Merima Njegomir(1953-2021)

Merima Kurtis, known professionally as Merima Njegomir, was a Serbian folk and sevdah singer. She began her career singing many interpretations of popular Bosnian folk songs, such as "Moj dilbere" and "Sejdefu majka budjase", which gained her popularity across Serbia and former Yugoslavia. Her career, spanning over four decades, includes 24 albums, and songs in over 20 languages, such as Hungarian, Hebrew, Italian, Greek, and Turkish. Her father was a Macedonian Albanian from Ohrid, while her mother was a Bosniak from Bijeljina. Njegomir is best known for her distinct mezzo-soprano vocal range and folk songs with influences from her native Zemun. She remains one of the most prominent names in Serbian music, with many songs achieving popularity in Eastern Europe, from Slovenia to Russia. One of her more notable songs is "Ivanova korita", which, as a 2005 release, was covered by numerous artists. The single was published yet again in 2012, as a rendition, which included various elements of modern turbo-folk. Its third release was as a part of the album "Pjesme iz Crne Gore". Although Njegomir is most famous for providing vocals for Serbian folk songs, her music style includes jazz, classical, pop, and Romani music.