Lepa Brena

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Fahreta Živojinović |

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Img_capt =
Img_size = 250
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Fahreta Jahić
Alias = Lepa Brena
Born = Birth date and age|1960|10|20|mf=y
Died =
Origin = Brčko,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Nationality = Serbian
Instrument =
Genre = pop-folk, pop, turbo folk
Occupation = musician, actress
Years_active = 1981 - present
Label = PGP, Diskoton, ZaM, Grand Production
Associated_acts = Slatki greh
Notable_instruments =
URL = [http://www.jednajebrena.com www.jednajebrena.com]

Fahreta Živojinović (Cyrillic: Фахрета Живојиновић; born October 20, 1960) or better known as Lepa Brena (or Brena Nacionale and Internacionale), (Cyrillic: Лепа Брена), name given by Serbian showman Minimax is arguably the most well-known and successful singer of the 1980s in the former Yugoslavia and nowadays the owner of a folk-pop label. She was born as Fahreta Jahić in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia. Lepa Brena sold over 40,000,000 records worldwide, which makes her the best selling female artist in history of Balkans.

Career

Lepa Brena and her band "Slatki greh" ("Sweet Sin") were the first to combine traditional Yugoslav folk music (in particular, the traditional Balkan "Kolo" dance) with modern pop elements, and went on to inspire and influence an entire generation of musicians. Songs such as "Mile voli disko" (1982), "Sitnije,Cile sitnije" (1983), "Hajde da se volimo" (1987) "Duge noge", "Četiri godine" are amongst the most well-known and popular songs in the history of Yugoslav music, and are definitive of the music of that era.

Brena and her band "Slatki greh" formed in 1981, gaining immediate success with their first album, which featured the hits "Čačak, Čačak," and "Ljubi me, Omere." The Yugoslav public quickly fell in love with the 21-year-old singer.

That success promptly reached unexpected heights with the release of their second album later that year, delighting the folk-loving masses with the enormous hits "Mile voli disko", "Duge noge" and "Dama iz Londona". They also achieved success with the song "Sitnije, Cile, sitnije", a contender for the Yugoslav spot in Eurovision 1983.

In 1984 Brena returned with a new album and hit song "Bato, Bato". Her sexy new image, along with the band's more refined musical style, took her to even greater levels of stardom. They toured relentlessly in support of the album, which also spawned the hits "Bosanac," "Igraj Boro, moje oro" and "Moj je Lola zvezda roken rola" amongst others. By now, the ensemble had become renowned for their catchy pop-folk styling and playful lyrics (the object of Brena's affection in "Moj je Lola..." is an Elvis Presley wannabe, whose obsession with rock music forces her to proudly declare her own devotion to traditional folk: "Waltz? NO! Disco? NO! Kolo? YES!").

Over the course of the next three years, another three albums would follow, which collectively featured the hits "Šeik," "Mače moje," "Nežna žena," "Lažu te, dušo moja" "Okrećeš mi leđa" and many more. In addition to these albums, she also teamed up with fellow singer, Miroslav Ilić, to record four duets, including the romantic "Jedan dan života." The highly successful collaboration also featured "Živela Jugoslavija" ("Long live Yugoslavia") which was equally hated as it was loved, due to its overtly political subject matter (Brena made no attempt to hide her support of a united Yugoslavia, despite the sensitivity of the issue). This controversy, however, did not deter the star from performing the song at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. As well as at the Winter Olympics, Lepa Brena performed the song at a major concert in Romania in 1985, where she sang the song to the crowd while being lifted up in a fruitpicker crane.

By the end of 1986, Lepa Brena had become the most famous person in Yugoslavia, and had also well and truly cemented her status as a sex symbol. This success, however, showed no sign of waning, and in 1987 she continued to dominate popular culture with the release of her movie "Hajde da se volimo" ("Let's Love Each Other"), which featured songs from her album of the same name. With this release, her musical style took a gigantic leap forward, the songs containing a much more modern edge and stylish pop-infused production, without abandoning their traditional folk roots. The project was so successful that she went on to film parts 2 & 3 (in 1989 and 1990), each in support of a new album. This string of LPs produced an extraordinary number of hit songs, including "Hajde da se volimo", "Golube," "On ne voli me," "Udri Mujo," "Biseru beli," "Ja pripadam samo tebi," "Zaželi sreću drugima," and "Čik pogodi." In addition to these was the beautiful "Jablane," written by Dino Merlin (a hugely successful singer/songwriter) as well as "Jugoslovenka," another controversial collaboration, this time with three male singers, each from different parts of Yugoslavia (Alen Islamović, Vlado Kalember and Danijel Popović).

After releasing yet another album, "Zaljubiška," in 1991, Brena took a well-earned break from her hectic touring and recording schedule, leaving wartorn Yugoslavia to start a family with new husband, tennis player Slobodan Živojinović in the United States.

She returned to audiences in 1994 with a highly successful solo album (her first without Slatki greh), which featured one of her biggest hits to date, "Ja nemam drugi dom" ("I Have No Other Home"). The song, her personal favorite, is a touching ode to her first son, Stefan, and also (one would suspect) a reference to the disintegration of her beloved homeland ("I have no other home, but the home inside your heart").

Two more solo albums followed; "Kazna božija" (1995) and "Šta je bilo, bilo je," (1996) the latter featuring the songs "Luda za tobom" and "Ti si moj greh" (a cover of Elena Kostantopoulou's "Pia prosefhi - the Greek entry in Eurovision 1995), which would become two of the most successful songs of her career. After another three-year hiatus, the year 2000 saw Lepa Brena reuniting with "Slatki greh" for one last project, an upbeat collection of songs, reminiscent of their earlier material. Although the release failed to live up to the commercial expectations of its predecessors, it contained the fan favourites "Kolovođa" and "Meni je teško, najteže."

Lepa Brena's rumored and delayed comeback album for 2006 has been pushed to the end of 2007. Brena stated "New songs do not exist for me, I sang for a beautiful and united Yugoslavia. It is very hard for me to record a new album I have a few songs but far from what I would love to have." In 2004 Lepa Brena received 4 songs from Serbian songwriter Dejan Tadic, but Brena has put her album on hold.

New album "Udji slobodno..."

New album "Udji slobodno..." was released on 28.06.2008. It contains 10 new songs, nine written by Brena's old song-writer Marina Tucakovic ("Pozeli srecu drugima", "Okreces mi ledja", "Evo zima ce", "Hajde da se volimo",...) and Aleksandar Milic Mili, and one song from Israel ("Dva asa").

Songs:
*1. Udji slobodno...
*2. Pazi kome zavidis
*3. Kuca lazi
*4. Grad
*5. Zasto?
*6. Kralj
*7. Sledeci
*8. Dobra Gresnica
*9. Zrno tuge
*10. Dva asa

'Tour 2008' will start in November 2008!

Private life

Lepa Brena throughout her career has lived in Novi Sad, Serbia. In 1990 she moved to the Serbian Capital Beograd and later in 1991 wed Serbian Tennis Star and Businessman Slobodan Živojinović, Brena and Boba have a home in Coconut Creek in Pompano Beach, Florida where they lived for a while during the NATO bombing of Serbia and Montenegro. She also has a villa in Monte Carlo and another luxurious townhouse on Fisher Island in Florida.Lepa Brena has millions of fans throughout the world. She currently resides in Belgrade, Serbia, together with her husband Slobodan Živojinović (Boba) and their two sons, Stefan and Viktor and is working on a comeback album rumoured to be released by the end of 2006. In 2004 she held a concert in her hometown Brčko, as well as Tuzla.

Discography

Albums

*"Čačak, Čačak" (1981)- 350 000
*"Mile voli disko" (1982)- 780 000
*"Sitnije, cile, sitnije / Hej, najluđe moje" (12" Maxi, 1983)- 800 000
*"Bato, Bato" (1984)- 1 100 000
*"Pile moje" (1984)- 850 000
*"Jedan dan života", (duet with Miroslav Ilić) (1985)- 800 000
*"Voli me, voli" (1986)- 650 000
*"Okrećeš mi leđa" (1986)- 600 000
*"Hajde da se volimo" (1987)- 800 000
*"Četiri godine" (1989)- 550 000
*"Boli me uvo za sve" (1990)- 450 000
*"Zaljubiška" (1991)- 150 000
*"Ja nemam drugi dom" (1994)- 150 000
*"Kazna Božija" (1995)- 100 000
*"Luda za tobom" (1996)- 200 000
*"Pomračenje sunca" (2000)- 120 000
*"The Best Of Lepa Brena" (2004)- 400 000
*"Uđi slobodno..." (28.06.2008)

Filmography

* Hajde da se volimo 3, (1990)
* Hajde da se volimo 2, (1989)
* Hajde da se volimo, (1987)
* Nema problema, (1984)
* Kamiondžije opet voze, (1984)
* Kamiondzije 2, (1983)(TV series)
* Tesna koža, (1982)

External links

* [http://www.jednajebrena.com fan site]