Sara Jovanović

Born on 29 October 1993 in Rome, Italy, Sara was raised bilingually in Serbian and Italian as a single child to kindergarten teacher, Jasna Jovanović and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, Saša Jovanović.[1][2] She displayed interest in music and performance from an early age, practicing ballet and hip-hop dance. Jovanović cites late 90's and early 00's performers like Britney Spears, TLC, Jennifer Lopez and Destiny's Child as her biggest influences in music.[3] In 2009, the family eventually permanently relocated to Belgrade, where Sara graduated from the Third Grammar School.[2] She subsequently studied Italian language at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology.[2]

Moje 3, with Jovanović on the right, performing at a dress rehearsal of the 2013 Eurovision

Jovanović began her music career in 2011 by winning a contest organized by Serbian magazine Story with covers she had been posting on YouTube.[4] As a reward she received a chance to record her first song, titled "Zauvek" (Forever), which she performed on the late-night talk show Veče sa Ivanom Ivanovićem.[5] The following year, Jovanović was also featured on four songs released by rapper MCN for his self-titled debut album.

In 2012, she auditioned for the second season of Serbian televised singing competition Prvi glas Srbije, singing "Halo" in front of judges Vlado Georgiev, Aleksandra Radović and Saša Milošević Mare. After progressing through the "bootcamp" phase, mentored by Radović, Jovanović went on to the live shows, where she was noted for her showmanship, and thus was cited as the "new energy on the music scene" by Serbian Cosmopolitan.[6] After nine weeks of competing, Jovanović reached the final where she finished as the second runner-up, behind Nevena Božović and Mirna Radulović.

In February the following year it was announced that the three finalists from Prvi glas Srbije would form a girl group called Moje 3 in order to compete at the 2013 Beosong music festival. At the beginning of March, they performed "Ljubav je svuda" (Love Is All Around), winning with 42,5% of the public votes and becoming Serbian representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.[7] During the first semi-finals of Eurovision, which took place on May 14, Moje tri performed as the last act of the evening, eventually placing 11th with 46 points, and thus failing to progress to the final.[8][9] Furthermore, they received the "Barbara Dex Award" for the worst dressed act.[10]

Following the Eurovision, Jovanović pursued a solo career with "Ujutru" (In the Morning), released under IDJTunes, in collaboration with Marko Mandić, which was featured on his debut EP. Between September and December, she appeared on the first Serbian series of Your Face Sounds Familiar, winning in the 10th episode with the performance of "Unconditionally" as Katy Perry.[11] In the final on December 28, she took second place, behind the season winner, Ana Kokić. At the beginning of 2014, Jovanović covered "Provokacija" (Provocation) by Montenegrin singer Boban Rajović for the movie Mali Budo.[12] In June, Sara released her debut solo single, titled "Ko je ovde ko" (Who Is Here Who), again under IDJTunes.[13] In March 2015, she released ballad "Mahovina" (Moss), and later in July 2016 reggae-infused "Probaj" (Try It).[14][15] Jovanović reunited with Marko Mandić in October 2016 to cover Moby Dick's "Troje" (The Three) for the film Jesen samuraja.[16] She portrayed Cinderella as a main role in a musical, which premiered at Belgrade's Sava Centre on December 25, and later toured in theaters around Serbia.[17]

In 2017, Jovanović signed with Belgrade-based hip-hop record label Bassivity Music, releasing her electropop single "Nemam vremena za to" (I Don't Have Time for That) in May, produced by Coby.[18] The song's music video has accumulated over ten million views on YouTube, becoming her highest grossing single to date. Same year Jovanović also collaborated with Universal Music Serbia for Tuborg GreenFest on the single "Samo ti" (Only You), which samples Major Lazer's "Tuborg Beat" courtesy of Mad Decent.[19] By the end of 2017, she was nominated for the "Best Adria Act" at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards.[20] In May the following year, she released "Lava".[21]

Sara Jo performing at the 2021 Belgrade Pride

Single "Bez sna" (No Sleep) was dropped at the beginning of 2019, followed by "Mili, mili" (Honey, Honey) in July.[22][23] During the summer of 2019, Sara embarked on a regional tour, performing at music festivals such as the Exit.[24] Same year she starred in several episodes of the popular Serbian television series Sinđelići.[25] She also served as a mentor in a singing contest organized by Coca-Cola, called Discovered by Coke. Her contestant, Predrag Simić, with whom she also released a song, titled "Kao nikad pre" (Like Never Before), as a part of the competition, was eventually proclaimed the winner.[26]

In January 2020, Jovanović performed a medley of her hits at the 2020 Music Awards Ceremony. Her single "Kaži mi" (Tell Me) was released in April the same year.[27] In July, she covered "Neko te ima noćas" by Van Gogh as a part of the Radio S' project Zvezde pevaju zvezde (Stars Sing Stars).

The following year, Sara voiced Lola Bunny in Serbian adaptation of Space Jam: A New Legacy. Then in July, she collaborated with singer Edita on their duet "Varalica" (Cheater).[28] In October, she released the lead single "Divlja" (Wilde) from her upcoming debut album.[29] At the end of 2021, it was announced by the administration of Belgrade that Sara Jo, alongside Marija Šerifović and Jelena Karleuša, will performer in front of National Assembly of Serbia for the New Year's Eve.[30]

In addition to her music, Sara Jo has been recognized for her fashion style.[31] She has served as a trademark face for Adidas in Serbia since the beginnings of her career with the single "Ko je ovde ko" (2014).[32][33]

In November 2013, Jovanović collaborated with artists Tropico Band and Dženan Lončarević, alongside songwriter Andrej Ilić on a charity single, titled "Molio sam anđele" (I Begged The Angels). The proceeds from the single went to the treatment for a twenty-two year old woman suffering from bone cancer.[34]

She has also been noted for using her fame as a platform to advocate for LGBT rights.[35] Jovanović held her first performance at the Belgrade Pride in September of 2019, when she received the title of the Pride's "godmother".[36] Throughout 2021, she had been advocating for the legalization of same-sex partnerships in Serbia and performed at the closing ceremony of the WorldPride event in Copenhagen alongside Serbian drag queens Alex Electra and Dita Von Bill.[37][38]

In 2020, Jovanović held a speech at the TEDxMasarikova conference in Zenica, in which she reflected on personal struggles regarding fame.[39] Since 2021, she has also served as an ambassador of the Council of Europe against hate speech.[40]