements
- Golden bird (the best-selling performer of the decade in Croatia) – received this award in 2003 (for successes from 1993 to 2002).
- Večernjakova rose – She was declared the best female performer of the year (four times).
- Golden ladybug (Macedonia, 2014) – won awards for the best album of the region, best artist of the year and best regional tour.
- Porin – More nominations, for example for the album “Pogled under the eyebrows” (2001) and single “Virujem u te” (hit year).
Although she has won many discography awards, Severina says that her son Aleksandar is her greatest achievement in life. Her album sales are constantly high (albums I’m just singing and The view under the eyebrows They followed platinum certificates), and with charismatic performances and active presence on social networks, it ensured long-lasting popularity. Today, Severina performs throughout the region, and the media reports more broadly about her new projects and life upheavals.
The conclusion: Severina Vučković remains one of the key figures of Croatian pop music. Her rich career – from early dance hits to modern duets – shows how she managed to connect traditional and contemporary genres. If you are interested in more about Severina’s music, listen to her most popular songs (eg on the YouTube channel) or watch the latest interviews. Share in the comments which Severina song you love the most and follow the news – her story is still being written!
Sources: The only reliable indicators of Severina’s career and private life are her official announcements and proven references. In this text, information from enthusiastic biographies and media reports, as well as from Wikipedia and relevant articles, were used to show a complete picture of her life and work. In this way, the most important events from Severina’s career and biography are included.
Cover photo: Dalibor Bosits, CC BY-SA 3.0, Via Wikimedia Commons
