Canadian-Croatian singer nominated for Independent Canadian Music Video Awards

Dani Kristina (Photo credit: Melissa Aquino)

20-year-old Canadian-Croatian singer-songwriter Danijela Hajdinjak has been nominated for Dropout Entertainment’s Independent Canadian Music Video Awards. 

Danijela, aka Dani Kristina, has two of her music videos – ‘Drift away’ and You Don’t Get to Choose’ nominated in the Pop category for the best Independent Canadian Music Video released in 2020.

With her father’s family coming from Zagreb, and her mother from Primošten, Dani is strongly influenced by her Croatian culture.

“My name is Danijela, but I go by the stage name Dani Kristina, Kristina is my middle name. I’ve been part of the Croatian community my entire life. Croatian was my first language, and my parents immersed me in Croatian folklore and music as I was growing up, which is why some of the music I write is in Croatian as well,” she explains.

(Photo: Private album/supplied)

Dani started playing piano at the age of just five, and around that time she also began writing music and singing. She had her first formal training in music in her early teens.

“My musical influences stem from a variety of genres, but most notably I would say are songwriters like Regina Spektor, Taylor Swift, and Ben Howard, who really inspire the storyteller style of a lot of my lyrics. Growing up, however, I listened to a lot of Croatian music by Magazin, Jelena Rozga, Gibonni, Oliver Dragojević, and Tajči, who I actually had the honour of sharing the stage with in 2015 at Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre. All of these artists really shaped the way I value powerful voices and writing,” Dani says. 

 (Photo: Private album/supplied)

Dani says she is currently a really big fan of some newer Croatian artists such as Z++ (Zvonimir Husnjak), Zsa Zsa, and Damir Kedžo.

“They all inspire me in the ways they innovate the music scene in Croatia. I really enjoy discovering new Croatian music, and it’s probably my most listened to genre, as I like hearing songs in my native language to remind me of my roots.

 (Photo: Private album/supplied)

In terms of the future, Dani has a lot of new music coming up for 2021 to follow her debut EP “Aura”, and she hopes to continue collaborating with musicians and creators of various backgrounds.

 (Photo credit: Melissa Aquino)

Voting for the Independent Canadian Music Video awards is open until 17 January. Voting takes place everyday and you can vote for Dani Kristina here (click on the thumbnails of her, enter name and email and vote). 

 (Photo credit: Anthony Lau)