Željko Joksimović
He was runner up in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest as a performer, took third and sixth places respectively as a composer in the 2006 and 2008 contests. And as if that wasn't enough experience of Europe's Favourite TV Show, Željko Joksimović also co-hosted the 2008 contest in Belgrade. This year he is back as a performer, aiming to take the title back to Serbia with the self composed Nije Ljubav Stvar.Željko Joksimović was born on the 20th of April, 1972. in Belgrade, Serbia. At 12 years of age, he won the prestigious First Accordion of Europe award at the music festival in Paris. He attended the University of Musical Arts in Belgrade and is one of rare musicians who knows how to play 14 different instruments.
His professional music career has continuously been on the rise. During the 1990's he achieved consecutive success at the Belgrade Spring festival as a composer. In addition to performing, Željko also composed music for theatre productions.
The defining year in the career of Željko Joksimović was 2004. when he won the national song contest for Serbia and Montenegro with the song Lane Moje. After many years, Serbia and Montenegro got their representative at the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest, where he finished in second place in the Final. The success at the Eurovision Song Contest changed the direction of Željko's career. This is proven by the results that he achieved in the following years.
In December of 2005 Željko's fourth album sold over 500.000 copies. In terms of quality, this album represents a big step forward in his career - during this period Željko also ventured into composing music for films. The Eurovision success repeated once again in 2006, when his composition Lejla for Hari Mata Hari, the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina won third place.
September of 2007 was marked by the sixth regional Balkan radio festival in which 22 pop stars from the region competed. The Grand Prix was won by Željko for his hit song Devojka. At the most prestigious music festival in Serbia, Beovizija in 2008, he composed the winning song Oro, performed by Jelena Tomašević. It was this song that represented Serbia, the host of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008.
Serbian Broadcasting Corporation and the EBU gave Željko the role of the host of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Belgrade along with Jovana Janković. Jelena Tomašević and the song Oro Finished in sixth place in the Final.
Serbian broadcaster RTS revealed the exciting news that Željko Joksimović would once again represent his country on the 57th Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan 2012.
Željko has been given complete control over the Serbian entry. He will both compose and perform the entry, which was presented to the public for the first time in a show on Serbian television in early 2012. This will be Željko's fourth attempt at winning the competition.
