Merima Njegomir

Merima Njegomir
Мерима Његомир
Background information
Birth nameMerima Kurtiš
Born(1953-11-09)9 November 1953
Zemun, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia
Died20 November 2021(2021-11-20) (aged 68)
Belgrade, Serbia
OccupationSinger
Years active1975–2021

Merima Kurtiš (Serbian Cyrillic: Мерима Куртиш; 9 November 1953 – 20 November 2021), known professionally as Merima Njegomir (Serbian Cyrillic: Мерима Његомир), was a Serbian folk and sevdah singer.[1]

Life

She began her career singing many interpretations of popular Bosnian folk songs, such as "Moj dilbere" and "Sejdefu majka buđaše", which gained her popularity across Serbia and former Yugoslavia. Her career, spanning over four decades, includes 24 albums, and songs in over 20 languages,[2] such as Hungarian, Hebrew, Italian, Greek and Turkish. Her father Adem was a Macedonian Turk from Ohrid, while her mother Fatima was a Bosniak from Bijeljina.[3]

Njegomir is best known for her distinct mezzo-soprano vocal range, and folk songs with influences from her native Zemun. She remains one of the most prominent names in Serbian music, with many songs achieving popularity in Eastern Europe, from Slovenia to Russia. One of her more notable songs is "Ivanova korita", which, as a 2005 release, was covered by numerous artists,[4] including the Croatian music act Fijakeri. The single was published yet again in 2012, as a rendition, which included various elements of modern turbo-folk. Its third release was as a part of the album Pjesme iz Crne Gore (Songs from Montenegro).

Although Njegomir is most famous for providing vocals for Serbian folk songs, her music style includes jazz, classical, pop, and Romani music.[5]

Njegomir died of pancreatic cancer on 20 November 2021.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "Merima Njegomir (1953)". riznicasrpska.net. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Merima Njegomir: Bogatstvo za tri zivota". www.lepaisrecna.rs. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017.
  3. ^ "poreklo-merime-njegomir". poreklo (in Serbian). 21 April 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Merima Njegomir: Andrija Milosevic peva Ivanova Korita". www.telegraf.rs. 16 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Merima Njegomir sa Gipsy Rhapsody Bendom nastupa na Kolarcu". www.blic.rs. 14 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Merima Njegomir only 10 days ago spoke about her condition: Painful words full of hope - Free Press". Слободен печат. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  7. ^ I.M (20 November 2021). "Merima Njegomir se kao i Marinko Rokvić borila sa najpodmuklijim oblikom kancera: Porodica i prijatelji su joj bili najveća podrška". Blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 21 November 2021.
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