Turbo-folk is a Serbian popular music that piles Eurodance-style programmed beats and flashy synths onto Balkan folk melodies. It is marked by glamorous female vocals full of Middle Eastern-style melisma, glittering arrangements, and almost excessively lavish music videos. Native melancholy and Western dance-pop fuse into one over-the-top gorgeous sound.

In the 1990s, amid the breakup of Yugoslavia, war, and the economic isolation of international sanctions, Serbian folk-pop merged with cheap programmed dance music and spread rapidly. Inseparable from the atmosphere of the Milošević era, it exploded in popularity through television and nighttime club culture, and thus carried strong political and social controversy.

The core is the friction and energy of folk melisma sitting alongside electronic beats. Pay attention to the glittering synths, dramatic key changes, and the powerful voices of the female singers. The very 'too much' opulence that provoked controversy is part of its appeal.

Ceca, the 'queen of turbo-folk,' and her 'Beograd' convey the genre's glamour and the charm of its female vocals at once, making it an easy standard entry point.

Turbo-folk was deeply tied to politics; critics condemned it as a symbol of an era of war and nationalism, yet it retained overwhelming popular appeal and has lately been reappraised both ironically and sincerely.