Sergej Poposki: His biggest win came the same day his mother died

Sergej Poposki, a 23-year-old singer from Prilep, has become a viral presence across the Balkans with emotionally intense performances recorded in a garage in Slovenia. His deep vocal range and raw delivery have prompted repeated comparisons to Toše Proeski as his clips rack up hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok.

His rapid rise, however, is shadowed by a personal tragedy: in January of this year he won the prestigious Grand Prix at the WAF Awards held in Skopje — and learned on that same day that his mother had died. "I lifted the award, and at the very same moment I lost the most important thing," Poposki says.

He describes the sequence of events and the shock that followed: "It's truly a difficult story in my life. I remember the results were expected one day after my performance. I spoke with my mother the day before she died, right after I sang. She told me that I should return to Prilep, because the competition was in Skopje. But, well... And just when I raised the award, at the very same moment the worst thing happened to me. It changed my life." Poposki had been raised by his mother after his parents divorced and says he was never close to his father, so her death left him alone.

New music and a dedication

Recently Poposki promoted a new single, "Ednash zasekogash", which was recorded in Zagreb. During promotion in Skopje and Zagreb he explained the song carries a special message about how we often recognise someone's value only after they are gone. He is also working on original material; one of his songs is directly dedicated to his late mother.

Poposki's musical education began at age five, when his grandfather, a classically trained musician and conductor, sat him at the piano and taught him discipline and love for music. He studied at the Matrix music school with Denis Dimoski and later collected awards at events such as Ezherski biseri, Ohrid Fest and Makfest; he has appeared on the Ljubljana stage Križanke as a support act for Željko Bebek.

Now based between Slovenia and Croatia, Poposki says he carries Macedonia with him wherever he performs. On comparisons with Toše Proeski he is modest: "Toše was something unique. If someone in my voice feels an emotion that reminds them of him, that is a huge compliment for me. But I am just a 'garage boy' who likes to sing and wants to build his own path," he has said.

Photo: press material from the event