Stoja Novaković (; born 4 June 1972), known mononymously as Stoja (), is a Serbian hardcore-folk singer. Recognised as one of the most popular turbo-folk performers, Stoja is noted for her strong voice and often eccentric appearances. She released her first album, Kako je meni sada, in Lazarević Production in 1998. Later, she released her albums in the record label Grand Production. Within a short time, Stoja became one of the most popular singers in the Balkans. She is currently signed to BN Music, and has recently released songs with IDJ and Balkan Star too. Early life Novaković was born in the village of Perlez, in the Zrenjanin municipality in northern Serbia. Her father was born in Pukiš, a village in the Lopare municipality in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. She was raised in Perlez, where she lived until the age of 25. She is said to have received her uncommon and strong voice from her father, Milan. Her father was not supportive of her singing career and they didn't speak for years because she decided to pursue that career path. It was only after her mother intervened that they reconciled. Career Novaković began singing as an amateur in kafanas and discothèques in 1987. In 1997 she began recording an album for the record label Lazarević Produktion. Kako je meni sada, her debut studio album, was released in 1998. That first album became a big success. Later that year, she signed with the label Grand Production, owned by Lepa Brena, and released her second album, Ćiki, ćiki in 1999. The album featured multiple hit songs, the biggest being "Ćiki, ćiki". One of Stoja's greatest hits, song Evropa, can be heard in episode 19 of Bosnian TV series Viza za budućnost; that is when many people in BiH got known and started to listen Stoja, and since then she has been notably popular in this country of former Yugoslavia; Stoja herself uploaded the mentioned insert from the series on her official YouTube channel. Stoja released the EP Osveta with two songs in 2006 with the band Južni Vetar. The song "Revolucija" (Revolution) and its music video were both released in October 2010. The video caused some stir in the media because it featured Stoja bathing in a bathtub full of peppers. Her tenth studio album entitled Nije da nije (It's Not That It's Not) was released on 6 May 2013 by the