Shahindere Bërlajolli

Shahindere Bërlajolli was a Kosovo Albanian singer of folk and popular music, one of the best-known voices of Kosovo for more than half a century. She was born on 7 August 1946 in Peja, Kosovo, and grew up there, which is why she is on Muzika-Balkan. She went to primary and secondary school in Peja and trained as a teacher. She died on 3 May 2020 in Gostivar, North Macedonia, aged 73.

She came from an old Peja family: her father Mustafë Bërlajolli was a businessman and her mother Igballe was known for her generosity. The Bërlajolli family house in Peja is a registered cultural heritage monument. She was the most prominent artist of her town in her day.

She was only 13 when she first sang in public, in 1959, at the festival Mikrofoni është juaji ("The microphone is yours") in Peja, and the audience took to her at once. She became a professional singer while still a teenager. She went on to win Akordet e Kosovës, the most prestigious Kosovo festival of the time, five times.

Her repertoire counts about 280 songs, most of them recorded at Radio Prishtina, Radio Television of Kosovo. Her best-known songs include "Në zabel të erdha", "Miriban", "Kush ma i pari bani", "Gajdexhiu", "O bylbyl me pika-pika", "Hajde dalim moj goce", "Baresha e dashnume" and "Një lule në Gostivar". Her career lasted 55 years, and audiences still sing her songs today.

The playlist gathers six of her songs, among them "Dashurinë që kam për ty", "O moj shami kuqe" and "Lulja e Gostivarit", a duet with Mazllom Morina.