Nina Kraljić is a Croatian singer-songwriter and voice actress. She is known for winning season one of The Voice – Najljepši glas Hrvatske and for being a finalist in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Lighthouse". Kraljić is the winner of the Croatian Porin award for Croatia's best new act of 2016. Her debut albumSamo was released on September 30, 2016.
Life and career
Early life and career
Nina Kraljić was born in Lipovljani, Croatia on 4 April 1992 to Željko and Irena Kraljić. She has an 8-year-old younger sister Tena. Kraljić's first TV appearance was in 2009 when she entered the Croatian version of Got Talent. She placed tenth in the final stage of the competition. When Kraljić was 14, she left her family to develop her musical expression. She studied opera in music academy and Croatian Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Rijeka.
2015–present: ''Samo''
Kraljić competed in the first season of Croatian version of The Voice – Najljepši glas Hrvatske. During her participation she performed the song "Beneath Your Beautiful", "Što Te Nema", and the Macedonian folk song "Zajdi, Zajdi, Jasno Sonce". Her voice was also recognized by Jacques Houdek, who mentored her to victory, with Kraljić receiving roughly 1 million votes in the final round. She later released her debut single "Zaljuljali Smo Svijet" in June 2015, a modern ballad with an ethnic background. On 24 February 2016, it was announced by HRT that Kraljić would represent Croatia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. On 9 March 2016, she released her 2016 contest song "Lighthouse". On 17 March 2016, Kraljić won the prestigious Croatian music award :sh:Porin |Porin for the best upcoming artist in Croatia for 2015. She led Croatia to the Eurovision Song Contest final after for the first time after 7 years, coming 10th in the First Semi-Final with 133 points 23rd in the Grand Final with 73 points. Her debut album Samo was released on 30 September 2016. Kraljić presented herself as a songwriter with two songs "Lullaby" and "Lay You Down" in English. On 19 August 2016, she announced a collaboration with the Croatian composer Matija Dedić on the song "Što Te Nema" also featured on the album.
