Ljuba Alicic: I Can Count Serbia's Singers on One Hand
At his tavern in Sabac during the Sabac Fair, the 70 year old singer rated his fellow performers: he praises Ceca, Karleusa and Prijovic, but says Desingerica is a showman, not a star.
Ljuba Alicic (70) sat down with Kurir at his own tavern in Sabac during the Sabac Fair and gave an unfiltered rundown of his fellow performers on the Serbian pop folk scene. Few of today’s singers, he says, actually deserve the praise.
“I have to tell you, in Serbia I can count the singers on my fingers.”
The tavern where the conversation took place wasn’t picked at random. Alicic says it’s where his own career began.
“This is the first tavern where I started singing. I was 13 years old.”
What bothers the singer most, he says, is that looks and spectacle now matter more than the voice.
“Nobody today even knows how to sing, man! How can it not matter whether you know how to sing? So what matters then? Taking your clothes off? Spinning around and around and people supposedly loving that? What is it you people actually love, what’s wrong with you? Come on, appreciate quality for once.”
Asked whether he’d ever sit on the judging panel of a major TV singing competition, Alicic says he has been invited, but that producers likely steer clear of him because he won’t soften his opinions.
“They don’t dare put me on it, because I won’t praise anyone who doesn’t deserve praise.”
He draws a clear line between the younger women on the scene. For Aleksandra Prijovic, there’s no debate at all.
“Aleksandra Prijovic is a huge star. What is there to like or not like, when she’s already proven it.”
Jelena Karleusa holds a special place for him too, mainly because, in his view, she speaks her mind openly.
“I truly adore and respect her.”
“I love that she says things to your face, just like I do.”
He feels much the same about Ceca Raznatovic, a friend of his for years.
“Ceca is first of all my friend, my pal. And she really knows how to sing. I love singers who sing with heart, I love quality, and that’s her. She has a beautiful voice, she sings with heart, she has emotion, charisma, she has it all. She kills it, believe me.”
His take on Desingerica is different. He says he respects him, but doesn’t see him as a star.
“To me, he’s not a star. All credit to him, I respect him, but that’s just not how I judge it. He’s more of a showman. I respect what he does, people have gotten used to loving it, and let them keep loving it.”
By the end of the conversation, Alicic circled back to Ceca, Aleksandra Prijovic and Jelena Karleusa as the singers he rates highest, saying what sets them apart is a clear sense of what they actually want from their careers, not just fame and popularity for their own sake.
As for the fair itself, in the town by the Sava, he made no secret of enjoying himself.
“You know how it is in Sabac, by the Sava, everything’s cheerful, everything’s great. It’s really a good time here.”
