On a cosy Sunday afternoon, Poland will choose their representative for Eurovision 2023. Last year, Poland finished 12th and left hand side of the board with Ochman and his song ‘River’. Will they be even more successful this year? Let’s say “Cześć!” to the 10 finalists of Tu bije serce Europy (TBSE) and get to know all about them and their songs.
Natasza Urbańska – ‘Lift U Up’
Natasza Urbańska is a 45-year-old actress and singer from Warsaw and is likely to be very well-known to Polish audiences, having appeared in multiple films and TV shows in Poland, as well as multiple productions with the Studio Buffo theatre company in Warsaw. She was also voted the most beautiful woman in Poland by Viva! magazine in 2007. This isn’t her first time hoping to represent Poland in Eurovision, having participated in the Polish national finals in 2007 and 2008, with ‘I Like it Loud’ and ‘Blow Over’ respectively.
Natasza’s 2023 offering, ‘Lift U Up’, is a driving pop number whose lyrics deal with hiding your vulnerability but secretly wanting to love and uplift the person most important to you. She’s opening the show, so could Natasza start the contest off with a bang? You can listen to her song below:
Kuba Szmajkowski – ‘You Do Me’
Kuba Szmajkowski (real name Jakub Szmajkowski) is a 20 year old singer-songwriter originally from the village of Międzyborów. As a teenager, he participated in the first series of the Polish edition of The Voice Kids in 2017 before going on to form the boy band 4Dreamers with some of his fellow participants. They went on to release two albums, the first of which peaked at number 6 in the Polish album charts. In 2021, 4Dreamers disbanded and Kuba went on to form a solo career, participating in last year’s edition of TBSE with the song ‘Lovesick’, placing fourth overall.
Now Kuba is back for a second chance with his electro-pop track ‘You Do Me’. The lyrics are about deciding to go your separate ways with your partner because things aren’t going to get any better. Could Kuba take the crown and represent Poland this year? You can listen to his song below:
Ahlena – Booty
Ahlena (Magdalena Pawłowska) is a singer-songwriter and producer from Gdańsk. In 2020, she decided to step out from behind the scenes and perform and compose her own songs, with pop, rap and R&B being her preferred genres.
‘Booty’ is Ahlena’s debut single and it’s certainly stirred up some controversy! A track all about how a man just loves her voluptuous booty, it incurred the ire of journalist and former president of TBSE broadcaster TVP, Janusz Daszczyński. He branded the song a “scandal” on his Facebook page and deemed the lyrics obscene and inappropriate for broadcast. This led to a discussion at the program’s council on Thursday 23rd February, where there were calls to remove the song from the contest, accusations that Daszczyński was merely bitter one of his own acts had not been selected and even suggestions that Ahlena should change her lyrics! It remains to be seen whether we will see ‘Booty’ in its original form onstage but you can listen to it below:
Dominik Dudek – ‘Be Good’
Dominik Dudek is a 29-year-old musician from Limanowa who recently won The Voice of Poland where Tomson and Baron of rock-rap group Afromental were his mentors.
‘Be Good’ is Dominik’s second official solo single and is a modern pop song with folk-rock influences. Its lyrics are about doing good, even when everyone and everything appears to be against you. It is written by Dominic Buczkowski-Wojtaszek and Patryk Kumór, who have composed the Polish Eurovision entries ‘Empires’ in 2020 and ‘Superhero’ and ‘Somebody’, the latter two of which represented Poland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2019 and 2021. With such a team behind him, could Dominik’s result ‘Be Good’? You can listen to his song below:
Alicja Szemplinska – ‘New Home’
Alicja Szemplinska is a 20 year old singer-songwriter and composer from Ciechanów who has represented Poland in Eurovision before with the song ‘Empires’. Unfortunately, the contest was infamously cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic so Alicja never got her chance to perform on a Eurovision stage. Since then, she has released a number of singles, including ‘Each of Us’ for the Disney Music Group.
‘New Home’ is a ballad that showcases Alicja’s distinctive alto vocals and deals with the idea of feeling homesick and out of place, trying to make a new life and home with someone else. She never got to perform at Rotterdam, but could it be Alicja’s time to perform at Liverpool? You can listen to her song below:
Felivers – ‘Never Back Down’
Felivers are a band consisting of four musicians from Sohaczew: Miłosz Fergiński, Wojciech Fortuna, Konrad Jażdżyk and Piotr “Cody” Dąbrowski. Their 2018 debut single ‘Nasz Moment’ peaked at number 33 in the Polish singles charts and they cite Machine Gun Kelly, Metallica and YUNGBLUD as some of their biggest influences.
‘Never Back Down’ is a rock song and is also the only song in this year’s TBSE to feature the Polish language. Its lyrics deal with rising above the negativity imposed on you by others and grasping your moment to shine. You can listen to the song below:
Maja Hyży – ‘Never Hide’
Maja Hyży is a 33 year old singer from Kołobrzeg who won the International Song Contest in Trzebiatów when she was just 14. She is perhaps best known for her participation in the third series of the Polish edition of The X Factor, where she made it to the semi-finals. This will mark the third time she has attempted to represent Poland in Eurovision, having tried her luck in both 2018 and 2020.
Maja has had to undergo a number of leg and hip surgeries in her life, something alluded to in both the music video and lyrics of her disco-pop song ‘Never Hide’. Even though Maja feels “every broken bone”, she is determined to come out dancing and not hide in the background. This is likely to be a huge moment for her so could winning TBSE be the cherry on top? You can listen to Maja’s song below:
Jann – ‘Gladiator’
Jann (Jan Rozmanowski) is a 24 year old singer-songwriter who was born in Lublin but grew up in Garwolin. From the age of 12, he performed at the National Opera in Warsaw and has also studied at the Flynn Performing Arts School in Newry and the prestigious music school BIMM in London. His debut mini-album ‘Power’ was released in 2022.
‘Gladiator’ is a genre-defying song that is currently the fan favourite to win TBSE. Including alternative, electro and pop elements as well as his opera roots, Eurofans have been staggered by not just the song but also the music video’s visuals and are hopeful these will carry through to the TBSE stage. Could Jann follow in Ochman’s footsteps and represent Poland at Eurovision? You can listen to his song below:
Blanka – ‘Solo’
Blanka (Blanka Stajkow) is a 24 year old Polish-Bulgarian singer and model. She first appeared on screens in 2021 when she took part in the auditions for Poland’s edition of the Top Model franchise. Following this, she released her debut single ‘Better’ and signed with Warner Music Poland.
‘Solo’ is Blanka’s second official single and features Latin and reggae influences, as well as pop. Its lyrics are about realising that someone is no good for you and that you are better off on your own. You can listen to her song below:
Yan Majewski – ‘Champion’
Yan Majewski (born Jan Majewski and sometimes billed simply as YAN) is the youngest TBSE participant this year at just 18 years old. He was born in Radom and has appeared in a number of song contests, including The Voice of Poland.
Yan is hoping to make his mark at the contest with his single ‘Champion’ which is an anthemic pop song imploring listeners to remember his name and give him a taste of the crown. It seems like he really wants to represent Poland at Eurovision but will he come out on top? You can listen to his song below:
So there are the ten artists hoping to represent Poland in May but who is your favourite? You can watch TBSE on the TVP 1 channel at 16:30 GMT/17:30 GMT.
