2007–2010: Career beginnings and Eurovision Stanković gained initial fame as a contestant on the third season of the
singing competition Zvezde Granda in 2007, where he placed 4th. Recognized for performing mostly songs by
Zdravko Čolić, he received widespread public attention due to his
k-pop influenced appearance and relationship with fellow-contestant
Rada Manojlović. Two years following the competition, Stanković released his debut album
Solo under
Grand Production, which sold 50,000 copies. By receiving 45% of the public votes, he ended up winning the festival with his entry, titled "Ovo je Balkan", written by
Goran Bregović,
Marina Tucaković and
Ljiljana Jorgovanović. During the first semi-final of the Eurovision, held on 25 May, Stanković performed seventh, placing fifth and thus qualifying for the final. On May 27, he performed eighth and finished in the 13th place with 72 points.
2011–2020: Milan and collaboration with Jala & Buba After Eurovision, Stanković was dropped from Grand Production due to breech of contract, according to its then
CEO and owner Saša Popović. This situation, along with his breakup with Rada Manojlović, led Milan to take a brief hiatus from public performance. In September 2013, Stanković released the single "Od mene se odvikavaj". He then participated in the
Pink Music Festival 2014 with "Luda ženo", where he received three awards. In September 2014, he also became a judge on the children's singing competition
Pinkove Zvezdice, on which he continued appearing for four non-consecutive seasons. On 3 March 2015, Stanković announced his sophomore album by releasing two singles – "Mašina" and "Nisi mu ti žena". In July, he collaborated with Serbian rapper
Mimi Mercedez and
turbo-folk singer
Mile Kitić on the single "Gadure". In September, he released his eponymous
EP under
City Records, which featured previously released singles and three new songs. In February 2017, Milan released the single "Ego" featuring
Bosnian hip hop duo
Jala Brat and
Buba Corelli. As of May 2022, the music video has collected over eighty million views on
YouTube, making it his most viewed song on this platform. Between 2018 and 2019, he released three more singles – "Trans", "Kripton" (2018) and "Brane mi te" (2019), as a part of his so-called "
Tokyo trilogy". Stanković worked with Jala Brat and Buba Corelli once again on the single "Pablo", released in July 2020. ==Personal life==