Milan Popov on Pinkove Zvezde: Karleusa Says He Has No Clue

Jelena Karleusa spoke out on September 26 about the performance of Milan Popov, the son of singer Stoja, who appeared on Pinkove Zvezde as a contestant from Elita 10. Karleusa sits on the show’s jury and watched Milan’s performance live from the stage.

Milan was brought onto Pinkove Zvezde from the White House, on a decision by the Elita production team. Support that day, also arranged by the production, came from Bebi Dol. For his mentor in the new competition, he picked Viki Miljkovic rather than Karleusa, who sits on the panel.

Karleusa first described the impression Milan made when he stepped on stage. “I saw Stoja’s son, and I was truly thrilled. Bebi Dol was there too, I got so excited, she’s really interesting,” she said.

She had nothing but praise for Stoja, while for her son she offered both a compliment and a criticism. “I love Stoja a lot, her son still has plenty of work to do on himself, but he’s very talented,” Karleusa said, before immediately adding what she thought of Milan’s choice of mentor.

“If he had picked me, I would really be talking him up, but this way, let Viki deal with it. He picked Viki as his mentor, the guy has no clue. He should have picked me so he could become a star, but instead…”, Karleusa said, laughing.

Milan remains a contestant on Elita, and after his Pinkove Zvezde performance he summed up his impressions there for his fellow housemates. He also revealed how much the song he performed had cost him.

“The competition itself made the biggest impression on me. Thank you for the wonderful compliments. I needed around 10,000 euros for the song, I couldn’t raise that on my own,” Stoja’s son said, adding who is currently helping him the most.

In recent weeks Milan has also been in the spotlight over his personal life while on Elita. We reported on the end of his relationship with Radojka, a fellow Elita 10 contestant, after which he claimed she had taken advantage of him financially. Now, with both Elita and Pinkove Zvezde underway, he is once again facing criticism, this time over his choice of mentor rather than his choice of partner.

Karleusa has never hidden her fondness for Stoja, her longtime colleague on the music scene, while she spoke more cautiously about her son, mixing praise for his talent with remarks on what she believes he still needs to learn. Her comment about Viki as mentor changed nothing about the competition itself: Milan remains part of Pinkove Zvezde with the mentor he chose himself, while he keeps competing for the win on Elita.