Katarzyna Magdalena Rooijens (née Szczot; born 5 November 1967 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

), professionally known as Kayah, is a Polish singer-songwriter performing a variety of music genres, including pop,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

and dance. She has also experimented with disco, funk, electronica as well as Balkan and

Jewish music Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish people. There exist both traditions of religious music, as sung at the synagogue and domestic prayers, and of secular music, such as klezmer. While some elements of Jewish music may originate ...

. Kayah released her first self-written album in 1995 and has since established herself as one of the most critically and commercially successful Polish singers. She is one of the most awarded artists by the

Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry The Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry ( pl, Związek Producentów Audio-Video, ZPAV) is the trade organization that represents the interests of the music industry in Poland, and the Polish chapter of the International Federation of the ...

(ZPAV) and has placed fourth on Polish music magazine '' Machina''s list of "50 best Polish female singers". Kayah has sold over one million records in Poland and most of her albums have been certified platinum or gold by ZPAV. Particularly successful was the 1999 collaborative album ''

Kayah i Bregović ''Kayah i Bregović'' is a studio album by Yugoslav musician Goran Bregović and Polish singer Kayah, released in 1999 by Zic Zac and BMG Poland. The album was a major commercial and critical success in Poland, spawning the hits "Śpij kochanie ...

'', recorded with Yugoslav musician

Goran Bregović Goran Bregović (born 22 March 1950) is a recording artist from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Slavic-speaking countries in the Balkans, and is one of the few former Yug ...

, which was certified diamond for selling over 700,000 copies, and spawned hit singles "Śpij kochanie, śpij" and "Prawy do lewego". Her other hits include "Fleciki", "Na językach", "Supermenka", "Testosteron", "Prócz ciebie, nic" with Polish singer

Krzysztof Kiljański Krzysztof () is a Polish given name, equivalent to English ''Christopher''. The name became popular in the 15th century. Its diminutive forms include Krzyś, Krzysiek, and Krzysio; augmentative – Krzychu Individuals named Krzysztof may choose t ...

and "Po co" with Israeli musician

Idan Raichel Idan Raichel ( he, עידן רייכל, ; b. 12 September 1977) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician known for his "Idan Raichel Project" (Hebrew: ), distinctive for its fusion of electronics, traditional Hebrew texts, and diverse mu ...

. She has also collaborated with Cape Verdean singer

Cesária Évora Cesária Évora GCIH (; 27 August 194117 December 2011), more commonly known as Cize, was a Cape Verdean singer-songwriter. She received a Grammy Award in 2004 for her album ''Voz d'Amor''. Nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" for performing without ...

. In the early 2000s, Kayah co-founded her own record label,

Kayax Kayax Production & Publishing Sp. z o.o. is an independent Polish entertainment company that operates a record label, music publisher, management and concert agency. It was founded by singer Kayah and her business partner, musician Tomasz Grewińs ...

, which has since signed many successful artists and released numerous critically acclaimed albums. She has also hosted a number of television and radio shows and occasionally appeared in TV series and films in Poland. Kayah has also been outspoken politically, having supported Poland's Women's Party and the Committee for the Defence of Democracy. She is also an ally and supporter of the Polish LGBT community.

Background and early life

Kayah was born in Warsaw to a Polish mother and a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

father, but grew up with her grandparents in Białystok. She has two stepsisters on her father's side. Her grandmother was the cousin of Polish poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński and Polish writer Maria Dąbrowska. As a young girl, Kayah wanted to be an archaeologist or a basketball player, and prior to musical career, she worked in a shop selling ties. Kayah's pseudonym is 'Kaja' written phonetically in English, which was her childhood nickname, a kind of a diminutive from her birth name, Katarzyna.

Career

Kayah started performing with various bands from the mid-1980s and appeared as a backing vocalist in the song "Mówię ci, że..." by Polish rock band Tilt, which was a hit in 1986. She debuted as a solo artist in 1988 at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole performing the song "Córeczko", which she co-wrote, and subsequently took part in the Baltic Song Contest in

Karlshamn Karlshamn () is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 13,576 inhabitants in 2015, out of 31,846 in the municipality. Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles ...

, Sweden. The same year, her first full-length eponymous album was released by

Polskie Nagrania Muza Polskie Nagrania "Muza" ("Polish Records 'Muse' ", official name since 2005: "Polskie Nagrania Sp. z o.o", i.e., Polskie Nagrania Ltd.) is a Polish record label based in Warsaw. It has produced records in many genres including pop, rock, jazz, fol ...

, which consisted of material written by Maciej Zembaty,

John Porter John Porter may refer to: Politicians * John Porter (portreeve), 1390–94, Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton * John Porter (Illinois politician) (1935–2022), Illinois politician, U.S. Representative * John Porter (MP for Bramber) (died 1599 ...

and Neil Black, yet originally intended for another artist. The label did little to promote the record, leading to its commercial failure, and today Kayah does not include it in her official discography. The singer tried to terminate the hastily-signed, disadvantageous record deal, which she has described as "incapacitating", and eventually succeeded.

1990s

In 1991, the English language version of Kayah's debut album was released by Rogot without her consent. The singer relocated to Vienna where she briefly worked as a model. In the early 1990s, she also contributed backing vocals for such artists as De Mono,

Grzegorz Ciechowski Grzegorz Zbigniew Ciechowski (29 August 1957 – 22 December 2001) was a Polish rock musician and film music composer. Ciechowski was born in Tczew. He was the founder and frontman of the band Republika, which was one of Poland's most popul ...

and

Paweł Stasiak Paweł Stasiak, also known as Pablosson (born 19 November 1967), is a Polish singer. He is currently the lead singer of musical group Papa D, a revival of the band Papa Dance from the 1980s, of which he was also the lead singer. Biography As a c ...

. In 1993, she appeared in a self-written song "Mówili o mnie" on a live album by Polish band Republika. In 1994, she performed her song "Ja chcę ciebie" at the Opole Festival where she received a special award, and at the Baltic Song Contest where she came second. Her first self-written and co-produced solo album, '' Kamień'', was released in November 1995 by Zic Zac and BMG Poland. It consisted of melancholy pop songs, influenced by

and

. The album included the popular single "Fleciki" and was an unexpected commercial success, earning gold certification in Poland. It was also nominated to the

Fryderyk The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the American Grammy and the UK's BR ...

award as the Pop Album of the Year and Kayah herself won in the Female Vocalist of the Year category. In March 1997, she released the album ''

Zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...

'', heavily inspired by soul, funk and disco music of the 70s. It was promoted by two singles, "Na językach" and "Supermenka", which both reached the top of the Polish airplay chart. The latter's

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

featured a guest appearance by Ice-T. ''Zebra'' was a critical and commercial success, quickly receiving platinum certification and selling over 200,000 copies. It was awarded with a Fryderyk for the Pop Album of the Year and Kayah received awards for the Composer, Author, and Female Vocalist of the Year. Later in 1997, Kayah released the duet "Uwierz... to nie ja" with Polish singer

Urszula Urszula may refer to: * Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa (1705–1753), Polish-Lithuania-Belarusian noble dramatist and writer * Urszula Augustyn (born 1964), Polish politician * Urszula Dudziak (born 1943), Polish jazz vocalist * Urszula Gacek (b ...

which also became a hit. In 1998, Kayah hosted the TV show ''To było grane'' on the newly launched Polish channel TVN. She also met the Yugoslav musician

with whom she went on to record a collaborative album, ''

'', released in April 1999. It consisted of various songs from Bregović's repertoire to which Kayah wrote Polish lyrics and musically was a blend of

Balkan music Balkan music is a type of music found in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. The music is characterised by complex rhythm. Famous bands in Balkan music include Taraf de Haïdouks, Fanfare Ciocărlia, and No Smoking Orchestra. Historical ...

and Polish folk. The first two singles released from the album, "Śpij kochanie, śpij" and "Prawy do lewego", became major hits in Poland and the record itself went on to sell in excess of 700,000 copies which earned it a diamond certification. The album received a Fryderyk for the Pop Album of the Year and Kayah once again won as the Best Female Artist award. Following its nationwide success in Poland, BMG decided to distribute the album in a number of European countries.

2000s

Kayah's next solo album, '' JakaJaKayah'', was released in May 2000 and incorporated elements of soul,

and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

. The lead single "JakaJaKayah" met with considerable success in Poland and was the first music video aired on MTV Polska. The album received favourable reviews, got a nomination to the Pop Album of the Year Fryderyk award, and was certified platinum in Poland for selling over 100,000 copies. In 2001, its special edition was released, featuring the new single "Embarcação" recorded with Cape Verdean singer

. The album was then released internationally as ''YakaYaKayah'' with English language versions of some of the songs. Kayah also contributed the self-written song "Wiosna przyjdzie i tak" to Polish film '' Przedwiośnie''. In 2002, she featured on Michał Żebrowski's album ''Poczytaj mi tato 2'' in the song "Dobry potwór nie jest zły". Kayah2

In August 2003, Kayah released '' Stereo typ'', an album incorporating soul, funk and club music. The first single, "Testosteron", was another major hit for the singer, reaching number 2 in the Polish airplay chart. The album debuted at number 1 in the Polish albums sales chart, was certified gold by ZPAV, and received three nominations to the Fryderyk award. In 2004, Kayah contributed the theme song to the Polish version of the animated film ''

Brother Bear ''Brother Bear'' is a 2003 American animated musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 44th Disney animated feature film, it was directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert ...

'' and recorded the song "Prócz ciebie, nic" with

which was another major hit, reaching the top of the airplay chart. By that time, she had co-founded her own record label,

, and went on to release acclaimed albums by niche and avantgarde artists. The singer released her first compilation in April 2005, '' The Best & the Rest'', a 2-disc set featuring all of her greatest hits, including the new popular single "Jutro rano", as well as less popular tracks. It entered the Polish chart at number 1 and was certified gold. The compilation fulfilled Kayah's contract with Sony BMG Music Entertainment Poland and the singer effectively parted ways with the label. In late 2006, she released the EP with Christmas music ''Kolędy śpiewa Kayah'' and became the first artist in East-Central Europe to perform an acoustic concert as part of the ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' series. The recording from the event was released in March 2007 as live CD and DVD ''

'', which reached number 4 in the albums chart and received gold certification. She also curated the compilation ''Music 4 Boys & Gays'' to support the Polish LGBT community. In late 2008, Kayah released the Christmas single "Ding dong". Her first full-length studio album in six years, ''

Skała Skała is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). On December 31, 2010, its population was 3,646. Skala is one of the oldest town of Lesser Poland. In ...

'', was released by Kayax in September 2009, and musically continued her 1995 album's soul and jazz sound. It was the singer's another number 1 album in Poland and was certified gold shortly after the premiere.

2010s

2010 saw the release of two collaboration albums: ''Kayah & Royal Quartet'' with Royal String Quartet in March, consisting mostly of string interpretations of some of Kayah's songs, and ''Panienki z temperamentem'' with Renata Przemyk in November, which included covers of songs by Kabaret Starszych Panów. The former was certified gold and the latter reached the top 10 in the Polish albums chart. In spring 2011, she released the standalone single "Za późno" which was a top 5 airplay hit in Poland, and took part in the TV talent show ''

The Voice of Poland ''The Voice of Poland'' is a Polish 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'' based on the reality singing competition ...

'', a Polish version of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', as a member of the judging panel. In 2012, Kayah performed at the Festival of Jewish Culture in Warsaw, collaborating with Bulgarian composer Atanas Valkov and various musicians of Polish, Ukrainian and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

origins. The event resulted in the album '' Transoriental Orchestra'', released in November 2013, on which the singer performed traditional Jewish songs from different regions of Europe and the Middle East in a range of languages. The album was certified platinum in Poland and Kayah went on to tour the material in Poland, Israel and Spain, among others. Also in 2013, she was honoured with the Order of Polonia Restituta for "outstanding contributions to Polish culture and achievements in artistic and creative work". In 2014, she performed at a concert in Warsaw commemorating the 10th anniversary of Poland's accession to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and an event in Opole marking the 25th anniversary of Poland's 1989 partially democratic election. In 2015, she re-issued her breakthrough album ''Kamień'' to mark its 20th anniversary and embarked on a commemorative tour. Kayah 2

In November 2016, the singer released ''Gdy pada śnieg'', an album consisting of traditional

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

s and two new songs co-written by herself. The album reached number 7 in the Polish chart. She teamed up with Israeli musician

on the single "Po co", released in spring 2017, which was a top 3 airplay hit in Poland. In autumn, she went on tour with

and released the single "Podatek od miłości" with Grzegorz Hyży to promote film of the same name. The song reached number 5 in the airplay chart. She also started hosting her own radio show ''Tu i teraz'' on Meloradio. In 2018, Kayah released the project "Czarna polana" on which she collaborated with Atanas Valkov and director Tomasz Bagiński. She also featured on the tribute album to Józef Tischner titled ''Tischner. Mocna nuta'' and the posthumous Zbigniew Wodecki album ''Dobrze, że jesteś''. In 2019, she released the single "Dawaj w długą" which was a moderate chart success.

2020s

In early 2020, Kayah released the single "Ramię w ramię" with teenage singer Viki Gabor which reached number 4 in the airplay chart. Later that year, she duetted with Mery Spolsky on the song "Królestwo kobiet" promoting Polish TV series of the same name. She also guest featured in songs by various Polish artists: "Przejazdem" by Pectus, "Kocham cię" by Maria Sadowska, and "Nisko jest niebo" by Pezet. In 2021, Kayah released the song "Nie dzielcie nas" with Krzysztof Iwaneczko and teamed up with Nick Sinckler on the dance single "Kochaj różnym być". Later that year, she released the duet "Pod powieką" with Natalia Kukulska, based on Chopin's " Prelude in E minor".

Personal life

On 5 August 1998, Kayah married Dutch-Polish TV producer Rinke Rooyens and gave birth to their son, Roch, on 1 December 1998. They separated in 2002 and eventually divorced in 2010. From 2005 to 2009, her partner was Sebastian Karpiel-Bułecka, the leader of Polish band Zakopower. The singer then was in a four-year relationship with

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

ese musician Pako Sarr, to whom she was reportedly engaged and planned to marry, but the couple eventually broke up in 2015. Since 2017, her partner is Polish financier Jarosław Grzywiński. Kayah is

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

. In 2006, she started studying

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

Discography

* 1988: ''Kayah'' * 1995: '' Kamień'' * 1997: ''

'' * 1999: ''

'' (with

) * 2000: '' JakaJaKayah'' * 2003: '' Stereo typ'' * 2005: '' The Best & the Rest'' * 2006: ''Kolędy śpiewa Kayah'' * 2007: ''

'' * 2009: ''

'' * 2010: ''Kayah & Royal Quartet'' (with Royal String Quartet) * 2010: ''Panienki z temperamentem'' (with Renata Przemyk) * 2013: '' Transoriental Orchestra'' * 2016: ''Gdy pada śnieg''

Filmography and TV work

; Feature films * 2006: '' Dublerzy'' – as Maria Corazzi * 2009: ''Piksele'' * 2019: ''Zabawa, zabawa'' ; TV series * 2005: '' Niania'' – as herself * 2006: ''Dublerzy'' – as Maria Corazzi * 2016: '' Druga szansa'' ; TV shows * 1998: ''To było grane'' – host * 2008: ''Fabryka gwiazd'' – jury * 2011: ''

'' – coach

Awards

* 1988: Audience award at the Baltic Song Contest for the song "Córeczko" * 1993: Second place at the

Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...

for the song "Liść" * 1996:

for the Best Female Singer * 1998: Fryderyk for the Best Female Singer * 1998: Fryderyk for the Best Composer * 1998: Fryderyk for the Best Author * 1998: Fryderyk for the Best Pop Album (''

'') * 2000: Fryderyk for the Best Female Singer * 2000: Fryderyk for the Best Pop Album (''

'') * 2000: Best Album award in the Machinery '99 contest for ''Kayah i Bregović'' * 2000: Best Female Singer award in the Superjedynki contest * 2000: Best Pop Album award in the Superjedynki contest for ''Kayah i Bregović'' * 2000: Hit of the Year award in the Superjedynki contest for the song "Śpij kochanie, śpij"

References

External links

Official site

Kayah
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kayah 1967 births Artists from Białystok Living people Musicians from Warsaw Polish folk singers Polish jazz singers Polish people of Jewish descent Polish pop singers Polish soul singers Polish women singers World music singers