| Name | Toše Proeski Тоше Проески |
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| Background | solo_singer |
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| Birth name | Todor Proeski |
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| Alias | Toše |
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| Born | January 25, 1981 in Prilep, Macedonia, (then SFR Yugoslavia) |
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| Died | October 16, 2007Nova Gradiška, Croatia |
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| Instrument | Keyboard, guitar, piano |
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| Genre | Pop, Macedonian Traditional music, Classical music, Rock, Classic metal |
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| Occupation | Singer/songwriter |
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| Years active | 1996–2007 |
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| Url | www.toseproeski.info |
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Todor Toše Proeski ( ; January 25, 1981 – October 16, 2007) was a
Macedonian multi-genre singer, songwriter and actor. He was popular across the entire
Balkan area and further north, and locally he was considered a top act of the
Macedonian music scene. Proeski was known for his strong vocal performances and trademark quote "Ve sakam site" (I Love You All), and was once dubbed "
Elvis Presley of the
Balkans" by
BBC News. He died in a car crash in
Croatia on October 16, 2007.
Biography
Early years
Proeski, was born in
Prilep,
SFR Yugoslavia (today
Macedonia), to Dominika and Nikola Proeski from
Kruševo, his hometown, 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 awarded for his strong vocal capabilities. This led to his rise to fame when he participated in the music festival Makfest in Štip with the song "Pusti Me" ("Let Me Go") in 1997. His fanbase quickly grew and he continued to make use of festivals, such as SkopjeFest and OhridFest, as a platform for promotion and publicity. Proeski collaborated with one of Macedonia’s acclaimed lyricists and composers, Grigor Koprov, to produce some of the greatest hits of his career such as "Usni na Usni" ("Lips over Lips") and "Sonce vo Tvoite Rusi Kosi" ("Sun in Your Golden Hair"). In 1999, he released his debut album, Nekade vo Nokta (Somewhere in the Night), which contained eleven tracks. In the summer of the same year, Proeski performed his first solo concert in Skopje.
In 2000, Proeski participated in the Eurovision pre-selection for Macedonia in SkopjeFest. He sang "Solzi Pravat Zlaten Prsten" ("Tears Make a Golden Ring"), which won the televoting from the public but he finished third overall, behind Karolina Gočeva and the winners XXL. During that period, he began recording the tracks for his second album, Sinot Božji (The Son of God), which was promoted by the end of June 2000. The album brought some great hits, like "Nemir" ("Restless") (a duet with Karolina Gočeva), "Vo Kosi da ti Spijam" ("Sleeping in Your Hair"), "Izlaži me Ušte Ednaš" ("Lie to Me One More Time"), as well as "Iluzija" ("Illusion") (Grand Prix at the festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk) and "Tajno Moja" ("Secret of Mine"). Two songs are composed by Kire Kostov (winning second prize at the festival Sunčane Skale, held in Herceg Novi, now Montenegro).
The Serbian production house BK Sound purchased the rights to release Proeski's latest album in the other former Yugoslav republics, which led to his victory of the Oscar of Popularity in those former republics for the year of 2000, and his sell-out shows in Skopje and Belgrade. Proeski embarked on an Australian tour along with other Macedonian singers in 2001.
Superstardom
After spending his time in recording studios in
Athens, Greece, Proeski released his third album "Ako me Pogledneš vo Oči" ("If You Look Into My Eyes") on October 2002 in
Macedonian and
Serbian. After the release, Proeski went on a tour throughout Macedonia doing intense promotion. He also went to
Serbia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
Bulgaria for further promotion. Proeski won
Beovizija in Belgrade on April 2003, with "Čija Si" ("To Whom Do You Belong?"), a song which became a huge hit in Macedonia and the other former republics.
This song was due to represent
Serbia and Montenegro in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2003 but the
EBU stated that too many countries wanted to enter in that year and so some would be forced to withdraw.
Serbia and Montenegro (who participated as one country at the time) were one of them.
To improve his singing, Proeski took classes in New York from maestro William Riley, who was also coach to famous tenor, Luciano Pavarotti. When he returned, Proeski held humanitarian concerts throughout the Macedonia. He was awarded with the Mother Theresa Humanitarian Award and in 2003 he became a Regional UNICEF Ambassador.
held in Istanbul, Turkey.]]
In 2004, MKTV chose Proeski to represent Macedonia at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest 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 "Den 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 "Life", which was the English version of "Angel Si Ti”. Prior to the contest he was popularised by reporters due to his tremendous opera singing ability, at his press conferences.
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 UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and recorded the song "This World" which became the UNICEF anthem. Proeski signed a contract with Dallas Records so his next album could be released in Croatia and Slovenia. To establish himself in these countries, Proeski recorded "Krajnje Vreme” with Slovenian singer, Anja Rupel. In 2005, Toše’s fifth album Po Tebe (After You) was released throughout ex-Yugoslavia. Po Tebe, is one of the most successful Balkan albums ever. It topped music charts for months in the Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Božilak (Rainbow), was a compilation of 14 selected traditional Macedonian songs arranged by Sasa Nikolovski Gjumar, Ilija Pejovski and Soni Petrovski. The artist was backed up by a symphony orchestra on the album.
His last album Igri Bez Granici (Macedonian title)/'Igra Bez Granica' (Croatian title) ("Game Without Borders") was released all over ex-Yugoslavia in August, 2007.
Apart from songs in Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, he also recorded one song in Slovene, "Moja" ("Mine") in 2007, and one in Italian, "Aria" ("Air"), with Italian superstar, Gianna Nannini. List of artist who collaborated with Proeski include Anja Rupel, Antonija Šola, Bora Čorba, Karolina Gočeva, Esma Redžepova, Gianna Nannini, Goca Tržan, Grigor Koprov, Jeff Beck, Tony Cetinski, Željko Joksimović and 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 Den Za Nas" ("Is There A Day For Us"), "Slusaš Li" ("Are You Listening"), "Malečka" ("Little One") and "Polsko Cveḱe" ("Field Flower"). In 2004, Proeski composed "Muza" ("Muse") for
Martin Vučić, the
2005 Eurovision Song Contest 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.
On October 15, Proeski gave his final interview to the Macedonian Television Station Kanal 5. He talked about his intention to finish his Musical Academy studies, his search for his soul mate, and his new album in the works.
Tose's last concert was held on October 5, 2007 for the Primary Education Project for USAID. The concert raised tens of thousands of euros for the primary schools of Macedonia. The concert was attended by over 35,000 people and viewed all over the world.
Death
During the early morning of October 16, 2007, at 6:20 a.m., Proeski died in a car accident on the
Zagreb–Lipovac highway near
Nova Gradiška,
Croatia. He was a passenger along with his manager Ljiljana Petrović in a
Volkswagen Touareg driven by Georgij Georgijevski. The Touareg crashed into the back of a truck and then into the median barrier, killing Proeski instantly, crushing the third vertebrae of the neck, although the truck sustained no damage. Proeski was asleep in the front passenger seat at the time of the crash. October 17 was pronounced a national day of mourning in Macedonia.
After his death, the government of the Republic of Macedonia, gave him the title "Honorable citizen of Macedonia"
State funeral
The government organized an official
state funeral for Proeski, which was held October 17, 2007 in his home town of
Kruševo, including military honour ceremonies by the Honor Guard Unit of the
Macedonian army, such as a
honor guard, a
military orchestra and a
honorary rifle salute. The funeral, which was broadcast by the national
Macedonian TV was attended by many domestic and foreign delegations, including the
President Branko Crvenkovski, the
Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, members of the
Macedonian Parliament and its President Ljubiša Georgievski and other high-ranking officials, the US and the
EU Ambassadors Gillian Milovanovic and Erwan Fouéré and other diplomats, representatives of the
Red Cross, the
USAID and other organizations, sport clubs etc. Also, the funeral was attended by many notable musicians from Macedonia and other countries, including:
Karolina Gočeva,
Kaliopi,
Vlado Janevski,
Lambe Alabakoski,
Elena Risteska,
Jovan Jovanov,
Martin Vučić,
Adrian Gaxha,
Tijana Dapčević and her sister
Tamara Todevska, Aki Rahimovski (the
frontman of
Parni valjak),
Toni Cetinski,
Ceca Ražnatović,
Željko Joksimović and many others. The religious service was held by the
Macedonian Orthodox Church led by the
Archbishop Stephen of Ohrid, as Proeski was a declared
Orthodox Christian.
Numerous websites, blogs and internet forums are filled with the last messages from his fans and friends (example). A petition is available on-line for Toše Proeski to be remembered by naming educational facilities, like the local Center for Music Education in Bitola, where he had studied to carry his name. Also this petition is to promote an annual humanitarian concert, carrying his name "Toše Proeski" for the poor and disabled and those of desperate need of medical attention. Also, a page for condolences can be found at the Kruševo municipality official website.
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 honoured. 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".
Tribute concerts
On the 5th 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.
A documentary about the work of Toše Proeski was released on February 12, 2009 in cinemas all over former Yugoslavia.
Another concert was held on January 24, 2010, a day before Toše's birthday.
Gallery
Immediately after Toše Proeski's death was announced, the citizens of
Skopje and people from all around
Macedonia, as well as foreigners, started to gather at the
Macedonia Square bringing candles, flowers and messages of condolence in his memory. Also many institutions such as schools, universities, sport clubs and business companies joined the spontaneous commemorative campaign. Similar gatherings took place in many other cities around the country, but also around the
Balkans, especially in the
former Yugoslav countries and the
diaspora. A mourning ceremony was organized in
Sarajevo,
Bosnia and Herzegovina near
Skenderija, where around 2000 people gathered to light candles in memory of Toše Proeski.
Discography
Albums
Nekade Vo Nokta(Macedonian language) (1999)
Sinot Božji (Macedonian language)(2000)
Ako Me Pogledneš Vo Oči (Macedonian language version) /Ako Me Pogledaš U Oči (Serbian language version) (2002)
Den Za Nas (Macedonian language version) /Dan Za Nas (Serbian language version) (2004)
Po tebe (Macedonian language version)/Pratim Te (Serbian language version) (2005)
Božilak (Traditional Macedonian folk songs) (2006)
Igri bez granici (Macedonian language version) /Igra Bez Granica (Croatian language version) (2007)
The Hardest Thing (2009) [post mortem] (English version)
Tose i prijatelji (album) (2010) [post mortem] [Balkan language version]
Filmography
2006 Zabranjena Ljubav one episode #1.402 Mladic Bosko
2004 Kako Ubiv Svetec Tose
2007 Nad Lipom 35 one episode #2.2 Himself
Singles chart positions
The song "Čija si" (English: "To Whom Do You Belong") is considered to be Toše's greatest hit. "Čija si" received huge
chart success and
radio airplay bringing Proeski from star to music icon.
His chart toppers include:
:An em dash (—) indicates that the single did not chart.
See also
Music of Macedonia
References
External links
Official Website
Obituary from The Times
Memory-of.com memorial site
Recording of the burial ceremony of Tose, Macedonian Radio Television
Category:1981 births
Category:2007 deaths
Category:People from Prilep
Category:Macedonian Orthodox Christians
Category:Aromanian people
Category:Macedonian Eurovision Song Contest entrants
Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2004
Category:Macedonian male singers
Category:Macedonian pop singers
Category:Road accident deaths in Croatia
