Tonči Huljić

Tonči Huljić (; born 29 October 1961) is a Croatian musician, songwriter and music producer. He is best known as the founding member, songwriter and producer of one the most famous Croatian pop bands, Magazin.

During his career spanning more than five decades, Huljić has produced numerous hit singles, both for the group and for numerous solo artists which emerged from his record label. Some of the most prominent music artists who collaborated with him include Jelena Rozga, Doris Dragović, Petar Grašo as well as Maksim Mrvica, Danijela Martinović, Minea and Jole. In total, Huljić has produced and composed more than 1370 songs. Huljić has received widespread recognition for his work both from his audience and from music critics. Songs produced by him have been awarded with various recognitions and prizes. In addition to his music career, Huljić has ventured into directing and coordinating theater shows and plays, TV series and sketches.

Early life Tonči Huljić was born on 29 October 1961 as the only child to father Ivan Huljić, an economist originally from Hvar and mother Marija Huljić, a health worker from Krk. Soon after, Huljić started writing and producing his own music and in 1980, he wrote the song "Sjećanja" which the group performed at the 1981 Split Festival. Furthermore, he wrote the song "Ne brini ništa" performed at Zagrebfest 1981. The following year brought several awards to the group including in the categories for Best Group, Best Pop Song and Hit of the Year. Besane noći was recorded and released in 1988 through the record label Jugoton. It was a commercial success, receiving a diamond certification from the Croatian Phonographic Industry and spawning several hit singles including the title track, "Suze krijem, one padaju", "Kad u vojsku pođeš", "Ej, ponoći" and "Oči crne, oči lažne". The following album, titled Dobro jutro was released in 1989 and received a diamond certification. Singles released from the album include "Ljube se dobri, loši, zli", "Sijaj zvijezdo Danice", "Balkanska ulica", "Rano, ranije" and "Čekala je jedna žena". The album marked the last record the group recorded with lead singer Ljiljana Nikolovska who decided to leave the group and continue living in the United States. That same year, in 1996, Huljić founded his own record label called Tonika Records. In 2002, Huljić founded a second record label called Croatia Records. In 1998, the group released Da si ti ja which was a commercial success in the region of former Yugoslavia, receiving a platinum certification in Croatia and Slovenia. The album produced several singles, including "Gutljaj vina", "Ginem", "Na svijetu sve" and "Idi i ne budi ljude". Despite achieving commercial success, some songs were not well received by music critics due to their "easy" and simple lyrics.

In 1999, Magazin performed at Dora with the song "Kasno je" and at the MHJ '99, they performed "Ako poludim". Minus i plus, the band's thirteenth stuidio album was released in 2000 and included several singles: "Minus i plus", "Je l' zbog nje", "Nemam snage da se pomirim" and "Ako poludim". The band performed "Hrvatska rapsodija" from the album at the 2000 Dora Festival and then "Nemam snage da se pomirim" at the Runjićev Festival. In 2004, the band released Paa..? which included the hit singles "Ne tiče me se", "Troši i uživaj", "Kad bi bio blizu", "Da li znaš da te ne volim" and "Slatko, ljuto, kiselo". In 2006, Rozga left the group to pursue a solo career and continued collaborating with Tonči Huljić.

2010s: Solo career and production work During the 2000s, Huljić worked on the production label called AVA in collaboration with Roman Majetić; he worked on four soap operas which featured 680 episodes and achieved viewership records in the wider region. In 2022, the band released the song titled "Baci oko na mene" ("Keep an eye out on the old one"); the song is meant as a parody of his life, is dedicated to his newly born nephew and is musically similar to the musical style of the 1980s. He explained the meaning as "keep an eye out" on the old one, so that he does not shame us, referring to himself. The music video is also meant as a parody and references his son-in-law Petar Grašo.

Most of 2022 saw Huljić touring Croatia and Greece with his project Pop Misa Mediterrana (Mediterranean Pop Mass) which included 20 musicians, instrumentalists and vocalists on stage. The project marked an amalgamation of a musical and classical Christian rituals sung in Latin. As the project falls within the domain of spiritual music, he had to receive approval from the Vatican. The mass consists of five parts: "Kyrie Eleison", "Gloria", "Credo", "Sanctus Benedictus", "Agnus Dei". In 2022, the band recorded "Škiljim škiljim" for promotional purposes of Optika Anda. In the promotional video, Huljić appears dressed as a pirate. On 22 November 2022, Huljić released a performance of "Temple of Zeus" together with an orchestra, for which he served as the musician, keyboard player, arranger and conductor.

Other activities In addition to producing and writing music, Huljić also appeared in singing competitions in the Balkans. He first appeared as a judge on the regional talent show Operacija trijumf which started in September 2008, where he served as one of the judges along with Marina Tucaković and Ismeta Dervoz. In 2017, he was one of the judges on the second series of X Factor Adria.

Huljić showed great managerial ability and founded record label Tonika Records that is among the most influential in Croatia. He has also written popular pieces for Croatian piano player Maksim Mrvica, such as "Kolibre" and "Nostradamus", and Maksim's greatest hit, "Croatian Rhapsody". Through the label, he has established the career of many famous Croatian singers and recording artists.

Political views During an interview, Huljić discussed Yugo-nostalgia, commenting that he believes many people tend to look at the past with the idea that circumstances were better, which according to him is not the case. Referring to the comment, he noted that the best day is the "present day" and "each current day is worse than tomorrow". He also added that he has managed to achieve success in all six post-Yugoslav countries that emerged from Yugoslavia. In the 1990s, following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Huljić was among the first Croatian musicians to introduce elements of folk music from other former Yugoslav republics into his repertoire.

Discography Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions CRO Inamorana Released: 16 April 2021 Label: Croatia Records Formats: CD, digital download, streaming1

Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Album CRO "Inamorana"(with Petar Grašo) 2021 2 Inamorana

Producer work Authorship studio albums

Gold Collection (2008) Waterland (2009) Ka Hashish (2011, with Madre Badessa) Larin Izbor (2012, with Madre Badessa) Panika (2014, with Madre Badessa) Best Of (2015, with Madre Badessa) Tipo Primitivo / Piano Primitivo (2017, with Madre Badessa)

Studio albums for other artists Magazin albums

Slatko Stanje (1982) Kokolo (1983) O-La-La (1984) Piši Mi (1985) Put Putujem (1986) Magazin (1987) Besane Noći (1988) Dobro Jutro (1989) Da mi te Zaljubit' U Mene (1991) Najbolje Godine (1991) Magazin – Koncert! (1993) Došlo Vrijeme (1993) Simpatija (1994) Nebo boje moje ljubavi (1996) Svi Najveći Hitovi 1983.-1990. (1998) Da Si Ti Ja (1998) Minus i Plus (2000) Best of BR. 1. Zar Je Ljubav Spala Na To (2001) Best of BR. 2 Bol (2001) S Druge Strane Mjeseca (2002) Pa..? (2004) Dueti (2005) The Platinum Collection (2006) Live Collection: Magazin - Koncert (Reizdanje) (2007) Dama i Car (2007) Bossa N’ Magazin (2008) Godine s Ivanom 2006.-2010. (2010) Najljepše Ljubavne Pjesme (2010) 100 Originalnih Pjesama (2013) Mislim Pozitivno (2014)

Doris Dragović albums

Ispuni Mi Zadnju Želju (1994) Baklje Ivanjske (1995) Rođendan u Zagrebu (1996) Krajem Vijeka (1999) Lice (2000) 20 Godina s Ljubavlju (2001) Malo Mi Za Sriću Triba (2002) The Platinum Collection (2007) Najljepše Ljubavne Pjesme (2010) The Best of Collection (2014) Koncert u Lisinskom (2014)

Danijela Martinović albums

Zovem Te Ja (1996) To Malo Ljubavi (1998) I Po Svijetu i Po Mraku (2001) Najbolje Godine (2001) Zlatna Kolekcija (2006) Canta y Baila con Daniela (2006) Najljepše Ljubavne Pjesme (2010) The Best of Collection (2014)

Petar Grašo albums

Mjesec Iznad Oblaka (1997) Utorak (1999) Šporke Riči (2003) Uvertira (2005) The Platinum Collection (2007) The Best of Collection (2014)

Jelena Rozga albums

Oprosti Mala (2006) Bižuterija (2011) Best of Jelena Rozga (2012) Moderna Žena (2016, 16 songs)

Domenica albums Ćiribu Ćiriba (2019)

Maksim Mrvica albums

The Piano Player (2003) Variations Part I&II (2004) A New World (2005) Electrik (2006) Pure (2007) Pure II (2008) Greatest (2008) Appassionata (2011) The Movies (2014) Mezzo e Mezzo (2014) Croatian Rhapsody (2015) New Silk Road (2018)

Bond albums

Born (2000) Shine (2002) Atlanta Time (2003) Remixed (2003) Classified (2004) Explosive: The Best Of Bond (2005) Play (2011)

Wild albums Time (2004)

Minea albums

Vrapci & Komarci (1995) E, Pa Neka! (1997) Mimo Zakona (2000) Kad Smo...Ono Znaš (2001) Sve Najbolje (2003)

Jole albums

Jednina i Množina (1999) Sve Su Žene Lijepe (2001) Otključano! (2004) Odijelo (2009) Remek Djelo (2015) The Best of Collection (2018)

Zlatko Pejaković albums

Zlatko (1989) Kad Prodje Sve (1990) Zlatko Pejaković 93 (1993) Zlatko Pejaković 94 (1994)

Miscellaneous work Songs for other performers Oliver Dragojević ("Dvaput san umra", "Neka se drugi raduju") Sandi Cenov

Music for TV series

Villa Maria (2004) Ljubav u zaleđu (2005) Obicni Ljudi (2006) Ponos Ratkajevih (2007) Zakon Ljubavi (2008) Larin Izbor (2011) Stella (2013) Zora Dubrovačka (2013) Kud Puklo Da Puklo (2014) Prava Žena (2016) Pogrešan Čovjek (2018) Na Granici (2018, 2019)

Music for Movies xXx: State of the Union (2005) Čitulja za Eskobara (2008, "Kokolo" – Magazin) Larin Izbor: Izgubljeni Princ (2012) Tonči Huljić: Tonetov Život Ili Bog, Lavur, Iće i Piće (2014) Ljudožder Vegetarijanac (2012, "Bižuterija" – Jelena Rozga, "Još se ne bi udala" – Magazin)

Eurovision Song Contest Magazin & Lidija Horvat Dunjko – "Nostalgija" (1995) Doris Dragović – "Marija Magdalena" (1999) Vanna – "Strings of My Heart" (2001) Igor Cukrov & Andrea Šušnjara – "Lijepa Tena" (2009)