Jelena Karleuša (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Карлеуша; born 17 August 1978) is a Serbian singer-songwriter and media personality. Born and raised in Belgrade, at the age of 16 she began her music career by releasing her debut album in 1995. Karleuša has so far collectively released twelve studio albums. She has held two major solo concerts in Belgrade: All About Diva Show in the Belgrade Arena (2010) and Viva La Diva Show in Ušće Park (2013). Additionally, between 2015 and 2021, Karleuša also served as a judge on the singing competition Zvezde Granda.
Throughout her career, Karleuša has received substantial media coverage and has amassed strong social media following, being the second most-followed person from Serbia on Instagram with over 2.4 million followers.[1] Known for her outspoken views on sociopolitical topics and frequent disputes with other public figures, she has also attracted significant controversy.[2] Because of her polarizing and often controversial public persona and work, Kareluša was described as the "Lady Gaga of Serbia" and "Madonna of the Balkans" by W magazine in 2013 and Focus in 2015, respectively.[3][4]
Early life
Jelena Karleuša was born on 17 August 1978 in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia. She is the only child to Slovenian-born journalist and radio host, Divna (1958–2019),[5] and Belgrade-born police captain, Dragan Karleuša (b. 1947).[6][7] She stated that her maternal great-grandmother was an Austrian countess who has a street in Graz named after her,[8] a claim disputed by an Austrian media outlet.[9] Karleuša grew-up in the Fontana neighborhood of New Belgrade, where she lived with her mother after her parents had divorced. She attended Zemun Gymnasium, but eventually graduated from the New Belgrade High School of Tourism. According to Karleuša, she also attended music school and played the flute as a child.[10]
Career
1995–2003: Career beginnings and initial success
At the age of sixteen, Karleuša made her recording debut with the album Ogledalce, released on 24 April 1995 under Diskos. In 2019, she revealed that Dragana Mirković helped her to finance its recording.[11] Her sophomore album, Ženite se, momci, was released the following year under PGP-RTS. It was followed by Veštice, vile (1997) and Jelena (1998), released through ZaM. On these records Karleuša began working with lyricist Marina Tucaković, who wrote some of her greatest hits. On 23 December 1999, she released her only album for Grand Production, entitled Gili, gili.[12]
Her sixth studio album, Za svoje godine, was released in January 2001 through Best Records. Subsequently, on 20 December the following year, Samo za tvoje oči was released under BK Sound. The album was produced by Phoebus in collaboration with Greek label Heaven Music. Karleuša also signed a four-year contract with Heaven Music and was supposed to release an extended play in English, which eventually failed to be realized.[13]
2004–2013: Magija, JK Revolution, Diva and major concerts
In February 2004, Karleuša competed in the Serbian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, called Beovizija, with the song "Moli me". She finished in 11th place and thus failed to qualify to the final.[14] Following her performance on Beovizija, Karleuša allegedly got banned from Radio Television of Serbia by its director, Aleksandar Tijanić. According to Karleuša, the reason behind this decision was due to the fact that her appearance and music were deemed "inappropriate" by Tijanić. She did not appear on the Serbian national broadcaster until March 2017, when she was a guest on a talk show about fashion.[15][16] On 22 February 2005, Karleuša released her first album under City Records, titled Magija.[17] Her following album, JK Revolution, was released on 7 February 2008. It was sold in 280,000 units.[18]
In March 2009, she was a guest on the third season of Big Brother VIP. On 15 July, Karleuša released her greatest hits compilation, titled The Diamond Collection. Later that year in December, she released the single "Insomnia", which covered a song from the Bollywood movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. "Insomnia" became one of the first Serbian music videos to go viral on YouTube.[19] Karleuša held her first major solo concert, All About Diva Show, in the Belgrade Arena on 15 May 2010, which attracted 10,000 people.[20][17] The All About Diva live album and DVD were released in November 2010. During the same year, Karleuša also landed a column in the daily newspaper Kurir, which saw widespread attention for her progressive views, such as those on the LGBT community, but also for her outspoken comments on public figures like Ceca and Dragan Marković.[17][21]
Her tenth studio album, Diva, was released on 11 June 2012, after it had been postponed several times.[22] It was preceded by three singles: "Insomnia" (2009), "Muškarac koji mrzi žene" (2011) and "Nova religija (Plava Šeherezada)" (2011). Diva was sold in 100,000 copies.[23] The album was promoted with her second major solo concert, Viva La Diva Show, on 15 June 2013 in Ušće, Belgrade. It began after over an hour of delay due to technical issues regarding video and audio production, which continued throughout the concert.[24] Nevertheless, she managed to perform all of the songs. According to her management, there were 40,000 people at the concert.[25] Afterwards, Karleuša faced backlash from the media, who described her concert as a failure by comparing it to Ceca's concert in Ušće, which was held later that month.[26] Additionally, she cut her ties with RTV Pink and City Records following a disagreement with its owner and CEO, Željko Mitrović.[27][28]
2014–2022: Zvezde Granda and extended releasing hiatus
In September 2015, Karleuša joined the judging panel of the singing competition show Zvezde Granda.[29] During 2015, she saw international attention after she had accused Kim Kardashian, and then Beyoncé, of copying her fashion style and thus was featured on The Wendy Williams Show, among many other international media outlets.[30][31] The following year, Jelena's style was praised by Kardashian in her Woman Crush Wednesday column, claiming that she heard of Karleuša only after the media allegations.[32] At the beginning of 2016, Karleuša revealed that the 2015 Academy Award-winning documentary about Amy Winehouse falsely used unlicensed scenes from her 2013 concert as ones of Winehouse's last Belgrade performance. Karleuša initially planned to settle a lawsuit for copyright infringement against the creators, but eventually gave up due to her "respect of the late singer".[33] In March 2016, she made a guest performance at the Vodafone Park in Istanbul after her husband's team, Beşiktaş J.K. had won the national championship.[34] On 28 June 2017, Karleuša presented her first releases since 2013; duets with Aca Lukas and Azis, respectively titled "Bankina" and "Ostavljam te", which were performed in the live finale of Zvezde Granda.
At the beginning of August 2023, composer and husband of late Marina Tucaković, Aleksandar Radulović Futa deleted Karleuša's YouTube channel alongside all of her official music videos and audios, for alleged copyright infringement of his late wife's work.[41] Subsequently, on 13 and 20 August, Karleuša released back-to-back her long-awaited studio albums, entitled Alpha and Omega, under JK Entrainment and in distribution deal with Virgin Music Group and Telekom Srbija.[42][43] On 18 September, the albums were promoted with a free entrance concert at the Belgrade Waterfront. The live show, which was broadcast on several regional TV channels, featured performances from the artists whom Karleuša collaborated with on Alpha and Omega – Milica Pavlović, Devito, Sajsi MC and Mimi Mercedez.[44] In March the following year, Karleuša walked the Vetements runway show during the Paris Fashion Week.[45][46]
On 19 October 2024, Karleuša kicked off her Alpha and Omega Tour in the Jane Sandanski Arena in Skopje, North Macedonia.[47]
Personal life
On 23 September 2004, Karleuša married Bojan Karić, who is known as the nephew of businessman Bogoljub Karić. They separated four months later and divorced in March the following year.[17][48]
On 28 June 2008, she married footballer Duško Tošić. The couple has two daughters: Atina (b. 2008) and Nika (b. 2009), both born on 7 September by Caesarean section.[17] In January 2022, Tošić received a 30-day restriction order under suspicion of domestic abuse following Karleuša's report on the Christmas Day according to Julian calendar.[49][50] According to the media, Karleuša had already reported her husband for physical assault in March 2020.[51] In both cases she decided not to press charges against him.[52] In September 2024, both Karleuša and Tošić confirmed in separate statements that they were filing for a divorce after years of separation.[53][54]
In addition, Karleuša has supported various other causes during her career. Following the 2014 Southeast Europe floods, she supplied Serbian shelters with basic necessities for three consecutive days.[61] Same year, Karleuša and her husband were amongst the few regional celebrities who financially contributed to ALS research after participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge.[62] In 2015, she performed at Donna Ares' charity concert for victims of cancer in the Zetra Olympic Hall, Sarajevo.[63] In December 2018, Karleuša donated 100,000 RSD to VK Partizan for pool-heating during winter seasons.[64]
Political views
Throughout the years, Karleuša has supported various political options and individuals. In a 1998 interview, she showed sympathies for Slobodan Milošević, stating that she found him the "most sympathetic". On the other hand, following the downfall of Milošević, Karleuša has openly praised Zoran Đinđić for his progressive politics. She also supported Čedomir Jovanović and was a guest on a panel organized by the Liberal Democratic Party in October 2010.[65][66][67]
In the initial years of the governance of Aleksandar Vučić, Karleuša openly opposed his politics and supported the protests against him.[68] However, she eventually ended up endorsing Vučić for the 2022 Serbian general election.[69] Moreover, in November 2021, Karleuša supported the mining operation in the Jadar region proposed by Rio Tinto and the Serbian Government, in spite of the national protests against it due to its potentially hazardous effects on the environment.[70] She also criticized the 2023 Serbian protests held as a result of the Belgrade school shooting and joined the counter rally organized by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party on 27 May 2023.[71][72] Also in regards to the 2023 protests, Karleuša faced scrutiny after she had criticized actors for taking part in the anti-government protests whilst starring in television series and movies financed by the publicly owned Telekom Srbija.[73] Opposition member of the National Assembly, Đorđe Stanković, alleged that Karleuša would receive €1.5 million from Telekom for her forthcoming album and a talk show.[74] In December 2024, she announced her candidature for President of Serbia following the end of Vučić's term, "despite believing that he should rule forever".[75] During the same month she criticised student protests, claiming that the government should stop paying for faculty education, that they should be arrested, and that they should "stop skipping school".[76] She is often critical of Croatian singer Severina, after she spoke out against the government of Serbia and Vučić on several occasions.[77][78][79] In December 2023, Karleuša revealed that her support for Vučić came after he had helped her with her mother's cancer treatment.[80]
In 2010, Serbian singer Svetlana "Ceca" Ražnatović began a legal action against Karleuša for defamation after she had addressed Ražnatović in an open letter via Facebook, accusing her of maintaining close ties with the Zemun Clan through connections from her late husband, Željko Ražnatović, and of being involved in the 1999 assassination of Karleuša's then-boyfriend, Zoran Davidović, who was also connected with crime.[92] Furthermore, she addressed the rumors of Ceca purposely creating bad publicity for Karleuša through her acquaintances in the media and show business.[92] In February 2017, Ceca claimed victory over Karleuša, who was fined with €650 and ordered to cover Ceca's €900 court expenses.[93]
On 10 April 2018, Karleuša was interrogated under suspicion of spreading panic amidst the national measles epidemic, after she had publicly advocated for the freedom of choice when it comes to MMR vaccination.[94] She explained that she based her views on personal experience with one of her daughters who, according to her, had a bad reaction following the vaccination.[95] While publicly receiving her COVID-19 vaccine in May 2021, Karleuša accentuated that she is not "anti-vax" and encouraged Serbian people to also get vaccinated.[96][97]
At the beginning of 2019, Serbian media started accusing Karleuša of having an affair with Bosnian footballer Ognjen Vranješ, which she firmly denied.[98] The scandal subsequently erupted when nude photos of her started circulating the web and were eventually placed on the cover of every daily tabloid in Serbia.[99] Furthermore, Karleuša's Twitter account got suspended after she had posted private nude photos of Vranješ, which according to her, she received from a female singer who was involved with him.[100] Between January and February 2019, Karleuša made 110 front-page headlines of the daily newspapers, where she was featured in mostly negative content, which was in reference to her private life.[101] Serbian Press Council publicly condemned tabloids for violating Serbian Codex of journalism, citing this incident as a prime example of the downfall of Serbian media scene in recent years.[102] The State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Information, Aleksandar Gajović, declared on 16 January that the Ministry would submit infringement reports against Serbian tabloids Kurir, Informer, Alo! and Srpski telegraf for their sexually explicit front pages.[103] Brankica Janković, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality, stated that tabloids continued breaking the Codex of journalism by promoting "belittling and insulting" content as well as gender stereotypes in spite of reprimands from the Ministry.[104] Karleuša herself stated that she had initiated over 140 charges against Vranješ and mentioned newspapers for defamation and that all the proceeds from the lawsuits would go to charity.[105] By the end of 2023, Karleuša, who had initially denied the adulatory accusations, looked back on the incident by describing it as her "online mistake".[106]
^Janković, I., Vučković, A. (10 January 2002). "Muzika Made in Serbia". NIN (in Serbian). Retrieved 19 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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