Early years
Proeski, was born in Prilep, Macedonia, to Dominika and Nikola Proeski from Kruševo, his hometown, where he spent most of his childhood. After his musical talent was discovered, at the age of 12 he was chosen to perform at the popular children's song festival "Zlatno Slavejče" in Skopje. This was his first public music performance; however, his successful career began in 1996 when he participated in the teenage music festival "Makfest" in Stip.
Following this public exposure, he was awarded for his strong vocal capabilities. This led to his rise to fame when he participated in the music festival Makfest in Štip with the song "Pusti me"("Let me go") in 1997. His fanbase quickly grew and he continued to make use of festivals, such as SkopjeFest and OhridFest, as a platform for promotion and publicity. Proeski collaborated with one of Macedonia’s acclaimed lyricists and composers, Grigor Koprov, to produce some of the greatest hits of his career such as "Usni na Usni" ("Lips on Lips") and "Sonce vo Tvoite Rusi Kosi" ("The Sun in Your Golden Hair"). In 1999, he released his debut album, Nekade vo Nokta ("Somewhere in the Night"), which contained eleven tracks. In the summer of the same year, Proeski performed his first solo concert in Skopje.
In 2000, Proeski participated in the Eurovision pre-selection for Macedonia in SkopjeFest. He sang "Solzi Pravat Zlaten Prsten" ("Tears make a golden ring"), which won the televoting from the public but he finished third overall, behind Karolina Gočeva and the winners XXL. During that period, he began recording the tracks for his second album, Sinot Božji ("The Son of God"), which was promoted by the end of June 2000. The album brought some great hits, like "Nemir" ("Restless") (a duet with Karolina Gočeva), "Vo Kosi da ti Spijam" ("Sleeping in Your Hair"), "Izlaži me Ušte Ednaš" ("Lie to Me One More Time"), as well as "Iluzija" ("Illusion") (Grand Prix at the festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk ) and "Tajno Moja" ("Secret of mine"). Two songs are composed by Kire Kostov (winning second prize at the festival Sunčane Skale, held in Herceg Novi, now Montenegro).
The Serbian production house BK Sound purchased the rights to release Proeski's latest album in the other former Yugoslavian republics, which led to his victory of the Oscar of Popularity in those former republics for the year of 2000, and his sell-out shows in Skopje and Belgrade. Proeski embarked on an Australian tour along with other Macedonian singers in 2001.
After spending his time in recording studios in Athens, Greece, Proeski released his third album "Ako me pogledneš vo oči" ("If You Look Into My Eyes") in Macedonian and Serbian. After the release, Proeski went on a tour throughout Macedonia doing intense promotion. He also went to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bulgaria for further promotion. Proeski won "Beovizija" in Belgrade on April 2003, with "Čija si" ("To whom do you belong?"), a song which became a huge hit in Macedonia and the other former republics.
Superstardom
To improve his singing, Proeski took classes in New York from maestro William Riley, who was also coach to famous maestro Luciano Pavarotti. When he returned, Proeski held humanitarian concerts throughout the Republic of Macedonia. He was awarded with the Mother Theresa Humanitarian Award and in 2003 he became a Regional UNICEF Ambassador.
In 2004, MKTV chose Proeski to represent Macedonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey, and in February, he performed eight songs, where a jury, televote, and his own opinion chose the song. The song "Angel Si Ti” ("You’re an Angel”) was chosen by all three. In April, Proeski released his album "Den Za Nas" ("A Day For Us"), which was two CDs featuring the eight songs from the Eurovision selection. In May, Proeski finished 14th with the song "Life", which was the English version of "Angel Si Ti”. Prior to the contest he was popularised by reporters due to his tremendous opera singing ability, at his press conferences.
In 2004 Proeski was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and recorded the song "This World" which became the UNICEF anthem. Proeski signed a contract with Dallas Records so his next album could be released in Croatia and Slovenia. To establish himself in these countries, Proeski recorded "Krajnje Vreme” with Slovenian singer, Anja Rupel. In 2005, Toše’s fifth album Po Tebe ("After You”) was released all over ex-Yugoslavia. Po Tebe, was one of the most successful Balkan albums ever. It topped music charts for months in the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Božilak (Rainbow), was a compilation of 14 selected traditional Macedonian songs. The artist was backed up by a symphony orchestra on the album.
His latest album 'Igri bez granici' (Macedonian title)/'Igra bez granica' (Croatian title) ("Game without borders") was released all over ex-Yugoslavia in August 2007.
Apart from songs in Macedonian and the Croatian language, he also recorded one song in Slovenian, "Moja" (Mine) (2007)and one in the Italian language, "Aria" ("air"), with Italian superstar Gianna Nannini. List of artist who collaborated with Proeski include Anja Rupel, Antonija Šola, Bora Čorba, Karolina Gočeva, Esma Redžepova, Gianna Nannini, Goca Tržan, Grigor Koprov, Jeff Beck, Tony Cetinski, Željko Joksimović and other notable musicians. Prior to his death, he was a student in his final year in the solo singing department of the Skopje Music Academy.
Songwriting
Proeski also established himself as a songwriter. He wrote several hits for himself including "Ima Li Den Za Nas" (Is There A Day For Us), "Slusaš Li" (Can You Hear), "Malečka" (Little One) and "Polsko Cvekje" (Field Flower). In 2004, Proeski composed "Muza" (Muse) which was a huge hit for Martin Vučić (Macedonian Eurovision Song Contest Representative, 2005), and went on the become the title track for the young artist's second album. In interviews, Proeski stated that he has written over 100 songs but was waiting for the right moments to record them as they were still in demo form.
On October 15, Proeski gave his final interview to the Macedonian Television Station Kanal 5. He talked about his intention to finish his Musical Academy studies, his search for his soul mate, and his new album in the works.
Tose's last concert was held October 5, 2007 for the Primary Education Project for USAID. The concert raised tens of thousands of euros for the primary schools of Macedonia. The concert was attended by over 20,000 people and viewed all over the world.
Death
During the early morning of 16 October 2007, around 6:30 am, Proeski died in a car accident on the Zagreb–Lipovac highway near Nova Gradiška, Croatia. He was a passenger along with his manager Ljiljana Petrović in a Volkswagen Touareg driven by Gjorgji Gjorgjievski. The Touareg crashed into the back of a truck and then into the median barrier, killing Proeski instantly, crushing the third vertebrae of the neck, although the truck sustained no damage. Proeski was asleep in the front passenger seat at the time of the crash.[6] Of the other two passengers, only the driver suffered serious injuries (head trauma).
Proeski's body arrived at midnight in Skopje by helicopter of the Macedonian army, and was transported by car to his home town Kruševo. Grieving citizens gathered to pay their last respects at the airport and also in Skopje's city square. The Embassy of the United States of America, the USAID and the Diplomatic mission of the European Union published official statements on the death of Toše Proeski. October 17 was pronounced a national day of mourning in Macedonia. The three days following his death were pronounced days of mourning in the City of Kruševo.
After his death, the government of the Republic of Macedonia, gave him the title "Honorable citizen of Macedonia"
State funeral
The government organized an official state funeral[11] for Proeski, which was held 17 October 2007 in his home town of Kruševo, including military honour ceremonies by the Macedonian army and the National guard, such as a honor guard, a military orchestra and a honorary rifle salute. The funeral, which was broadcasted by the national Macedonian TV was attended by many domestic and foreign delegations, including the president Branko Crvenkovski, the prime minister Nikola Gruevski, members of the Macedonian Parliament and its president Ljubiša Georgievski and other high-ranking officials, the US and the EU ambassadors Gillian Milovanovic and Erwan Fouéré and other diplomats, representatives of the Red Cross, the USAID and other organizations, sport clubs etc. Also, the funeral was attended by many notable musicians from Republic of Macedonia and other countries, including: Karolina Gočeva, Kaliopi, Vlado Janevski, Lambe Alabakoski, Elena Risteska, Jovan Jovanov, Martin Vučić, Adrian Gaxha, Tijana Dapčević and her sister Tamara Todevska, Aki Rahimovski (the frontman of Parni valjak), Toni Cetinski, Ceca Ražnatović, Željko Joksimović and many others. The religious service was held by the Macedonian Orthodox Church led by the Archbishop Stephen of Ohrid, as Proeski was a declared Orthodox Christian.
Numerous websites, blogs and internet forums are filled with the last messages from his fans and friends (example). A petition is available on-line[13] for Toše Proeski to be remembered by naming educational facilities, like the local Center for Music Education in Bitola, where he had studied to carry his name. Also this petition is to promote an annual humanitarian concert, carrying his name "Tose Proeski" for the poor and disabled and those of desperate need of medical attention. Also, a page for condolences can be found at the Kruševo municipality official website.
The Hardest Thing
Toše Proeski Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
i love to hear you breathing, breathing
the morning light opens my eyes
its nearly time for leaving, leaving
I know that it seems
like it's easy for me
oh, I wish you could feel
Ref.
It's the hardest thing
I ever have to do
to walk away from you
when I wanna hold you
It's the hardest thing
in every single day
to have to turn away
I want you to know that
this is the hardest thing
And every day it skies away
I close my eyes to see your face
the more I wait, the longer it takes
it feels like time is standing still
Where ever you go
what ever you do
I want you to know
that you're on my mind
Ref.
Just to let go of your hands
the hardest day
to make you understand
that to love you, feel you
till the time i see you again
it's the hardest thing
Ref.
I sleep all night
right by you side
i love to hear you
breathing, breathing
"Toše Proeski's song The Hardest Thing" is a poignant love song that portrays the emotional struggles of a man who is deeply in love but has to leave his partner. The singer speaks of how he loves sleeping alongside his significant other and listening to her breathe, but when the morning comes, he has to leave. The singer acknowledges that it may seem easy to leave, but it's not, and he wishes his partner could understand what's going on inside him.
The chorus is where the song title comes up. The singer expresses how leaving his partner is the hardest thing he has ever had to do. He longs to hold onto her and be with her, but circumstances force him to leave her every day. Even as time passes, the image of his partner's face remains etched in his mind, and he cannot forget about her.
The last verse repeats the difficult truth that it's hard to let go of someone you love, but it's equally hard to make them understand that leaving them is the best decision. The singer says he will continue to love and long for her until he sees her again. Overall, the song conveys the message that sometimes love isn't enough, and hard choices have to be made.
Line by Line Meaning
I sleep all night right by your side
I find comfort in sleeping next to you every night
i love to hear you breathing, breathing
The sound of your breathing brings me peace and calmness
the morning light opens my eyes
As I wake up to a new day, I see the light of hope and possibility
its nearly time for leaving, leaving
However, the thought of leaving you makes me sad and anxious
I know that it seems
I understand that from the outside, it may look like I am okay
like it's easy for me
But in reality, it's taking a toll on me emotionally
oh, I wish you could feel
I wish you could experience the depth of my emotions
whats going on inside of me
Because it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do
It's the hardest thing
Walking away from you is the most difficult thing I have to do
I ever have to do
It causes me pain and heartache
to walk away from you
When all I want to do is hold you tight and never let go
when I wanna hold you
It's the internal conflict of wanting to leave, but also wanting to stay
in every single day
This feeling of heartache is present every day
to have to turn away
It hurts to have to turn my back on you and walk away
I want you to know that
I need you to understand that
this is the hardest thing
Going through this heartache is the most difficult thing I've ever faced
And every day it skies away
Every day seems to pass by slowly and painfully
I close my eyes to see your face
When I miss you, I close my eyes and try to imagine your face
the more I wait, the longer it takes
The longer I wait to see you again, the more difficult it becomes
it feels like time is standing still
The wait seems unbearable as time seems to move at a slower pace
Where ever you go
No matter where you are
what ever you do
No matter what you do
I want you to know
I want you to understand
that you're on my mind
You are always in my thoughts
Just to let go of your hands
The thought of letting go of your hands is extremely difficult
the hardest day
It will be the hardest day of my life
to make you understand
To make you realize and comprehend my emotions
that to love you, feel you
Loving you and feeling your presence brings me happiness
till the time i see you again
Until the time comes for us to be together again
it's the hardest thing
Enduring the pain of being apart from you is the hardest thing I've ever experienced
Contributed by Dylan H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@gorgorothno1
ova mi je najdraža pjesma od njega...i svaki put dok gledam ovaj video zaplačem! suze budu jače od mene! Tek kada je "otišao", shvatio sam kakav je ustvari čovjek bio! Bio je pun ljubavi, humanosti... Počivaj u miru brate! <3 :(
@92miljan
BOZEEEE DA LI JE MOGUCE DA JE OVA PESMA TOLIKO SAVRSENAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!
@goranjankovic8049
Bog mu je dao sve glas,ljepotu.dobrotu a uzo mu je ono najdragocijenije život ali zato ce on uvjek živiti u našim srcima ...Toše
@DejanP97
Napustio nas je prije skoro 6 godina, a jos uvijek je nas najbolji pjevac...pocivaj u miru heroju nas!
@anichka00
It's the hardest thing that I ever have to do, to walk away from you, when I wanna hold you.
@ChristinaPeric
I really miss you Tose! You were and always will be the best! No.1!
In Memoriam!
@anavi36
The hardest thing za mene je tvoja smrt. Pocivaj u miru andjele :(
@sd110055d
Covek je uspeo da prenese balkansku dusu u pesmu na engleskom jeziku..Tacno se oseti ta balkanska emocija...
@srceko200607
nikad necu zaboravit kako sam se osjecao kada sam cuo ovu pjesmu,prva nakon sto je otisao.......tose volimo te....omerta hvala.....
@zvonegabud3043
Najjaci glas u europi ali nazalost bio
RIP