Jelena Rozga


Jelena Rozga is a prominent Croatian pop, folk and electropop singer. Born and raised in Split, Rozga started performing as a ballet dancer during her childhood. She rose to fame in 1996, as the lead singer of Magazin, a Croatian pop band.
From 1996 to 2006, Jelena Rozga served as the lead singer of Magazin, whom she recorded five studio albums with. In 2006, she decided to pursue a solo career with the release of her debut studio album Oprosti mala. The album was a major commercial success that established her status as a solo artist; it peaked on top of the Croatian Albums Chart and produced several commercially successful singles, including "Gospe moja", "Oprosti mala" and "Ne zovi me Marija". Rozga's second studio album Bižuterija produced the eponymous number-one single as well as singles "Rodit ću ti 'ćer i sina" and "Ona ili ja". In support of the album, Rozga launched her first headlining solo tour, The Bižuterija Tour.
In 2012, she released her first Best of album which featured singles from her solo career and those recorded with the group Magazin. Moderna žena, the singer's third studio album was released in 2016, and featured some of her most famous singles as a solo artist to date, including the title song and "Tsunami". Moderna žena was Rozga's third studio album to top the Croatian Albums Chart and to receive a golden certification by the Croatian Phonographic Association.
In addition to her singing career, Rozga also shortly ventured in acting. She is considered to be one of the most famous singers in Croatia, having received gold certifications for three solo albums and having won numerous awards, including the Grand Prix award at the Split Festival. She has also enjoyed wider regional success and popularity in Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.

Early life

Jelena Rozga was born in Split, Croatia to parents Marija and Ante Rozga. She also has an older sister, Julija. During her childhood, Rozga was insisting on becoming a ballet dancer and her parents sent her to ballet classes during the first grade of primary school when she was seven years old. She joined KUD Mozaik where she was under the guidance of Lepa Smoje, a famous Croatian choreographer. As a ballet dancer, Rozga competed in various Yugoslav competitions. When she was 13, she was invited to participate in the opera house La Scala in Milan. Her parents, however, did not allow her to participate due to financial reasons as they would also have to move with her to accompany her as a minor. In high school, she first joined the high school in Split and after deciding to pursue her passion for dancing, Rozga auditioned to join the ballet ensemble of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. She was accepted by the commission who was amazed by her dancing talents. Together with the group, she started performing in various localized productions of Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker among others. Rozga later revealed that the ballet classes she did as a child "shaped me as a woman it gave me order, dedication and discipline in life".
During an interview for the Croatian TV channel CMC, Rozga revealed that even as a ballet dancer in her childhood, she had a big passion for singing and her dream, if she were to start a music career, would be to join the Croatian pop band Magazin, whose lead singer at that time Ljiljana Nikolovska served as an inspiration for her. Rozga was also an avid fan of the band, whose songs she knew by heart. During Rozga's fourth year of high school, when she was 18, her mother who saw that the lead singer of Magazin at that time Danijela Martinović, left the group, contacted group member Tonči Huljić, informing him about her daughter and her interest in auditioning for the group. Huljić traveled to Split where Rozga auditioned for only five minutes, performing "only a song and a half", including the song "Opusti se". Immediately after hearing her sing, Huljić informed her that he would write a song for her, which later became "Aha", the first song Rozga ever recorded. Rozga left her ballet career and joined Magazin.

Career

1996–2006: Magazin

Rozga started her music career in 1996, when she performed the song "Aha" written by Vjekoslava and Tonči Huljić on Dora, the Croatian song contest for Eurovision that year, where she finished second. That same year, at the age of 18, she signed a deal with Tonika Records. thus becoming the lead singer of Magazin. The first song she recorded with the group was "Suze biserne" which was performed at the 1996. The song became popular among fans of the group and at the 1997 Melodije hrvatskog Jadrana, it was recognized as the most performed song of the previous festival.
In 1996, Magazin released their twelfth studio album Nebo boje moje ljubavi, which was a commercial success and received a golden certification in Croatia. The album produced several singles, including "Minut srca tvog", "Nebo boje moje ljubavi" and "Samo navika". Rozga worked with Magazin for ten years and recorded five studio albums. In 2006, she left the group, but continued her collaboration with Tonči Huljić, the founder of the band.
In 2006, Rozga took part in Dora, the Croatian national song contest once more. She sang the song "Ne zovi me Marija" and finished in 6th place.

2006–2009: ''Oprosti mala''

Rozga recorded and published her debut solo album Oprosti mala in 2006. "Gospe moja", one of the songs on the album received the Grand Prix award at the 2007 Split Festival where Rozga also performed. The album featured other singles as well, such as "Vršnjaci moji", "Roba s greškom" and others. During interviews, Rozga revealed that the transition from Magazin to a solo career was a challenging undertaking that caused a lot of stress in her life especially since during some of the initial concerts, she only had small audiences.
Her career rapidly moved upwards, especially in 2008 when she got Grand Prix at the Split Music Festival for having the most played song from last years festival's edition for "Gospe Moja". She then released single "Daj šta daš" which topped charts both in Croatia and other neighbouring countries. Another song of hers, "Daj šta daš" won the Grand Prix in 2009 for being the most played song from last years festival edition. In 2009, Rozga performed on Hrvatski Radijski Festival with "Svega ima, al' bi još" in the category of pop-folk music.

2009-2016: ''Bižuterija'' and ''Best of''

Rozga performed at the 2009 Split Festival with "Rodit ću ti 'ćer i sina", and the year after, 2010, for the third time in a row, she won the Grand Prix for the most played song. In 2010, after its debut at the Split Festival, "Bižuterija" became the most played song of the summer and a number-one single both in Croatia and in the whole Balkans. As of 2020, the audio and the official music video for the song have combined more than 35,000,000 views on YouTube.
In early 2011, Rozga released her second studio album Bižuterija which sold over 15,000 copies within a month of its release, thus earning a golden certification from the Croatian Phonographic Association. The album produced several number-one singles, including the title song, "Karantena" and "Rodit ću ti 'ćer i sina". To promote the album, Rozga embarked on the Bižuterija Tour in all major cities in Croatia, starting with a concert held in Zadar on 27 October 2011. Rozga became the first female artist that sold out all the tickets at the Spaladium Arena in her hometown of Split. Several months later, she also had another sold-out concert in Zagreb at the Cibona hall.
That same year, Rozga won a Porin award in the category Hit of the Year with "Bižuterija". Later that spring, she collaborated with the rap group Connection on the song "Dalmatinka" which became a summer hit. In the summer of 2011, she performed "Razmažena" at the Split Festival again and won another Grand Prix for getting the most votes from the audience. By the end of 2011, she released her double-CD Best of compilation. The first disc of the album features the greatest hits of her solo career and the second disc, her greatest hits in the years with Magazin.
At the 2012 Split Festival, she performed the song "Solo igračica" which got her the Srebrni galeb award i.e. second place by selection of audience. In the same time she released her summer single "Dobitna kombinacija". After a couple of months, Rozga filmed music videos for both songs, but it was specific because they were not two separated videos, but one, made like a short movie. She was the first singer both in Croatia and neighbouring countries to make such an attempt. In 2013 she released single "Nirvana", which brought a lot of attention both from her colleagues and the press, and within a short time became a huge hit. That same summer, she released the song "Obožavam", and power ballad "Cirkus".
Then in March 2014, she released "Okus mentola" which became hit single, the same year in which the summer song "Život je čudo" was released. She also recorded the soundtrack "Odo ja" for the popular television show Kud puklo da puklo. In December 2014 she recorded and released "Tsunami", a single which became one of her biggest hits within the shortest amount of time. In the first 24 hours of release, it was viewed more than 400,000 times on YouTube. On this day it has over 37,000,000 views. Her success proceeded to next singles like "Kraljica" and Otrov, and in early 2016, after a long time, she released ballade "Udajem se" as a single.

2016–2018: ''Moderna žena''

After almost 6 years from previous album, in December 2016, Rozga released her third studio album Moderna žena. It consists of two parts: Disc 1 has 6 new song plus 5 previous singles, and Disc 2 contains her older singles from 2011 to 2014 period. In its first week of release, Moderna žena reached No. 1 place on selling charts and after 10 weeks, on this day, it still holds position #1. It is nominated for Porin award for best album in category Best album of pop music. Porin Awards took place on 17 March 2017, in Spaladium Arena. She released the song "Žileti" as the third single from the album. The song received around 210,000 views in one day and more than 600,000 views in one week. The album was commercially successful.

2018-present: New singles and upcoming acoustic studio album

On 27 March 2018, following a tour in Australia, Rozga released a new single titled "Najbolji dan", written by Tonči and Vjekoslava Huljić along with a music video directed by Sandra Mihaljević. On 20 July, the same year, Rozga released another single titled "Uzmem koliko mi daš" written by the pair Huljić, along with a music video directed by Dario Radusin filmed in Istra. In September, Rozga released another song, titled "Ostani" written by Serbian singer-songwriter Emina Jahović and produced by Macedonian producer Darko Dimitrov. The song and its accompanying music video received a lot of attention from media due to a change in the singer's image and sound as a result of her collaboration with new songwriters. Withing the first 24 hours of its release, the song received 350,000 views, which is the second most watched music video by the singer within the first day after "Tsunami" which received 400,000 views in a day.
On 29 January 2019, Rozga released a ballad titled "Moje proljeće" written again by Jahović and produced by Darko Dimitrov. She performed the song on the same day during the MAC Awards Show. On 28 January 2020, Rozga released "Sveto pismo" which she also performed at the MAC Awards Show. The song was written by Tonči and Vjekoslava Huljić and the production was arranged by Darko Dimitrov and Serbian singer Željko Joksimović. The following month, Rozga appeared on the Macedonian Golden Ladybug of Popularity awards show, where she received the award for Most Popular Regional Singer. She also performed "Sveto pismo" and a medley of "Cirkus", "Ne pijem, ne pušim" and "Dani su bez broja" during the show. Starting on 12 April 2020 and concluding on 17 May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rozga streamed six weekly mini live concerts through Instagram Live and YouTube during which she performed acoustic covers of her songs from home. In late 2019, Rozga revealed that she was working on an acoustic album which will reportedly feature 17 acoustic reworks of her songs with Magazin. The album is set for release some time in 2020.

Personal life

Little is known about Rozga's private life and her love relationships. She has frequently reported during interviews that she prefers to keep her private life secret and focus more on her music during interviews. Rozga was reported to have been in a relationship with Stjepan Hauser, the cellist of the Croatian band 2Cellos, since they met in 2015 and in 2016, the pair also got engaged. In 2017, the relationship reportedly ended. Since 2006, Rozga was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which caused her skin problems, excessive fatigue and weight loss. Rozga receives hormone therapy on a daily basis for her condition.

Other activities

During an interview for T-portal in January 2017, amidst anti-abortion discussions in Croatia, Rozga supported women's rights to abort, declaring it a personal choice. During the same interview, she also voiced her support for gender equality and the LGBTQ community. In 2013, Rozga took part in Goran Bregović's concert in Sarajevo titled Saso Mange at which funds were raised for musical education of members of the Roma minority. In April 2017, she participated in a roundtable event in Zagreb titled Gelem, Gelem - World4Them during which the results of the project aimed at integrating the Roma minority in the educational system and protecting their human rights. On 21 March 2016, as part of a concert dedicated to World Down Syndrome Day, she participated at the concert held in Zagreb.
During her career, Rozga collaborated with several Croatian and international fashion and cosmetic brands. From 2015, she became an ambassador for the French cosmetic brand Garnier in 9 countries in Eastern Europe. That same year, together with Bosnian football player Emir Spahić, she collaborated with credit deal of Sberbanke BH. She has also served as an advertiser for the Italain fashion brand Liu Jo the Croatian fashion brand ELFS and the car brand Seat Hrvatska. In 2020, Rozga also collaborated with Max Factor in Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Awards and nominations

During her solo career, Rozga has received numerous awards. In 2011, she received a Porin award in the category Hit of the Year for her song "Bižuterija". She has received the Grand Prix award at the Split Festival five times. Additionally, all three of Rozga's albums have received a gold certification by the.
AwardYearNominated workCategoryResult
Porin2011"Bižuterija"Hit of the Year
Porin2012"Dalmatinka" Hit of the Year
Porin2014"Nirvana"Hit of the Year
Porin2012BižuterijaBest Pop Music Album
Porin2017Moderna ženaBest Pop Music Album
Dora1996"Aha"N/A2nd place
Dora2006"Ne zovi me Marija"N/A6th place
Dora2007"Nemam"N/A7th place
Grand prix - Split Music Festival2008"Gospe moja"Most Played Song After a Year
Grand prix - Split Music Festival2009"Daj šta daš"Most Played Song After a Year
Grand prix - Split Music Festival2010"Rodit ću ti 'ćer i sina"Most Played Song After a Year
Grand prix - Split Music Festival2012"Razmažena"Most Played Song After a Year
Grand prix - Split Music Festival2011"Razmažena""Zlatno jedro" - audience vote
Grand prix - Split Music Festival2012"Solo igračica""Srebrni galeb" - audience vote2nd place
Music Awards Ceremony2019Pop Song by a Female Performer"Uzmem koliko mi daš"
Music Awards Ceremony2020Pop Song by a Female Performer"Moje proljeće"
Golden Ladybug of Popularity2020Jelena RozgaMost Popular Regional Singer

Discography

Studio albums

With Magazin
Solo

Filmography

Tours

;Headlining
;Co-headlining