From a Yugoslav to a Balkan Star and Back

Abstract

In this article, I deal with the public figure of the singer Lepa Brena in the context of the cultural and music politics in socialist Yugoslavia and in the war and post-war times, by focusing on her transition from a “genuine” Yugoslav star, through the period in which the Yugoslav label was not desirable, to the singer’s recent transformations in which she has been involved in the process of commodifying Yugonostalgia for repositioning her public figure in a new context.

Keywords

• yugoslav popular music
• politics of music
• lepa brena
• yugonostalgia