Teya Dora

Early Life

Teodora Pavlovska, known professionally as Teya Dora, was born on May 1, 1992, in Bor, FR Yugoslavia. Growing up in a creative environment, her father was a painter and graphic designer, while her mother worked as a writer and journalist, specializing in Vlach magic and culture. After relocating to Belgrade, she attended music school, which led to a scholarship at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. During her time at Berklee, she auditioned with Alicia Keys' "No One" and graduated in 2014, receiving her diploma from the legendary Jimmy Page. Following her graduation, she moved to New York City to pursue a career as a songwriter.

Career

Teya Dora returned to Serbia in 2018, where she began her music career by collaborating with singer Nikolija on the single "Nema limita." She also wrote songs for notable Serbian artists like Nataša Bekvalac and Anastasija Ražnatović. Her debut single as Teya Dora, "Da na meni je," was released in July 2019 under Bassivity Digital. The name "Teya Dora" was adopted because it was easier for Americans to pronounce during her time at Berklee.

In 2023, Teya Dora achieved significant fame with her single "Džanum," which was featured in the television series "Južni vetar: Na granici." The song went viral on TikTok, particularly during protests following the 2023 Belgrade school shooting, and has garnered over 75 million views on YouTube and more than a hundred million streams on Spotify. It peaked at number four on Spotify's Daily Viral Songs Global chart and made Teya Dora the third Serbian artist to surpass a million monthly listeners on the platform, joining Konstrakta and Luke Black. Additionally, "Džanum" entered the top ten on Billboard's Croatia Songs chart.