Franka Batelić was born on 7 June 1992 inRijeka to Ingrid and Damir Batelić.[2] She has a younger brother Nikola who is the singer and guitarist of theLabin-based band "Storm".[3] Batelić began singing at the age of three, initially singing as a soloist with the "Minicantanti" choir and also sang in the church choir of St. Andrew Catholic parish inRabac.[3][4] Batelić learned to play piano at the Music school, while her father thought her guitar.
Batelić auditioned for the first series ofShowtime in 2007, singing "Come saprei" byGiorgia for judgesJacques Houdek,Ivana Husar andBoris Banović.[6] Batelić won the competition on 22 December 2007 by receiving the highest number of cast televotes in the finals.[7] As a prize, she signed a recording contract with theHit Records record label.[8] Batelić's winner single "Ovaj dan" was released officially on 14 November 2007.[9]
Batelić's second single, "Ruža u kamenu", produced and written byMiro Buljan,Boris Đurđević and Neno Ninčević, was released in May 2008 in Croatia.[10] It was performed at the "12th Croatian Radio Festival" inOpatija where it won the Public's Award in the Pop/Rock category by receiving the most televotes.[11] Later that year, "Ruža u kamenu" was chosen to represent Croatia at the 2008OGAE Song Contest, an audio event organized by a network of 42Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs. She won the contest.[12]
In April 2013, Franka was the opening act on theBeyoncé's concert at theArena Zagreb, performing in front of 18,000 people.[16][17] In November 2013, Franka released the single "Ljubav je" whose lyrics were signed by one of the most performed and awarded Croatian pop musician-songwriterAntonija Šola. "Ljubav je" was the first Franka's single to appear on the Croatian national HR Top40 list.[18]
2017–2018: Comeback, Eurovision Song Contest 2018 andS tobom
On 27 November 2017, Batelić confirmed via social media that she will release her comeback single "S tobom" on 4 December 2017.[19] The song was first played on Nives Čanović's385 Show onNarodni radio on 4 December with Batelić interviewed live.[20] The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Sandra Mihaljević and Igor Ivanović and premiered onRTL Televizija'sHR Top show on 10 December 2017.[21] It was announced on 13 February 2018 that Batelić would representCroatia in theEurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Crazy". She came in 17th in the first semi-final thus not qualifying for the grand finale.[22][23]
Batelić's debut studio albumS tobom was released on 6 December 2018 and peaked at number 19 on theTop of the Shops albums chart in Croatia.[24] The album's third single, "Kao ti i ja", was released in June.[25] Its fourth single "Ti mi nosiš sreću" was released in October, while the fifth single "Tajno" was released in December.[26]
On 17 June 2019 Betelić released "Ljubav, ništa više" as the first single from her upcoming second studio album.[27] In October "Sve dok sanjaš" was released as the album's second single.[28] "Sve dok sanjaš" debuted at number two on theHR Top 40, eventually peaking at number one, becoming Batelić's first chart topping single in Croatia.[29][30] She performed the song at the 2020 Cesarica Awards and won the "Song of the Year" award with it.[31]
On 7 July 2023, Batalić released the single "Putuj s poljupcima".[32]
Batelić married her long-time boyfriend, Croatian football player,Vedran Ćorluka, on 21 July 2018.[35][36] In August 2019, Batelić announced that she and Ćorluka were expecting their first child.[37] In January 2020, she gave birth to their son, Viktor Ćorluka.[38] In November 2022, she gave birth to their second child.[39]
^"Cesarica – Nominirani" [Cesarica – Nominations] (in Croatian). cesarica.org.Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved29 November 2019.
