OT Band is a Serbian

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 band found in Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

 in 2009. It was formed by four contestants of Operacija trijumf

Operacija trijumf

Operacija Trijumf is a regional music talent TV reality show filmed in Belgrade, Serbia, aired in the region of former Yugoslavia. It is a local version of Star Academy reality series that was developed and is licensed worldwide by Endemol...

, the Balkan version of Endemol

Endemol

Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...

's Fame Academy

Fame Academy

Fame Academy is a televised competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist. The prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one...

. The contestants Vukašin Brajić

Vukašin Brajic

Vukašin Brajić is a Bosnian pop-rock singer who rose to fame after participating in the first season of the music show Fame Academy 2008/2009, in which he won the second place...

, Đorđe Gogov

Đorđe Gogov

Đorđe Gogov is a Serbian singer, musician and television personality. He came to media attention as one of sixteen contestants on the B92's Operacija trijumf, Balkan version of Endemol's Fame Academy...

, Nikola Paunović

Nikola Paunović

Nikola Paunović is a Serbian singer and television personality. He came to media attention as one of sixteen contestants on the B92's Operacija trijumf, Balkan version of Endemol's Fame Academy and Spanish Operación Triunfo...

 and Nikola Sarić

Nikola Saric (singer)

Nikola "Sajko" Sarić is a Serbian singer, musician and television personality. He came to media attention as one of sixteen contestants on the B92's Operacija trijumf, the Balkan version of Endemol's Fame Academy...

 are commonly known as the OT Rockers, due to their affirmation to the rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

.

The band took part in the Beovizija 2009

Beovizija 2009

Beovizija 2009 was the 7th Beovizija music festival, Serbian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. The semi-finals were held on March 7, 2009 while the finals were held a day later on March 8...

, Serbia's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....

, with a song "Blagoslov za kraj", written and produced by Universal Music, and won 2nd place.

Operacija trijumf

Operacija trijumf

Operacija trijumf

Operacija Trijumf is a regional music talent TV reality show filmed in Belgrade, Serbia, aired in the region of former Yugoslavia. It is a local version of Star Academy reality series that was developed and is licensed worldwide by Endemol...

, the Balkan version of Fame Academy

Fame Academy

Fame Academy is a televised competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist. The prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one...

, began on September 29, 2008. The contestants include young singers from all the countries of former SFR Yugoslavia (except Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

) — Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

, Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

 and Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

. Four of sixteen contestants were Vukašin Brajić

Vukašin Brajic

Vukašin Brajić is a Bosnian pop-rock singer who rose to fame after participating in the first season of the music show Fame Academy 2008/2009, in which he won the second place...

, Đorđe Gogov

Đorđe Gogov

Đorđe Gogov is a Serbian singer, musician and television personality. He came to media attention as one of sixteen contestants on the B92's Operacija trijumf, Balkan version of Endemol's Fame Academy...

, Nikola Paunović

Nikola Paunović

Nikola Paunović is a Serbian singer and television personality. He came to media attention as one of sixteen contestants on the B92's Operacija trijumf, Balkan version of Endemol's Fame Academy and Spanish Operación Triunfo...

 and Nikola Sarić

Nikola Saric (singer)

Nikola "Sajko" Sarić is a Serbian singer, musician and television personality. He came to media attention as one of sixteen contestants on the B92's Operacija trijumf, the Balkan version of Endemol's Fame Academy...

. All of them are from Serbia; Brajić was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but has lived in Serbia since his childhood.

During the show, Brajić, Gogov, Paunović and Sarić were recognized as rock music

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

ians, and they were named the OT Rockers. The singing professor Mirko Vukomanović, and a famous Serbian music producer, told that Brajić and Sarić are very good guitarists, the best at the academy. Gogov and Paunović do not play any instruments, but were noticed by their rock music affirmation and good performing. They performed merely rock songs, originally played by famous rock artists, such as Nirvana

Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

, Queen

Queen (band)

Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

, Billy Idol

Billy Idol

William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...

, Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz

Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...

, Bijelo Dugme

Bijelo dugme

Bijelo dugme was a highly influential former Yugoslav rock band, based in Sarajevo. Active between 1974 and 1989, it is widely considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav rock...

, Deep Purple

Deep Purple

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...

, AC/DC

AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

, Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams

Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

, Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...

 and others. However, none of them won. Gogov was expelled at the ninth gala event, being beaten in telephone voting by Brajić. Paunović was expelled at the tenth gala event, losing to Croatian Ana Bebić

Ana Bebic

Ana Bebić is Croatian singer, who participated in television shows such as Hrvatski Idol, Ne zaboravi stihove!, and finally Operacija trijumf, which was shown in five countries. Her debut single, "Preživjet ću", reached number one in Serbia and became an instant regional hit...

. Sarić was expelled at the eleventh gala event, losing to Brajić. Brajić was the finalist of the show.

One of the OT jury members, Croatian musician Tonči Huljić

Tonci Huljic

Tonči Huljić is a Croatian musician, songwriter and music producer from Split.Huljić made his name in the late 1970s as the founder and key member of pop band Dalmatinski magazin...

, said he sees Brajić, Gogov, Paunović and Sarić in a rock band. However, none of the future band members thought that was a good idea, except Paunović, all of them wanted a solo career. After the ending of Operacija trijumf, almost all the contestants expressed a will to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 2009

The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....

; Brajić, Gogov, Paunović and Sarić were finally united in a rock band, and confirmed they are taking part in the Beovizija 2009

Beovizija 2009

Beovizija 2009 was the 7th Beovizija music festival, Serbian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. The semi-finals were held on March 7, 2009 while the finals were held a day later on March 8...

.

Present

In January 2009, the group was officially formed. In the band's interview for Blic magazine (published on February 17, 2009), Gogov said that, in the beginning, only Paunović was for the band, but that the rest of them soon changed their minds.

Their song, "Blagoslov za kraj", was written and produced by Universal Music. The band said, in their interview for Blic magazine (February 17, 2009, issue), that they have become great friends and they are happy to be together in a band. Brajić said that the audience should not expect a boy band

Boy band

A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...

 such as the Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys

The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...

, but a rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band.

The OT Band was an opening act at the concert of James Blunt

James Blunt

James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...

 in Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

Singles

• "Blagoslov za kraj" (2009)
• "Strpi se još malo" (2009)
• "Zaboravi" ft. Karolina Goceva
  Karolina Goceva
  Karolina Gočeva, often credited as Karolina Gocheva is a Macedonian singer. She represented Macedonia in the 2002 and 2007 Eurovision Song Contests, ranking 19th and 14th, respectively...
  
   (2009)

External links

• Official Website of Operacija trijumf
  Operacija trijumf
  Operacija Trijumf is a regional music talent TV reality show filmed in Belgrade, Serbia, aired in the region of former Yugoslavia. It is a local version of Star Academy reality series that was developed and is licensed worldwide by Endemol...
  
  
• Operacija trijumf