Biography
Who is Teya Dora?
Early life and education
Teodora Pavlovska was born on May 1, 1992, in Bor, FR Yugoslavia. Her father worked as a painter and graphic designer, while her mother pursued a career as a writer and journalist with Večernje novosti, focusing on Vlach magic and culture.
After moving to Belgrade, she attended music school and secured a scholarship to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, United States. During her audition, she performed the song No One by Alicia Keys. While at Berklee, she shared classes with Charlie Puth. She graduated in 2014, receiving her diploma directly from Jimmy Page. Following her graduation, she lived in New York City and worked as a songwriter.
Songwriting and music career
She returned to Serbia in 2018 and began collaborating with singer Nikolija by writing the single Nema limita. She continued writing tracks for other regional artists, including Nataša Bekvalac and Anastasija Ražnatović.
She made her recording debut under the name Teya Dora with the single Da na meni je, released in July 2019 through Bassivity Digital. Her stage name originated at Berklee, where students and faculty struggled to pronounce her birth name correctly.
Viral success with Džanum
Teya Dora achieved widespread prominence in 2023 with the song Džanum, which was recorded for the television series Južni vetar: Na granici. The track became an international viral hit on TikTok and inspired the Moye moye internet meme. The song was frequently used on the platform during protests following the Belgrade school shooting.
The official music video surpassed 75 million views on YouTube, while the track generated over one hundred million streams on Spotify. The single peaked at number four on Spotify's Daily Viral Songs Global chart on May 22. She became the third Serbian artist to reach over a million monthly listeners on the streaming service, following Konstrakta and Luke Black. Džanum also entered the top ten on Billboard's Croatia Songs chart.
Eurovision Song Contest
In December 2023, Teya Dora was announced as a participant in Pesma za Evroviziju twenty-four with the song Ramonda. She won the competition on March 2, 2024, placing first in the jury vote and second in the televote.
As the winner, she became Serbia's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 held in Malmö, Sweden. She qualified from the first semi-final on May 7 by placing tenth out of fifteen entries with 47 points. In the grand final on May 11, she placed seventeenth out of twenty-five entries with 54 points. Also, she composed the song Koeko for Mimica, intended for Dora 2024, though it did not advance into the contest.
Birthday and age
Teya Dora was born on May 1, 1992, which makes Teya 34 years old today. That birthday falls under the Taurus sign. Teya shares the date with 32 other famous people.
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