One of the biggest pop voices Montenegro has produced is closing the year in Belgrade. Sergej Ćetković performs on December 25 at Sava Centar, in a holiday slot right between Catholic Christmas and New Year - an evening tailored for his ballads, the ones half the region knows by heart.

Ćetković was born in 1976 in Podgorica, where he still lives today. He started with music early, as a student at a music school and a member of the bands Vatrena srca and Amfiteatar, and launched his solo career in 1998. The real breakthrough came through the festivals in Budva and Herceg Novi, and songs like Pogledi u tami, Ako te nije pronašla ljubav and Prokleta bila established him as one of the best-selling pop names in the region.

He has been named singer of the year in Montenegro four times, and in 2014 he represented his country at Eurovision with Moj svijet - the first Montenegrin song to qualify for the final at all, where it finished 19th. His repertoire is built for exactly this kind of evening: lush arrangements, an orchestra, and ballads the audience sings along with him.

The concert at Sava Centar starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are sold through tickets.rs, with a starting price of around 1,300 dinars. For an end of the year with pop that does not shy away from emotion, Ćetković is a safe bet.