Michał Szpak (born 26 November 1990) is a Polish singer who found fame on the inaugural season of the Polish ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' in 2011. On 12 May 2016, Szpak represented Poland at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Heroes (Måns Zelmerlöw song), Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organis ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

with the song "

Color of Your Life "Color of Your Life" is a song performed by Polish singer Michał Szpak. The song was released as a digital download on 11 March 2016 through Sony Music Entertainment Poland as the fourth single from his debut studio album '' Byle być sobą'' (2 ...

Early life

Michał was born in

Jasło Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...

, a small town in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. His older sister Marlena is an Opera singer born from his father Andrzej Szpak's first marriage. His father then remarried, and Michał was born along with siblings Damian and Ewa. His parents split when Michał was 10. Because of this and a job offer, his mother moved to Italy. The Szpak children kept living in Poland with their father and visited their mother during holidays. His brother Damian became an early source of support for Michał due to his eccentricity. His early music influences included

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

Zbigniew Preisner Zbigniew Preisner (; born 20 May 1955 as Zbigniew Antoni Kowalski) is a Polish film score composer, best known for his work with film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. He is the recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis as we ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. As a high school student, together with his friend Kamil Czapla, Szpak was part of the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band Whiplash. Over the years, he has admitted that unlike his older sister, he has never taken any formal music lessons. Szpak currently resides in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, where he is pursuing a

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

degree at the

University of Social Sciences and Humanities SWPS University is a private non-profit university in Poland established in 1996 by three psychology professors, Andrzej Eliasz, Zbigniew Pietrasiński and Janusz Reykowski. SWPS University is one of the largest private universities in Pola ...

Personal life

Szpak identifies as

pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...

Career

2011–2014: Career beginnings and ''X Factor''

On 6 March 2011, Szpak took part in Poland's first edition of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' when he sang

Czesław Niemen Czesław Niemen (; born Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki; February 16, 1939 – January 17, 2004), occasionally credited mononymously as Niemen, was one of the most important and innovative Polish singer-songwriters and rock balladeers of the 20th cen ...

's classic " Dziwny jest ten świat" (Strange is the world). He eventually reached the final of the competition. On 5 June 2011, Szpak and 2008 British winner

Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and releas ...

sang "

Hallelujah ''Hallelujah'' (; , Modern ) is an interjection from the Hebrew language, used as an expression of gratitude to God. The term is used 24 times in the Tanakh (in the book of Psalms), twice in deuterocanonical books, and four times in the Christ ...

" during the final. On 17 June 2011 he was part of the lineup for the Orange Warsaw Festival at

Stadion Legii The Polish Army Stadium (, ), official named the Marshall Józef Piłsudski Legia Warsaw Stadium (), is an all-seater, highest fourth category football-specific stadium located at 3 Łazienkowska Street in the Śródmieście district, Powiśle ...

, which also included international artists such as

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

Skunk Anansie Skunk Anansie are a British Rock music, rock band whose members include Skin (musician), Skin (vocals, guitar), Cass (bass, guitar), Ace (guitar) and Mark Richardson (musician), Mark Richardson (drums). Skunk Anansie formed in 1994, disbanded ...

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

Sistars Sistars is a Polish pop/soul group formed in 2001. Their music showcases the vocals of sister vocalists Natalia Przybysz and Paulina Przybysz, and producers/composers Bartek Królik, Marek Piotrowski incorporating elements of rap, R&B, funk a ...

, Plan B,

The Streets The Streets is an English musical project led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner (musician), Mike Skinner. The project was founded in the early 90s, while Skinner was still a teenager; however, no music would formally eventuat ...

and

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai ( ) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...

. Between 4 September and 6 November 2011, Szpak participated in the 13th edition of ''

Taniec z gwiazdami ''Dancing with the Stars. Taniec z gwiazdami'' (previously simply ''Taniec z gwiazdami'' ) is a Polish light entertainment reality television series broadcast by Polsat. It is the Polish version of the British reality TV competition ''Strictly C ...

'', the Polish version of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'', where he was partnered with the Polish professional dancer Paulina Biernat. Together they reached 5th place in the competition. Szpak's debut EP, ''XI'', was released by

Universal Music Poland Universal Music Polska Sp. z o.o. (Universal Music Poland) is a Polish subsidiary of Universal Music Group, it was founded in 1998 in Warsaw. Labels CEO is Maciej Kutak after Jan Kubicki's departure. Label was founded after PolyGram, within its P ...

in December 2011. On 7 December 2011, Szpak performed as a guest celebrity on the finale of the ''

Top Model. Zostań modelką ''Top Model'' (formerly ''Top Model. Zostań modelką'' (English: ''Top Model. Become a Model'')) is a Polish reality television series based on Tyra Banks' "''America's Next Top Model''", which sees a number of aspiring models compete against ...

'' (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

for ''Top Model. Become a Model'') show, an ongoing Polish

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

based on

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black A ...

' ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

''. In 2013, he was awarded first prize at the Russian song Festival in

Zielona Gora Zielona may refer to the following places: *Zielona, Lublin Voivodeship (east Poland) *Zielona, Gmina Gródek in Podlaskie Voivodeship (northeast Poland) * Zielona, Gmina Supraśl in Podlaskie Voivodeship (northeast Poland) *Zielona, Bochnia County ...

for his performance of the famous Russian song titled " Dark Eyes" (Russian "Очи чёрные", Ochi chyornye).

2015: ''Byle być sobą''

'' Byle być sobą'' (English: ''Only to be yourself'') is the debut studio album by Szpak. It was released in Poland on 13 November 2015 through

Sony Music Entertainment Poland Sony Music Entertainment Poland Sp. z o.o. (SMEP) is a Polish subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. It was founded in 1995 in Warsaw. The label's CEO is Kazimierz Pułaski. The label was founded after Sony Music Entertainment took over the cata ...

. Titled as a reflection of his life and frame of mind at 24 years following the unexpected death of his mother, the album includes 12 songs performed in Polish as well as in English. The album, which was dedicated to the singer's mother has met with critical success in Poland. His flawless rendition of the song "Jesteś bohaterem" (English: "Real Hero") brought him first prize at the 2015

National Festival of Polish Song in Opole The National Festival of Polish Song in Opole (, KFPP), commonly known as the Opole Festival () is an annual music festival in Opole, Poland. Together with the Sopot Festival it is one of the two most important music festivals in Poland. The Op ...

2016: Eurovision Song Contest

Michał Szpak represented Poland in the

with the song "

". He was selected by televote, beating world-famous Polish performer

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, who came second, and another accomplished singer,

Edyta Górniak Edyta Anna Górniak (; born 14 November 1972) is a Polish pop singer. Górniak started as a musical theatre actress in 1990. She performed in the most popular musical in Polish history, the Tony Award-nominated ''Metro (musical), Metro''. Some ...

, who placed third; he collected 35.5% of the vote. This was the first time Poland had held a competition to choose its entry since its return in 2014. The Eurovision pre-selection show took place on 5 March 2016 at the TVP Headquarters in Warsaw and was hosted by

Artur Orzech Artur Orzech (born 22 February 1964) is a Polish journalist, musician, iranologist, radio and television presenter and music broadcaster. Early life and education Orzech graduated from ''IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Adama Mickiewicza w War ...

. To promote his Eurovision Song Contest entry, Szpak took part in the Eurovision Concert Tour in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(17 April 2016),

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

(12 April 2016),

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

(9 April 2016) and later

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. On 12 May, Szpak performed in the first half of the second Eurovision semi-final. Following his live semi-final performance of "Color of Your Life", he made it through to the grand final. On 14 May, he performed 12th in the running order, between the Eurovision contestants from France and Australia. All in all, Szpak won 3rd place from the public televoting and ended up benefiting from the new voting system. Despite being in second to last place with the juries, he leapt from seven points to 229 when public votes were added, and finished eighth overall.

2017–2022: Judge at ''The Voice of Poland'' and ''Dreamer''

After finishing in 8th place in the

, Michał Szpak has gone on to become a coach on ''

The Voice of Poland ''The Voice of Poland'' is a Polish reality television, reality talent show that premiered on September 3, 2011, on the TVP 2 television network. ''The Voice of Poland'' is part of the international syndication ''The Voice (franchise), The Voice' ...

'' replacing

Natalia Kukulska Natalia Maria Kukulska (born 3 March 1976) is a Polish singer performing pop and contemporary R&B, R&B music, turning towards alternative electronic music, electronica in the 2010s. She debuted as a child singer in 1986, and released her first "a ...

. In 2017 he was the winning coach in his debut season with ''The Voice'', promoting the winner,

Marta Gałuszewska Marta Gałuszewska (born 23 February 1994 in Elbląg), is a Polish pop singer, known for winning the The Voice of Poland (season 8), eighth season of ''The Voice of Poland'' on 25 November 2017. She chose to join Michał Szpak team. In the final ...

. In 2018 he released his second studio album titled ''Dreamer''. The songs from the album have achieved huge success on YouTube, each receiving well over a million views. In November 2018 he released his latest single, titled "Dreamer (Thanks to You My Friend)". The song is about being strong, moving on and chasing your dreams with the help of your friends and loved ones. His previous singles from the album, "King of the Season" and "Rainbow", have received 3.1m and 2.4m views on YouTube respectively.

2023–present: ''Nadwiślański mrok'' - the third studio album

''Nadwiślański mrok'' is the third studio album by Michał Szpak. It was released on 24 November 2023, by the Warner Music Poland music label. The album is in the style of pop-rock music and consists of the standard version (1 CD). The recordings were promoted with the singles: "Hiob (Preludium)", "Bondage", "Warszawianka (mrok)", "Gaja"and "Smutek".

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As featured artist

Promotional singles

Tours

* ''XI Tour'' (2012) * ''Color of Your Life Tour'' (2016–2017) * ''Classica Tour'' (2018) * ''Love is Love Tour'' (2023)

Awards and nominations

* 2011: Polish Edition of The X Factor – second place * 2011: Poland Style & Design Awards for Creative Performance & Achievement Emerging Talent * 2013: Golden Samovar – Russian Song Festival 2013 in Zielona Góra * 2015: Super Premieres – 1st Prize at the 52.

* 2016: Winner of the Polish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest * 2016: Eighth place on the

in Stockholm * 2016: Personality of The Year – grand gala "Plejady Gwiazd" * 2016: Superartist and Grand Prix Opole 2016 Award at the 53. National Festival of Polish Song in Opole

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Szpak, Michal 1990 births Living people Polish pop singers English-language singers from Poland 21st-century Polish male singers 21st-century Polish singers SWPS University alumni People from Jasło Polish LGBTQ singers 21st-century Polish LGBTQ people Eurovision Song Contest entrants