Moderna Žena () is the third studio album by Croatian pop singer Jelena Rozga. It was released on 16 December 2016 through Croatia Records. Moderna Žena is a dual-disc album with the first disc containing newer songs, while the second disc consists of songs that Rozga released in the period between 2011 and 2014. As with Rozga's previous two studio albums, the duo Tonči Huljić and Vjekoslava Huljić served as the main producer and songwriter, respectively. In addition to producers collaborators Remi Kazinoti and Pero Kozomara whom the singer collaborated with on previous songs, Moderna Žena also saw the work of new collaborators Boris Đurđević, Leo Škaro and Dušan Bačić among others.
Work on the album Moderna Žena began in 2013, briefly after the conclusion of the singer's The Bižuterija Tour (2011–12) in promotion of her second studio album. Unlike her previous records, Moderna Žena is musically diverse and incorporates several musical elements, ranging from traditional Dalmatian and Balkan folk music to electronic dance music (EDM), modern pop and rap. Lyrically, the songs on the album are marked by feminist undertones with most songs discussing a female protagonist's experiences with love. Critically, the album was well received by the public and music critics who praised the sonic diversity.
Moderna Žena achieved significant commercial success, peaking at number one on the Croatian Albums Chart immediately after its release. It subsequently spent a total of 17 weeks at that position, receiving a gold certification by the , three months after its release, becoming the singer's third solo studio album to achieve such a feat. As part of the album's promotion, Rozga held a listening party on 26 January 2017 and embarked on a small regional tour. Additionally, four singles were released from the album, including lead single "Pismo-Glava" and the title song in 2016 and "Žileti" and "Ne Pijem, Ne Pušim" in 2017. The album received a nomination for Best Pop Album at the 2017 Porin Awards. It emerged as the best-selling album in Croatia at the end of 2017 and was listed as one of the most-streamed albums on Deezer in 2018.
Background and conception
In the summer of 2011, Rozga released her second studio album Bižuterija. The album was a huge commercial success, receiving the gold certification within a month of its release, having sold more than 15.000 copies. In support of the album, Rozga launched The Bižuterija Tour, which visited numerous cities across the Balkans, starting in September 2010 in Zadar and finishing in December 2012 in Sarajevo.
Shortly after the tour, Rozga revealed during interviews that she was working on new studio albums. In the first interview with the Croatian Music Channel, in March 2013, during a behind-the-scenes recording of the music video for one of her singles, "Nirvana", she announced she would soon begin working on a new album. At that time, she revealed a tentative date for its release at the end of 2013 or the beginning of 2014, but also noted she would take time to ensure the quality of the album. In March 2014, in an interview with In Magazin of Nova TV, Rozga confirmed the working title of the album Afrodizijak and during an interview for Hello magazin, she gave an estimated release date around June of the same year, while also revealing that she had already made a selection for the track listing. On 10 October 2015, during an interview with Hello magazine, she announced her third studio album for March 2016. Finally, during the promotion of the single "Udajem Se" on Radio Dalmacija in February 2016, she revealed September as the release date. In November 2016, during a photoshoot with the Croatian edition of Cosmopolitan, she revealed that the recording for the album would soon be finished and that it should be available in December.
When asked why she chose to give the album "modern woman" as a title, Rozga further elaborated on the feminist concept behind its creation and how it was a "strong, sonic, memorable" one. She also gave her definition of a modern woman as one who is self-aware, knows no obstacles, is a fighter, gives all her energy to get to her goal, is not afraid to enter something new, who is strong and "lifts her head up in the hardest times and goes on". Rozga also revealed that Moderna Žena was meant as a gift to her listeners as she had not released an album since 2011. A more specific target audience were females whom the album was encouraging to become brave, reclaim what is theirs, show self-respect and request respect from others.
Release and production Moderna Žena was exclusively available online on the music streaming service Deezer starting 7 December 2016. The following week, it was made available for digital download and in physical form on 16 December 2016 through Croatia Records. As with Rozga's previous two studio albums, Oprosti Mala (2006) and Bižuterija (2011), Tonči Huljić and Vjekoslava Huljić served as the main musician/arranger and songwriter for all songs, respectively. Additionally, on Moderna Žena, Rozga collaborated with producers Pero Kozomara and Robert Pilepić whom she had worked with before, as well as new songwriters such as Saša Lazić, Dušan Bačić and Ivica Brnas.
Moderna Žena is a dual-disc album which contains 11 songs on the first CD and 12 songs on the second one, which is also a bonus CD. The first dosc of the album contained five songs which were published prior to the release of the album ("Tsunami", "Kraljica", "Otrov", "Udajem Se" and "Nasljednik") and six newly released songs. The second disc of the album, which is available as a bonus CD, contains 12 songs which were released as standalone singles in the period between 2011 and 2014, some of which also found their way on Rozga's first compilation album Best of Jelena Rozga (2011). The second disc of the album includes songs with two featuring artists, Croatian rap band Connect on the song "Dalmatinka" and Dalmatian traditional music band Klapa Rišpet on the song "Prsti Zapleteni".
On the production of songs on Moderna Žena, in addition to Remi Kazinoti, other collaborators include Boris Đurđević, from the Croatian band Colonia, Leo Škaro, Dušan Vasić, Aleksandar Krsmanović, Bojan Dragojević, Fedor Boić, Boris Krstajić and Dragan Tašković. The album was recorded in several studios, including Croatia Records Studio and Karpo Studio in Zagreb, Studio TM in Split and Studio Duke, Empire Studio and Muzički Studio Crveni Ruž in Belgrade. As part of the release package, the album also included a booklet with the lyrics to all songs. The album's cover art was taken by photographer John Pavlish.
Music and lyrics The sound on Moderna Žena was described as a combination of the singer's sound during the era when she served as the lead singer of Magazin and a sound influenced by modern arrangements. Musically, the album is a folk, electronic dance music (EDM), Dalmatian music and a pop music record. "Pismo-Glava, the album's opening track was described as a classical pop ballad. Lyrically, it professes the female protagonist's love feelings towards her male counterpart, who is doubtful towards her. To determine the future of their relationship, she decides to toss a coin. The title song, being placed second on the album, was described as a female anthem. Lyrically, it was inspired by a real-life story of a woman who left her husband for a younger man, who afterwards left her for a younger woman. In the song, the female protagonist is expressing her doubts about the age of her next lover. The inspiration for the song came after Huljić read a reader's confession in a female magazine and retold it to his wife. The next song, "Ne Pijem, Ne Pušim" is an up-tempo, joyous song, which is musically similar to the work by ethno and folk band Tonči Huljić & Madre Badessa and the singer's own work from her time in the band Magazin. Lyrically, it finds the female protagonist confessing that despite not smoking, drinking nor cursing, she still falls prey to the sin of love. This is followed by "Svjetla Neona" which the singer described as a "party song" which lyrically discusses the type of a man the female protagonist needs.
In Rozga's own words, the fifth track, "Žileti" is a song which discusses the "games of destiny" and depicts a love story without a happy ending. The sixth track, the heatfelt and emotional ballad "Rođena Sam" is influenced by Dalmatian music and displays Rozga's vocal capabilities. The singer dedicated it to "all who are in love, all of us who believe in love, the first kiss, the first dance, the memories, the ones in the past and the ones to come". The seventh track on the album "Nasljednik", is an up-tempo, uplifting fast-paced song, which features a pop melody. It was lyrically dedicated to "alpha" women, who feel confident in their own skin and want to "reclaim what is theirs". The following track, "Udajem Se" is a soft pop ballad.
The last three tracks on the album, "Tsunami", "Otrov" and "Kraljica" all predominantly contain elements of folk music. "Tsunami" is an up-tempo female anthem that lyrically discusses females not letting their partner cheat. In the singer's own words, it is meant "to be danced to, sometimes to even [make listeners] get on the table [to dance]". "Otrov", marked the singer's second collaboration with Dušan Bačić after "Tsunami" which led to a similar sound. Its message was directed to female listeners to urge them to remain themselves and not to forgive adultery. The singer dedicated "Kraljica" to women who she encouraged to "live every day like queens". Musically, it is an optimistic song which describes the shared experience of females with certain type of flirtatious men.
The bonus disc, which features songs that had been already released contains "Cirkus", a classical pop ballad and "Nirvana" and "Okus Mentola", both EDM-influenced. "Dalmatinka" is predominantly a Dalmatian pop track while also featuring rap elements and lyrics. "Prsti Zapleteni" featuring Klapa Rišpet features elements of Dalmatian music.
Promotion Three days following the release of Moderna Žena, on 19 December 2016, Rozga appeared at two locations in Zagreb, Music Shop and Cafe Bar Nova Ploča to sign the album to listeners who purchased it. The event was attended by numerous fans at both locations. A listening promotion party of Moderna Žena was held at the Johan Franck Club in Zagreb on 26 January 2017. The event was attended by several of the singer's collaborators, including the Huljić duo and their daughter, Hana Huljić, football player Miroslav Ćiro Blažević, actress Katarina Baban, singer Joško Čagalj Jole, the singer's then-boyfriend Stjepan Hauser and former and current Magazin singers Danijela Martinović and Andrea Šušnjara, respectively. At the event, the singer performed songs from her older albums and several songs from Moderna Žena; she was also joined onstage by both Martinović and Šušnjara for the performance of several songs. For the event, she appeared dressed in a red creation by Croatian designer label Arileo and later in a black dress by H&M with high heels by Gucci. Her looks were praised by a writer of Dnevno.hr. The event was praised by a writer of Jutarnji list who called it "brilliant".
Singles released before the album