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 all around Eastern Europe, and locally he was considered a top act of the Macedonian music scene.
Proeski was known for his strong vocal performances and trademark quote ве сакам сите ("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.
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 Macedonia. He was awarded with the Mother Theresa Humanitarian Award and in 2003 he became a Regional UNICEF Ambassador.
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. The list of artists who collaborated with Proeski includes 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. [edit] Songwriting
Proeski also established himself as a songwriter. He wrote several hits for himself including "Ima Li Dan 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.
Toše'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.
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. Of the other two passengers, only the driver suffered serious injuries (head trauma).
Proeski's body arrived at midnight in Skopje by helicopter of the Macedonian army, and was transported by car to his home town Kruševo. Grieving citizens gathered to pay their last respects at the airport and also in Macedonia Square. The Embassy of the United States of America, the USAID and the Diplomatic mission of the European Union published official statements on the death of Toše Proeski. October 17 was pronounced a national day of mourning in Macedonia. The three days following his death were pronounced days of mourning in the City of Kruševo.
After his death, the government of the Republic of Macedonia, gave him the title "Honorable citizen of Macedonia"
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 (Serbian language version) (2007) The Hardest Thing (2009) [post mortem] (English version) Tose i prijatelji (album) (2010) [post mortem] [Balkan language version] "Tose: Poslednji pozdrav" (album) (2011) [post mortem]
