Music:"Boginja" by Josipa Lisac (1987)

Back in 1983. Croatian vocal powerhouse released surprisingly uninspired "Hoću samo tebe" LP that merely served as perfunctory project followed by obligatory promotional tour - her partner and composer Karlo Metikoš appeared slightly out of ideas and the only saving grace of that album was introduction of a new lyricist Alka Vuica who replaced Ivica Krajač. For all her charisma, lady needed strong material and her legendary vocal acrobatics deserved something better.

During three years that followed, Josipa Lisac was suspiciously absent from the recording studio, except highly publicized cameo appearance on hit "Ja mislim 300 na sat" by than hugely popular rock star Bajaga who specifically sought her voice for what he called "black carpet" (lady was greatly amused with this description, but he innocently wanted someone like Aretha Franklin or Tina Turner in the background and she was the only one capable of this). This perhaps triggered the next phase in her career, as from now Lisac roared and soared like she came straight from cotton fields. Majority of her contemporaries experienced certain middle-age crisis and malaise during 1980s but Lisac was determined to continue pushing the envelope and by 1986. the complete reinvention and makeover took place.

First, Metikoš convinced her to return to pop festivals stages - something she outgrew long ago - as local music industry still used them for promotional tools, even though Lisac status and music persona didn't really belong there. Next, the complete new team of collaborators was assembled, led by producer/composer/arranger Krešimir Klemenčić who brought breath of much needed fresh air in her music. This plan worked out extremely well, as Lisac suddenly appeared present everywhere and hits charted, prompting even surprised comments from her recording company that she actually became genuinely commercial artist after years of having only cult following. "Kraljica Divljine", "Dobre Vibracije", "Gdje Dunav Ljubi Nebo" and "Danas Sam Luda" were some of the biggest hits of the day, while "Nismo Mi Bez Cilja" actually topped "La Isla Bonita" on summer charts. Lisac herself relished this attention and even fueled it with extravagant costumes that would make Patti LaBelle gasp with envy. "Boginja" was surprisingly effective soul-pop collection that worked extremely well for singer without compromising her professional standing but we must note that her long-time collaborator Metikoš actually gave reins to other people and for all their private loyalty, the addition of fresh visions of another producer and composers resulted in this great success.