Toše Proeski
Toše Proeski Тоше Проески | |
|---|---|
 Proeski at his last concert in Skopje on 5 October 2007, eleven days before his death. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Todor Proeski |
| Born | 25 January 1981 Prilep, SR Macedonia, Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia) |
| Died | 16 October 2007 (aged 26) Nova Gradiška, Croatia |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1996–2007 |
| Labels |
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Todor Proeski (Macedonian: Тодор Проески, pronounced [ˈtɔʃɛ ˈprɔɛski] ⓘ; 25 January 1981 – 16 October 2007) was a Macedonian singer and songwriter. Considered a top act of the local Macedonian and Balkan music scene, Proeski's music was popular across multiple countries in Southeast Europe. He was dubbed the "Elvis Presley of the Balkans" by BBC News. He died in a car crash on the Zagreb–Lipovac A3 highway, near Nova Gradiška in Croatia, on the morning of 16 October 2007, aged 26.[1]
Biography
Early years
Proeski was born in Prilep[2] and grew up in Kruševo[2] into an Aromanian family.[3][4] After his musical talent was discovered at the age of 12, he was chosen to perform at the popular children's song festival Zlatno Slavejče (eng.: Golden Nightingale) in Skopje, performing the song "Јаs i mојоt dеdо" in the Aromanian language.[5][6][7] This was his first public music performance; however, his successful career began in 1996 when he participated in the teenage music festival Melfest in Prilep.
Following this public exposure, he was acclaimed for his strong vocal capabilities. This led to his rise to fame when he participated in the music festival Makfest in
In the year 2000, Proeski participated in the Eurovision pre-selection for
The Serbian production house BK Sound purchased the rights to release Proeski's latest album in the other
Rise to regional stardom
In 2001, Proeski gained wider regional popularity in the countries of former-Yugoslavia, by placing second at the Sunčane Skale festival held on 12, 13 and 14 July in Herceg Novi with the song "Sonce vo tvoite rusi kosi" (English: The Sun in Your Blond Hair), written by G. Koprov, O. Nedelkovski and K. Ikonomov.[8]
After spending his time in recording studios in
To improve his singing, Proeski took classes in New York from maestro William Riley, who was also coach to famous
In 2004, MKTV chose Proeski to represent Macedonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey, and in February, he performed eight songs, where a jury, televoting, and his own opinion chose the song. The song "Angel si ti" ("You're an Angel") was chosen by all three. In April, Proeski released his album "Dan za nas" ("A Day For Us"), which featured the eight songs from the Eurovision selection in Macedonian.
In May, Proeski finished 14th with the song "
All eight songs were recorded in English, but only the winning song of the national final, "Life", was released. During the TV national final show, after each song was performed, a clip of the song was played in English to show viewers how it would sound if that song won the contest and was performed in English at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 final.
In 2004 Proeski was named a
.Božilak (Rainbow) was a compilation of 14 selected
His last album Igri bez granici (Macedonian title)/Igra bez granica (Serbo-Croatian title) ("Game Without Limits") was released all over ex-Yugoslavia in August 2007.
Apart from songs in Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian, he also recorded one song in Slovene, "Moja" ("Mine") in 2007, and one in Italian, "Aria" ("Air"), with Italian superstar, Gianna Nannini. The list of artists who collaborated with Proeski includes Anja Rupel, Antonija Šola, Bora Čorba, Karolina Gočeva, Esma Redžepova, Gianna Nannini, Goca Tržan, Grigor Koprov, Jeff Beck, Tony Cetinski, Željko Joksimović among other notable musicians. Prior to his death, he was a student in his final year in the solo singing department of the Skopje Music Academy.
Songwriting
Proeski also established himself as a songwriter. He wrote several hits for himself including "Ima li dan za nas" ("Is There A Day For Us"), "Slušaš li" ("Are You Listening"), "Malečka" ("Little One"), and "Polsko cveḱe" ("Field Flower"). In 2004, Proeski composed "Muza" ("Muse") for Martin Vučić, the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 representative for Macedonia. It became the title track for the young artist's second album. In interviews, Proeski stated that he had written over 100 songs but was waiting for the right moments to record them as they were still in demo form.
Toše's last concert was held on 5 October 2007 for the Primary Education Project for
The night before his death, Proeski gave his final interview to the Macedonian Television Station
Super Toše
Fight against evil, eliminate enemies, and the victory of the good were the main points of the comic "Super Toše", where the main character was based on Toše Proeski. It was made as a part of the humanitarian campaign under the motto "Superheroe of humanity". The main character has all virtues and characteristics of Toše in aim to build a fictional superhero who will hopefully be an idol of the young. "Toše is idealized, but with this, we want to give the young people faith that good can defeat the evil", said Oliver Romevski, the author of "Super Toše". "His job was not easy. As a weapon, he had his super voice with which he tried to eliminate evil and defeat his enemies, one of whom, was Mr. Pirate, the common enemy of the world, who was smuggling kids, drugs, and weapons."
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
On the forty-ninth edition of the annual
The song was written by Ilija Nikolovski, directed by Jovan Jovanov. On the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, his performance was powerful and energetic together with the background vocals, who made an art show on the stage. He managed to reach the finale, where he got 49 points and ended up in fourteenth place.
After the event, he admitted that he was not satisfied with the performance, attributing it to what he saw as Eurovision voting, being based on stage direction as well as the song itself. However, in his home country he was given a warm welcome on his return.
Second big concert in Skopje
On 23 June 2006, he performed his second solo concert at the City Stadium in Skopje. The spectacular concert started with the dance group from Belgrade, in the rhythm of Toše's band, Blue Funky Individuals.
The stadium was filled with his fans who sang along with him his biggest hits Po tebe, Rani na usnite, Gromovi na dusa, transl. mk – transl. Koj li ti grize obrazi, Polsko cveke,..., as well as the songs from his previous albums Vo kosi da ti spijam, Lejdi, Izlazi me, Sonce vo tvoite rusi kosi, Daleku od mene, Angel si ti (Life),....
In the middle of the concert, he was joined by the ethnic singer Bilja Krstić and they performed the Macedonian folk song Jovano Jovanke in a duet. At the end of the performance, Bilja continued alone on the stage with her big hit Puce puska.
The concert lasted till midnight, but his fans didn't let him leave, so he got back on the stage and performed Po tebe again, alongside Zajdi zajdi, the Macedonian folk song.
Croatian Radio Festival
On 9 June 2007, Toše for the Croatian Radio Festival with his song Veži me za sebe won a Grand Prix award in the category for pop-rock and urban music with 16.589 points.
Third and final concert in Skopje
Under the motto "Education is everyone's responsibility", the pop star Tose Proeski on 5 October 2007 at 07:30 pm, performed his spectacular concert, once again on the City Stadium in Skopje, supported by the organization
"It is an honor to be a part of a project like this and part of big plans for education in Macedonia. Every concert of mine is dear to me, but the charity concerts are special to me, and they will stay with me forever. If we can improve the education in Macedonia we will have a healthier society", said Toše.
At the press conference, he made a statement that he will feel like a Macedonian forever, and he will never leave his country. "Success is always tied with evil because that is in the nature of humans. I hope that I get the support from everyone to fight the evil because I can't do it on my own.", said Toše.
As guest stars, on his final concert, Toše was joined by Adrian Gaxha, Bojan Marović and Antonija Šola.
After the end of the concert, Toše and his band were given statuettes of Mother Teresa by the foundation of the same name as a thank you for the humanitarian work. Toše gave his statuette to his mother Dominika, who taught him about the importance of humanitarian work since he was young. Everything ended with a magnificent firework display in honor of Toše.
Best lines from his concert that will never be forgotten were "Give me a starry sky" (when he asked his fans to turn on the flashlights on their phones).
The concert was aired on 6 January 2008 on A1 Televizija at 03:00 pm – 07:00 pm.
Death
During the early morning of 16 October 2007, at approximately 6:20 am, Proeski died in a car accident on the
Proeski's body arrived at midnight in
After his death, the government of the Republic of Macedonia, gave him the title "Honorable citizen of Macedonia".[11]
State funeral
The government organized an official
Numerous websites,
Since his death, each year on 25 January Mile Stojkoski, as a symbol of grief and respect, runs a marathon in his wheelchair from Prilep to Proeski's grave in Kruševo. Since 2008 Stojkoski ran an additional long distance marathon starting from Kruševo in honor of Toše Proeski.[19] These two notable Macedonians both received the Mother Teresa Award for their humanitarian accomplishments, and shared a close friendship.[20][21]
An online petition was held for a tribute to be paid to Toše Proeski at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. It gathered over 13,900 signings however it was not honored. Tamara Todevska, singer of the Macedonian Eurovision entry of this year said that their entry was dedicated to a few people including their "angel who is up there watching over us".
On 25 April 2011 "Memorial House Todor Proeski" has been opened in Kruševo. At World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2011, in Barcelona, the building won the award "People's Choice Award, by OpenBuildings" as the most beautiful one in the world.
Tribute concerts
On 5 October 2008, the anniversary of Proeski's last concert before his death, a tribute concert was held in Skopje. Over twenty singers from various Balkan countries performed.[22]
A documentary about the work of Toše Proeski was released on 12 February 2009 in cinemas all over Macedonia.
Another concert was held on 24 January 2010, the day before what would have been Toše's 29th birthday.
A memorial concert for Toše was held on 2 November 2018. It included many popular Balkan musicians and was held at the SCBT Arena.
National football stadium
On 9 April 2019, North Macedonia's government made a decision to rename the sports stadium "Philip II" in the capital city of Skopje in honour of Toše.[23] The stadium's new name is "Toše Proeski National Arena".
Gallery
Immediately after Toše Proeski's death was announced, the citizens of
Discography
Albums
- Nekade vo noḱta(1999)
- Sinot Božji(2000)
- Ako me pogledneš vo oči / Ako me pogledaš u oči (2002)
- Den za nas / Dan za nas (2004)
- Po tebe / Pratim te(2005)
- Božilak (2006)
- Igri bez granici / Igra bez granica (2007)
- The Hardest Thing (2009)
Compilations
- The Platinum Collection (2008)
- The Ultimate Collection (2009)
- Toše i prijatelji (2010)
- Toše: Poslednji pozdrav (2011)
- S ljubavlju od Tošeta (2011)
- The Platinum Collection (6 CD Box) (2012)
- The Best Of (2013)
- Secret Place (2018)
Filmography
- Zabranjena Ljubavone episode #1.402 Mladic Bosko (2006)
- Kako Ubiv Svetec Tose (2004)
- Nad Lipom 35 one episode #2.2 Himself (2007)
Singles chart positions
His chart toppers include:
| Year | Single | Translation | Chart positions[citation needed] | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MKD
|
SCG
|
CRO | BIH
|
TUR | ZAF | MTV Adria
| ||||
| 1999 | "Tajno moja" | "My Secret" | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sinot Božji
|
| 2003 | "Ako me pogledneš vo oči/Ako me pogledaš u oči" | "If You Look into My Eyes" | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | Ako me pogledneš vo oči/Ako me pogledaš u oči |
| "Soba za taga/Soba za tugu" | "Room of Sorrow" | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | ||
| "Magija/Čini" (feat. Esma Redžepova) | "Spells" | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | ||
| 2004 | " Life "
|
— | 1 | 2 | — | — | 25 | 49 | — | Den za nas/Dan za nas |
| "Čija si" | "To Whom Do You Belong" | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 10 | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "Žao mi je" | "I Am Sorry" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Po tebe/Pratim te |
| "Po tebe/Pratim te" | "After You/I'm Following You" | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||
| "Koj li ti grize obrazi/Ko ti to grize obraze" | "Who's Biting Your Cheeks" | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | ||
| 2007 | "Srce nije kamen" | "The Heart Isn't Made of Stone" | — | — | 1 | — | 3 | — | — | Igri bez granici/Igra bez granica |
| "Volim osmijeh tvoj" (feat. Antonija Šola) | "I Love Your Smile" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||
| "Nikoj kako tebe ne baknuva/Ubijaš me usnama" | "No One Kisses Like You/You Are Killing Me with Your Lips" | 1 | — | 1 | — | 3 | — | — | ||
| "Veži me za sebe" | "Bind Me to Yourself" | — | — | 1 | — | 4 | — | — | ||
| " Igra Bez Granica "
|
"Game Without Borders" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "The Hardest Thing" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | The Hardest Thing | |
| "My Little One" (feat. his nephew Kristijan) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2010 | "Još uvijek sanjam da smo zajedno" | "I Still Dream That We Are Together" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | |
- An em dash (—) indicates that the single did not chart.
See also
- Music of Macedonia
- Music School "Toše Proeski"
References
- ^ a b Staff writer, Macedonia's government declares day of mourning over singer death. FOCUS News Agency. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ a b Biography at Toše Proeski's Official Site Archived 18 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 0810862956, p. 234.
- ISBN 1780356285, p. 38.
- ^ Ѕвездите ќе пеат за "Златно славејче", Дамјана Ивановска, Време, број 2134, 14.12.2010. Archived 19 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Тоше Проески – А1 Телевизија Archived 24 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tose Proeski Timeline, Legacy & History
- ^ "Голем успех на македонските ѕвезди во Херцег Нови" [Big Success of the Macedonian Stars in Herceg Novi]. Dnevnik (in Macedonian). 16 July 2001. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ Hrvatska radiotelevizija/Croatian radiotelevision Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Poginuo Toše Proeski, tijelo prebačeno u Makedoniju – Dnevnik.hr Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Shocked Macedonians mourn pop star Proeski". Reuters. 16 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ Official website of the US embassy in Macedonia Archived 19 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ USAID Macedonia Statement Archived 20 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Erwan Fouéré, EU Special Representative and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission Statement". Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2007.
- ^ Macedonia will bid last farewell to Tose on Wednesday – Makfax agency, Tuesday, 16.10.2007
- ^ Government of Republic of Macedonia official site Archived 20 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Toše Proeski's funeral – BBC in Macedonian (in Macedonian)
- ^ "Ќе се гради спомен обележјето на Тоше Проески" [A memorial to Tose Proeski will be built]. ТВ ТЕРА (in Macedonian). 16 August 2019. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ "Миле Стојкоски". www.milestojkoski.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Интервјуа - ТЕЛОТО НИ БЕШЕ ПРЕМРЗНАТО, НО ТОПЛО ВО ДУШАТА". Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ^ "Toši U Čast! - Mile Stojkoski Na Put Za Kruševo".
- ^ Concert in Tribute to Macedonian Pop Icon Unites Balkans
- ^ https://makfax.com.mk/top/%d1%81%d1%82%d0%b0%d0%b4%d0%b8%d0%be%d0%bd%d0%be%d1%82-%d1%84%d0%b8%d0%bb%d0%b8%d0%bf-%d0%b2%d1%82%d0%be%d1%80%d0%b8-%d0%bf%d1%80%d0%b5%d0%b8%d0%bc%d0%b5%d0%bd%d1%83%d0%b2%d0%b0/ The stadium "Philip II" will be renamed to "National Arena Tose Proeski"
- ^ On.net.mk, Macedonia
- ^ Dnevni Avaz, Bosnia and Herzegovina Archived 20 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
External links
Media related to Toše Proeski at Wikimedia Commons- Toše Proeski at AllMusic
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