Background and career
Severina Vučković (born 21 April 1972), better known mononymously as Severina, is a Croatian singer-songwriter and actress. She is widely regarded as one of the most prominent, popular and influential artists in the Balkan region and former Yugoslavia. Born in Split, she rose to fame in the late 1980s with a series of commercially successful songs that established her as a leading figure in Croatian pop music. Known for her distinctive blend of pop, folk, jazz and dance elements, as well as her expressive vocal style, music videos and dynamic stage presence, Severina quickly built a large and devoted fan base across Southeast Europe. She further expanded her international recognition when she represented Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, held in Athens, Greece, with the song "Moja štikla", finishing 12th. Severina is considered one of the most popular figures in Croatia and its popular culture, having collaborated with numerous artists including Jala Brat, Ministarke, Azis, Marina Tucaković, Saša Matić, Miligram, Petar Grašo, Kemal Monteno, Željko Bebek, Crvena Jabuka, Goran Bregović, Boris Novković, Lana Jurčević, Danijela Martinović and many others. Many of her songs were written by her including: "Ostavljena", "Da si moj", "Ja samo pjevam", "Ajde ajde zlato moje", "Mili Moj", "Pogled ispod obrva", "Djevojka sa sela", "Ante", "Ko me tjero", "Adam i Seva", "Parfem" and others. Over the course of her career, Severina has released 12 studio albums and hit singles, many of which have topped regional charts and become enduring staples of Balkan popular music. In addition to her music career, she has appeared in films, television productions, and theater, further solidifying her status as a multifaceted entertainer. In 2006, the Croatian weekly Nacional listed her among the 100 most influential Croats, calling her "the only bona fide Croatian celebrity", as well as "Queen of Croatian music". She won the award "Zlatna ptica" for the best-selling artist of the decade in Croatia. In 2015, she was the most searched person on Google in Croatia and Slovenia. She is the only person in Croatia to accumulate more than one billion views on her YouTube channel.
Severina was born in Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia on 21 April 1972, the youngest daughter of Ana (who was from Drniš) and Sever Vučković. Aljoša Vučković is her uncle. She also has two older sisters, Zdenka and Marijana. Severina has had a love for music and stage performance from an early age. When asked how did she got her name "Severina", she responded by saying: "My father wanted me to be Nataša, but my mom adored my father whose name was Sever, and my grandfather was giving his children names by Cardinal directions" (Serbo-Croatian: Sever - North) From a young age, she was interested in music, dance, acting and the piano. She started singing as a girl in KUD Mozaik, which was led by Lepa Smoje, wife of Miljenko Smoje, who immediately recognized Severina as a future star. Lepa Smoje assigned her the role of Carmela in the musical "Frane Štrapalo". Lepa Smoje once said: "The moment I saw her on the stage of the Frano Štrapalo musical, I said: this little girl is a born star" Later, she started singing in the Treća smena group and won first prizes at competitions, one of which was from the Student summer, where she was declared the best singer. After finishing elementary school, Severina enrolled in the Josip Hatze High School of Music in Split, but she stopped her education in order to devote herself to a musical career.
Severina's career was launched in the late 1980s when she began performing in local festivals and competitions. In 1982, in Split, at the Dječji prvi pljesak (Children's First Applause) competition, Severina won with the song Moja Milena. In 1987, at the Croatian amateur singer competition in Daruvar, Severina won with Josipa Lisac's song O jednoj mladosti ('About one youth'). One of her first major performances came in 1989, when she was 17 in her hometown of Split. In Hotel Marjan, she performed "Tata čuješ li muziku" ("Dad can you hear the music"). She performed at various festivals, and in 1990 she moved to Zagreb where she won the radio competition "Demo X" at Radio Zagreb, which won her an opportunity to record her first album. Severina started playing music professionally in 1990. In July 1991, she performed "Vodi me na ples" ("Take me to dance") at Split Festival. She released her first self-titled album called "Severina" in 1990. After meeting Zrinko Tutić in 1992, Severina recorded her second self-titled album "Severina", released by Croatia Records. The album contained songs like "Vodi me na ples" ("Take me to dance") and "Kad si sam" ("When you’re alone"), "Idemo se ljubiti" ("Let's kiss"), which quickly won the hearts of the audience and became hits. During the collaboration with Tutić, she also recorded the albums "Dalmatinka", "Trava zelena", "Moja stvar" and "Djevojka sa sela". She signed a six-year contract with the production company Tutico and Zrinko Tutić, who introduced her to Croatian singer and songwriter Gibonni. At the singer's urging, Zrinko gave Gibonni the chance to record the song "Zlatne godine" (Golden Years), which he had written. In addition to the two of them, she also collaborated with Dino Dvornik.
That same year she won the first prize at the Zagreb Festival with the song "Sklopi oči muzika dok svira" (Close Your Eyes While the Music Is Playing). She soon became the host of the show Top Cup on Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), which she hosted for a year, and at the end of the year she went on her first tour in Australia. In 1993, Severina with her previous producer Zrinko Tutić recorded the album "Dalmatinka" (Dalmatian girl) for the same record company, which brought her great popularity. The title song can be considered one of Severina's signature songs. The leading song from her third studio album, Dalmatinka (Dalmatian Woman), became a sensation and captured the emotions of many at the time of release. In the song, Severina sang about her love for her native Dalmatia, the color of white and Virgin Mary. The album had a total of 10 songs among which were "Ne bi' ti oprostila" (I Wouldn't Forgive You), "Ne spavaj mala moja" (Don't Sleep, My Baby Girl; Bijelo Dugme cover), "Paloma nera" (Black Dove), "Ljubi me noćas" (Kiss me tonight) and others. Both "Paloma nera" and the title track became number one hits on the national top list, and a very successful tour of Croatia and Slovenia followed.
In 1995, the album "Trava zelena" (Green Grass) was released. Although it did not have as many hits as the previous ones, it was commercially successful. It contains ten tracks: "Trava zelena" (Green grass), "Vatra i led" (Fire and ice), "Mr. Taliman", "Bože moj" (My God), "Bambola", "Lude godine" (Crazy Years), "Poželi me" (Wish for me), "Pruži mi ruku" (Give me your hand), "Ludo moja" (Crazy mine), "Ti si srce moje" (You are my heart) a duet with Žera from Crvena Jabuka. Other collaborators on the album were Faruk Buljubasic, Nenad Ninčević, Rajko Dujmić, and for the first time Severina herself is credited as a writer on three songs. The title track was the most popular song of the year and Severina's primacy on the Croatian media platform rose as a result. It was another collaboration with Tutić. Her fifth studio album was Moja stvar (My Thing), released on 5 November 1996. The album was influenced by rock sounds. The title track was written and composed by Severina herself. To promote the album, Severina held a sold-out concert on 14 November 1996 in Dom Sportova venue in Zagreb. She opened the concert with the song "Moja stvar" (My thing). In Zrcalo interview on HRT, when asked why the album was not dance influenced, she responded by saying: "Why should we separate music on only dance and pop? ". Her biggest breakthrough at the time was in 1998 when she released the album Djevojka sa sela (Girl from a village), which was composed and written partly by Tutić and partly by Severina. Severina wrote six songs. The title track is one of her biggest hits and was used by the Croatia national football team as their unofficial anthem during their campaign at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Djevojka sa sela was her last album composed by Tutić and his production company Tutico. They parted ways following its release due to a contract dispute.
In early 1999, Severina went on a second tour of Australia, and in July of the same year she performed at the Melodies of Croatian Jadran (MHJ) festival with Đorđe Novković's song 'Da si moj'. She also released a new album Ja samo pjevam, which returned her to the top of all charts and from which the song 'Ante' stood out. Severina cut off her long hair and started wearing more provocative tops. Severina's seventh studio album, Ja samo pjevam (I'm just singing), was a continuation of the pop sounds heard on her previous albums. It was released in 1999 by Croatia Records, It had a total of 10 songs. The composer of this album was Đorđe Novković with whom Severina started working on her next album. Ja samo pjevam is Severina's best selling album till this day, with more than 55,000 copies sold only in Croatia. The album includes a cover of the song "Dodirni mi kolena" (Touch my knees) by Serbian group Zana. Four singles from the album "Da si moj" (If you were mine), "Ante", "Ja samo pjevam" and "Dodirni mi koljena" were released. The album was not supported by an indoor tour, but on 6 July 2000, she held a solo concert at the Stadion Stari plac in Split in front of more than 20,000 people. Following the success of her album Pogled ispod obrva (The Look Underneath the Eyebrows) which was released on 15 May 2001, Severina's 2002 concert tour and live album Virujen u te (I Believe in You) won her an award for best selling live album along with a nomination for hit song of the year. Virujen u Te was her first major tour during which she performed in most of the big cities on the Balkans including Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ljubljana, Slovenia and confirmed her status as one of the most popular Croatian music artists. In 2001, she performed again at the MHJ with the song ‘Ajde, ajde, zlato moje’, and at the end of the year she went on her third tour of Australia. She, along with Dorđe Novković, was the primary author on that album. With the song ‘Virujen u te’, she won the MHJ that same year and won the Grand Prix, and the album ‘Pogled ispod obrva’ became the best-selling album of her career. The album has sold over 30,000 copies in Croatia. In 2002, she released the live album "Virujen u te (najbolje uživo!)", which was later awarded the award for the best-selling live album. ‘Pogled ispod obrva’ was nominated for album of the year at the Porin discography award, and the song ‘Virujen u te’ for hit of the year.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
