Jelena Karleuša (Serbian Cyrillic:Јелена Карлеуша; born 17 August 1978) is aSerbian singer and media personality. Born and raised inBelgrade, she began her music career by releasing her debut albumOgledalce (1995) at the age of 16. Karleuša has released twelve studio albums to date and has held two major solo concerts in Belgrade: All About Diva Show at theBelgrade Arena (2010) and Viva La Diva Show atUšće Park (2013).
Additionally, she also served as a judge on the singing competition television showsZvezde Granda (2015–2021) andPinkove Zvezde (2025–present).Focus andW have described Karleuša as the "Lady Gaga of Serbia" and "Madonna of theBalkans" respectively.[1][2] Her perception and popularity have been influenced by her controversial, often scrutinized persona and art, as well as by her outspoken sociopolitical views and frequent disputes with other public figures.[3]
Jelena Karleuša was born on 17 August 1978 inBelgrade,SR Serbia,SFR Yugoslavia. She is the only child toPtuj-born journalist and radio host, Divna (née Tomažič; 1958–2019),[4][5] and Belgrade-bornpolice captain, Dragan Karleuša (b. 1947).[6][7] She stated that her maternal great-grandmother was anAustrian countess who has a street inGraz named after her;[8][9] the claim was denied by the city.[10] Karleuša also has roots inLika,Bosnia, andKosovo through her grandparents.[11] Her maternal grandfather Jurij Tomažič was anethnic Slovene;[5] he was a military pilot who died in a 1967 plane crash.[12] Her paternal grandfather Pavle, just like her father, was Belgrade-born; however, Pavle's parents were from Lika where the surname Karleuša originated from. Her great-grandfather Nikola Karleuša was aCroatian Serb and anAustro-Hungarian soldier.[13] Her paternal grandmother has roots fromVranje, while her maternal grandmother Darina was fromDoboj.[9][12]
Karleuša grew up in theFontana neighborhood ofNew Belgrade, where she lived with her mother after her parents' divorce. From her father's second marriage, she has two younger half-brothers, Ivan and Nikola.[14] She attendedZemun Gymnasium, but eventually graduated from the New Belgrade High School of Tourism. According to Karleuša, she also attended music school and played theflute as a child.[15]
At the age of 16, Karleuša made her recording debut with the albumOgledalce, released on 24 April 1995 byDiskos. In 2019, she revealed thatDragana Mirković helped her to finance its recording.[16] Her sophomore album,Ženite se, momci, was released the following year byPGP-RTS. It was followed byVeštice, vile (1997) andJelena (1998), released through Zabava Miliona (ZaM). On these records Karleuša began working with lyricistMarina Tucaković, who wrote some of her best-known songs. On 23 December 1999, she released her only album forGrand Production, entitledGili, gili.[17]
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 by BK Sound. The album was produced byPhoebus in collaboration with Greek labelHeaven Music. Karleuša also signed a four-year contract with Heaven Music.[18]
2004–2013:Magija,JK Revolution,Diva and major concerts
In February 2004, Karleuša competed in the Serbian national selection for theEurovision Song Contest, calledBeovizija, with the song "Moli me". She finished in 11th place and thus failed to qualify to the final.[19] Following her performance on Beovizija, Karleuša allegedly got banned fromRadio 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 would not feature on the channel until March 2017, when she was a guest on a talk show about fashion.[20][21] On 22 February 2005, Karleuša released her first album underCity Records, titledMagija.[22] Her following album,JK Revolution, was released on 7 February 2008. It sold in 280,000 units.[23]
Viva La Diva Show concert onUšće, Belgrade, which was followed by technical difficulties
In March 2009, she was a guest on thethird season ofBig Brother VIP. On 15 July, Karleuša released hergreatest hits compilation, titledThe Diamond Collection. Later that year in December, she released the single "Insomnia", which covered a song from theBollywood movieRab Ne Bana Di Jodi. "Insomnia" became one of the first Serbian music videos to go viral onYouTube.[24] Karleuša held her first major solo concert, All About Diva Show, in theBelgrade Arena on 15 May 2010, which attracted 10,000 people.[25][22] TheAll About Diva live album andDVD were released in November 2010. During the same year, Karleuša also landed acolumn in the daily newspaperKurir, which saw widespread attention for herprogressive views, such as those on theLGBT community, but also for her outspoken comments on public figures likeCeca andDragan Marković.[22][26]
Her tenth studio album,Diva, was released on 11 June 2012, after it had been postponed several times.[27] 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.[28] The album was promoted with her second major solo concert, Viva La Diva Show, on 15 June 2013 inUšće, Belgrade. It began after over an hour of delay due to technical issues regarding video and audio production, which continued throughout the concert.[29] Nevertheless, she managed to perform all of the songs. According to her management, there were 40,000 people at the concert, while other publications claim that there were 10,000 people.[30] Afterwards, Karleuša faced backlash from the media, who described her concert as a failure by comparing it toCeca's concert in Ušće, which was held later that month.[31] Additionally, she cut her ties withRTV Pink and City Records following a disagreement with its owner and CEO,Željko Mitrović.[32][33]
2014–2022:Zvezde Granda and extended releasing hiatus
In September 2015, Karleuša joined the judging panel of thesinging competition showZvezde Granda.[34] During 2015, she saw international attention after she had accusedKim Kardashian, and thenBeyoncé, of copying her fashion style and thus was featured onThe Wendy Williams Show, among many other international media outlets.[35][36] The following year, Jelena's style was praised by Kardashian in herWoman Crush Wednesday column, claiming that she heard of Karleuša only after the media allegations.[37] At the beginning of 2016, Karleuša revealed thatAmy (2015), which wonBest Documentary Feature Film at the88th Academy Awards, falsely used unlicensed scenes from her Viva La Diva concert as ones ofAmy Winehouse's last, Belgrade performance. Karleuša initially planned to settle a lawsuit forcopyright infringement against the creators, but eventually gave up due to her "respect of the late singer".[38] In March 2016, she made a guest performance at theVodafone Park inIstanbul after her husband's team,Beşiktaş J.K. had won thenational championship.[39] On 28 June 2017, Karleuša presented her first releases since 2013; duets withAca Lukas andAzis, respectively titled "Bankina" and "Ostavljam te", which were performed in the live finale ofZvezde Granda.
At the beginning of August 2023, composer and husband of lateMarina Tucaković, Aleksandar Radulović Futa forced the closure of Karleuša'sYouTube channel for alleged copyright infringement of his late wife's work.[46] Subsequently, on 13 and 20 August, Karleuša released back-to-back her long-awaited studio albums, entitledAlpha andOmega, under JK Entrainment and in distribution deal withVirgin Music Group andTelekom Srbija.[47][48] On 18 September, the albums were promoted with a free entrance concert at theBelgrade Waterfront. The live show, which was broadcast on several regional TV channels, featured performances from the artists whom Karleuša collaborated with onAlpha andOmega – Milica Pavlović,Devito,Sajsi MC andMimi Mercedez.[49] Despite her previous album sales,Alpha andOmega did not achieve the same level of commercial success as their predecessors, and they received mixed reviews.[citation needed]
On 1 March 2024, Karleuša walked theVetements runway show during theParis Fashion Week.[50][51] Her runway walk inParis appeared on 18 September 2024 in the "Georgina in Paris" episode ofI Am Georgina.[52] On 19 October 2024, Karleuša kicked off her Alpha and Omega Tour in theJane Sandanski Arena inSkopje, North Macedonia.[53] However, Skopje remained the only stop of the tour.[54] On 25 November, Karleuša held a promo event atGalerija Belgrade for the launch of her fragrance and body mists, named JA after anOmega album track.[55] Upon announcement of Karleuša's show inKragujevac on 31 December 2024,[56] due to her pro-government stance, citizens of Kragujevac started a petition against it that accumulated over 8,000 signatures by 17 December.[57]
On New Year's Eve andNew Year's Day, Karleuša performed in Kragujevac andBor, respectively. Due to threats of riots byanti-government protesters, her Kragujevac show was protected by a large number ofpolice forces.[58] She claimed that the show had been attended by 70,000 people and chastised Radio Television of Serbia for not reporting about it. Karleuša's claims were supported by the pro-government tabloidInformer,[59] but were soon debunked after photos from the show were shared online and it became apparent that the attendance was low.[60] The Bor show was attended by an even lower number of people, estimated at around 1,000.[61] On 7 January 2025,Christmas Day according to theJulian calendar followed by theSerbian Orthodox Church,Prva Srpska Televizija aired a television specialGala veče s Jelenom Karleušom featuring Karleuša performing in front of theMuseum of Yugoslavia, accompanied by a symphony orchestra. The songs performed included a cover of "Vidovdan". Despite Karleuša dubbing it a celebration of 30th anniversary of her career,[62] according toNielsen Media Research, the special was seen by a lacklustre 6.13% of viewers.[63] In honor of the 20th anniversary ofDamir Handanović's career, Karleuša agreed to participate in his projectNovi zvuk for which he rearranged a number of hits from his repertoire; Karleuša herself covered "Jedno đubre obično", originally performed byKatarina Grujić in 2013.[64] The cover was released on 8 May 2025.[65] On 3 August 2025, Karleuša held a public concert inKopaonik, which theMunicipality of Raška paid 2.4 millionRSD for.[66] It attracted merely around 200 people, despite free entry.[67] On 15 August 2025, Karleuša and Željko Mitrović jointly announced that she would be joining the jury ofPinkove Zvezde.[68]
Between 1999 and 2000, Karleuša dated a businessman Zoran "Ćanda" Davidović. Ćanda was assassinated on 23 March 2000 in an ambush inNovi Sad while on his way back home from a funeral; the culprits were never identified. Karleuša was the one who identified Ćanda's body. She later dedicated herZa svoje godine album track "Balada za Zorana" to Ćanda.[69][70][71]
On 23 September 2004, Karleuša married Bojan Karić, who is known as the nephew of businessmanBogoljub Karić. They separated four months later and divorced in March the following year.[22][72]
On 28 June 2008, she married footballerDuško Tošić. The couple has two daughters.[22] In January 2022, Tošić received a 30-day restriction order under suspicion ofdomestic abuse following Karleuša's report on 7 January.[73][74] According to the media, Karleuša had already reported her husband forphysical assault in March 2020.[75] In both cases she decided not to press charges against him.[76] In September 2024, both Karleuša and Tošić confirmed in separate statements that they were filing for a divorce after years of separation.[77][78]
In December 2020, Karleuša said that she also holdsSlovenian passport because her mother was born inSlovenia.[79] Karleuša identifies as anatheist,[80] although she was baptized in anOrthodox church before her wedding to Karić.[11][81]
In addition, Karleuša has supported various other causes during her career. Following the2014 Southeast Europe floods, she supplied Serbian shelters with basic necessities for three consecutive days.[86] Same year, Karleuša and Tošić were amongst the few regional celebrities who financially contributed toALS research after participating in theIce Bucket Challenge.[87] In 2015, she performed atDonna Ares' charity concert for victims of cancer in theZetra Olympic Hall,Sarajevo.[88] In December 2018, Karleuša donated 100,000RSD toVK Partizan for pool-heating during winter seasons.[89]
In 2021, Vanja Knežević came into the public spotlight when she was disqualified fromZvezde Granda, after she shared insulting comments on Instagram about the then member of the jury, Karleuša. Couple of months prior to that, Vanja was performing on the competition, upon which two got into argument regarding Knežević's singing andphysical appearance, which Karleuša called "18 year old aunt". Karleuša received backlash due to her comments made for 18 year old contestant. After that, Karleuša announced on herInstagram post that she will be suing Knežević for threat, saying: "Because of the call to violence, as well as because of the statements that caused the brutal media lynching of me and my minor children, I decided to file a criminal complaint against theGrand candidate, Vanja Knežević."[108]
On 2 February 2025, the civic association Eko Straža made a petition toMeta Platforms, the owner ofInstagram, for shutting down Karleuša's Instagram account. As the reason for that, they accused Karleuša's Instagram posts and activities of promotinghate speech,harassment andmisinformation. Requiring 350,000 signatures, they received more than 270,500 within a day.[109] The account was banned on 10 February 2025.[110] This marked the second time Karleuša's Instagram was shut down or was under petition to shut down. In May 2024, Karleuša's Instagram account was shut down by 100,000 reports (see§ Political views).[111]
Karleuša created a new Instagram account on 15 May 2025, only days after announcing her intent to travel to the United States and meet Meta representatives in person with the ultimate goal of restoring her previous account.[112][113] However, on 5 June 2025, Karleuša's new account was shut down as well, this time for alleged purchasing two million fake followers, a number identical to that on her previous account, within a short period of time.[114]
Throughout the years, Karleuša has supported various political options and individuals. In a 1998Svet interview, she showed sympathies forSlobodan Milošević, stating that she found him the "most likeable". On the other hand, following the2000 downfall of Milošević, Karleuša has openly praisedZoran Đinđić for hisprogressive politics, but admitted that she recognized Đinđić's progressivism only afterhis 2003 assassination and that she had believed his opponents' propaganda prior to it. She also supportedČedomir Jovanović and was a guest on a panel organized by theLiberal Democratic Party in October 2010.[115][116][117]
In the initial years of the governance ofAleksandar Vučić, Karleuša openly opposed his politics and supported theprotests against him.[118] However, she eventually ended up endorsing Vučić for the2022 Serbian general election.[119] Moreover, in November 2021, Karleuša supported themining operation in theJadar region proposed byRio Tinto and theSerbian Government, in spite of thenational protests against it due to its potentially hazardous effects on the environment.[120] She also criticized the2023 Serbian protests held as a result of theBelgrade school shooting and joined the counter rally organized by the rulingSerbian Progressive Party (SNS) on 27 May 2023.[121][122] 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 ownedTelekom Srbija.[123] Opposition member of theNational Assembly,Đorđe Stanković, alleged that Karleuša would receive€1.5 million from Telekom forher forthcoming album and a talk show.[124] In December 2023, Karleuša revealed that her support for Vučić came after he was "the only one" who helped her with her mother's cancer treatment.[125] According to Jelena Manojlović ofNova.rs, Karleuša was paid around €300,000 in total from the city budgets ofPožarevac,Šabac,Ruma,Sombor,Subotica,Kikinda andKraljevo for her public concerts in those cities, which were held from July to September 2024 and which Manojlović claimed were organized due to Karleuša's support for the ruling SNS.[99] Irena Dedakin, also of Nova.rs, called Karleuša's "concert tour of city squares in Serbia" "an award for loyalty to the SNS regime".[61] In December 2024, she announced her plans to run forPresident of Serbia following the end of Vučić's term, "despite believing that he should rule forever".[126] During the same month, she criticized the2024–2025 Serbian anti-corruption protests, initiated by university students following theNovi Sad railway station canopy collapse, claiming that she "advocates thatuniversity education in Serbia should no longer be free" and calling for the students' arrests and the professors' incarceration.[127][128] On 15 August 2025, Karleuša's concert inLoznica was interrupted within an hour of commencing by the anti-government protesters. Due to the number of protesters being larger than those in attendance, the singer was forced to bede facto evacuated.[129]
In 2010, Serbian singerSvetlana "Ceca" Ražnatović began a legal action against Karleuša fordefamation after Karleuša had addressed Ceca in an open letter viaFacebook, accusing her of maintaining close ties with theZemun Clan through connections from her late husband,Željko "Arkan" Ražnatović, and of being involved in the 2000 assassination of Karleuša's then-boyfriend, Zoran "Ćanda" Davidović, who was alleged also to be connected to organized crime.[149] Furthermore, she addressed the rumors of Ceca purposely creating bad publicity for Karleuša through her acquaintances in the media and show business.[149] In February 2017, Ceca claimed victory over Karleuša, who was fined with €650 and ordered to cover Ceca's €900 court expenses.[150]
On 10 April 2018, Karleuša was interrogated under suspicion of spreading panic amidst the nationalmeasles epidemic, after she had publicly advocated for the freedom of choice when it comes toMMR vaccination.[151] 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.[152] While publicly receiving herCOVID-19 vaccine in May 2021, Karleuša accentuated that she is not "anti-vax" and encouragedSerbian people to also get vaccinated.[153][154]
At the beginning of 2019, Serbian media started reporting on Karleuša having an affair with Bosnian footballerOgnjen Vranješ, which she initially firmly denied.[155] The scandal subsequently erupted when nude photos of her started circulating the web and were eventually placed on the cover of every dailytabloid in Serbia.[156] Furthermore, Karleuša'sTwitter account gotsuspended after she hadposted private nude photos of Vranješ, which she claimed she had received from a female singer who had been involved with him.[157] (Karleuša created a new Twitter account in August 2023.) Due to her private life, between January and February 2019, Karleuša made 110 front-page headlines of the daily newspapers, where she was presented in mostly negative light.[158] Serbian Press Council publicly condemned tabloids for violating Serbian Codex of journalism, citing this incident as a prime example of the downfall ofSerbian media scene in recent years.[159] The State Secretary of theMinistry of Culture and Information, Aleksandar Gajović, declared on 16 January that the Ministry would submit infringement reports against Serbian tabloidsKurir,Informer,Alo! andSrpski telegraf for their sexually explicit front pages.[160] 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 asgender stereotypes in spite of reprimands from the Ministry.[161] 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.[162] By the end of 2023, despite her initial denial of the adultery allegations, Karleuša looked back on the incident by describing it as her "online mistake".[163]
In June 2019, Karleuša verbally and physically assaulted theKurirpaparazzo Vladimir Šporčić who was taking photos of her while she was visiting her mother's grave at theBežanija New Cemetery.Kurir released the video of the incident a day later.[164][165] Šporčić subsequently filed a criminal complaint against Karleuša. The Third Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade submitted an indictment to the court in March 2021; Karleuša was charged with the crime of "abuse and torture".[166] Karleuša sampled the voice of a news anchor reading a report about the Prosecutor's Office indictment submission in her 2023 "KarlyB*tch" music video,[167] as well as theAlpha album track "KarlyB*tch 2".
^Janković, I., Vučković, A. (10 January 2002)."Muzika Made in Serbia".NIN (in Serbian). Retrieved19 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)