30 years after she first represented Poland at Eurovision with the song ‘Sama’, Justyna Steczkowska is back and will be representing her country once again with the song ‘Gaja’.
Read on to learn all about Justyna, her career so far and how she came to represent Poland for a second time.
Who is Justyna Steczkowska?
52-year-old Justyna Steczkowska was born in Rzeszów before moving to Stalowa Wola at the age of 5. Born to a music teacher and conductor, Justyna was instilled with a love of music, attending music schools and playing the violin in a family band, which has clearly served her well as Justyna’s violin playing features prominently in her performance of ‘Gaja’.
Justyna’s first television breakthrough took place in 1994, when she competed in the Polish music talent show Szansa na sukces (A Chance for Success). Although her first audition did not go well, Justyna was given another chance to compete, eventually going on to win the competition. In that same year, Justyna performed her debut single ‘Moja intymność’ (‘My Intimacy’) at the Opole Festival, one of the most prominent music festivals in Poland. Here, Justyna won the Karolinka award, which is awarded to debutants, further exposing her to a wider audience.
Since then, Justyna has gone on to release a whopping 19 albums and has won many more awards for her music. Outside of singing, Justyna has starred in two films and has hosted the Polish version of Dancing on Ice. In 2007, she was a runner-up in the sixth season of Dancing With the Stars and has mentored on sixth seasons of The Voice of Poland with two of her mentees (Aleksandra Nizio and Marta Burdynowicz) going on to win the competition. She has also served as a judge on Your Face Sounds Familiar since 2024.
Eurovision 1995
Justyna made her Eurovision debut in 1995 when she was still making her mark as a young upcoming artist. Her song ‘Sama’ (‘Alone’) features traditional folk elements and was written in a minor key, with Justyna singing in a gentle soprano – a marked change from her later Eurovision releases, showcasing her versatility as an artist. Towards the climax of the song, Justyna shows off her four octave vocal range, effortlessly belting out a D6 note. You can watch her performance below:
Poland performed first in the running order and went on to place 18th overall, with Eurovision victory that year being secured by Norway with the song ‘Nocturne’ by Secret Garden.
Eurovision 2024
In December 2023, Justyna released her nineteenth studio album which featured the single ‘WITCH Tarohoro’. Speaking of the song, Justyna said:
With this song I want to tell you about our Slavic strength, courage and extraordinary energy that is enchanted in music and words. […] Our original power of creation, creativity and true power is contained in this song.
After a controversial national final in 2023, which saw Polish broadcaster TVP accused of jury rigging, it was decided that Poland would select their Eurovision 2024 entrant internally. As well as Justyna, Poland’s 1994 representative Edyta Górniak was also one of the entrants considered by TVP.
‘WITCH Tarohoro’ immediately proved to be a fan favourite, with many eurofans certain that due to the song’s quality and Justyna’s status in Poland she would be the one representing Poland in Malmö. However, the five-person jury ultimately awarded Luna the victory with her song ‘The Tower’. Just one point separated Luna and Justyna.
You can listen to ‘WITCH Tarohoro’ below:
Eurovision 2025
Having narrowly escaped victory, Justyna decided to try again, this time submitting the song ‘Gaja’ to the new Polish national final Wielki FinaÅ‚ Polskich Kwalifikacji (Grand Final of the Polish Qualifications). Having been beset by two jury-related controversies in a row, TVP decided that their national selection would be decided solely by public televote this year. Justyna achieved almost 40% of the overall vote, obtaining 31,574 votes compared to the 19,022 votes obtained by second-place act Swada i Niczos. 30 years after her initial participation, Justyna was returning to Eurovision once again! This also means Justyna holds the record for the returning act with the longest time between her two entries, an accolade previously held by Anna Vassi who represented Cyprus in 1982 and then Greece in 2006.
Named after the personification of Earth in Greek mythology, Justyna has described using the figure of Gaia as “a symbol of regaining control over one’s own destiny and time”. The song also features a reference to ‘WITCH Tarohoro’. Her performance at Basel sees Justyna accompanied by four dancers and even sees the singer hang from the ceiling, which you can see below:
Poland will be the second country to perform in the first semi-final on Tuesday 13th May. Having failed to qualify for last year’s grand final, Poland will certainly be hoping to be more successful in Basel this year. We certainly wish them and Justyna the best of luck!
You can follow Justyna on social media!
Instagram – @justynasteczkowska
You can keep up to date with Phoenix on Bluesky, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for all the latest Eurovision 2025 news.
Our podcast, Instead We Made A Pod, is available to stream on all platforms.
