Blanka Stajkow ( ; born 23 May 1999), known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

ously as Blanka, is a Polish singer and model. She represented Poland in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as , the winner of the with the song "Stefania (song), Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the eve ...

with the song "

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

", finishing in 19th place.

Life and career

Early life

Stajkow was born in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

to Polish mother who is a former model and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n father who is a businessman. According to Stajkow, neither of her parents have a musical background. From an early age, she was encouraged by her mother to partake in various activities, including joining disco dance groups and attending music schools. She also said that in the mornings her mother would turn on either

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

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, which inspired her to pursue a career in the music industry. At age 13, she produced and released her first song, "Strong Enough".

''Top Model'' and Warner Music Poland (2021–2022)

In 2021, Stajkow participated in

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of the Polish reality television show ''

Top Model ''Top Model'', also called ''Next Top Model'', is a fashion-themed reality television show format produced in many countries throughout the world and seen in over 120 countries producing over 200 seasons (referred to as "cycles"). The show t ...

'', Poland's version of ''

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 ...

''. While on the show, she released her first official single, "Better". The following year, she signed with

Warner Music Poland Warner Music Poland Sp. z o.o., is a Polish subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it was founded in 1994 in Warsaw. The label's CEO is Piotr Kabaj. The label started with a catalog of Polish national record label Polton which was bought from Starst ...

, and released her second single, "

". She also appeared in the music video for the song "Pijemy za lepszy czas" by

Smolasty Norbert Smoliński (born 27 August 1995), known professionally as Smolasty, is a Polish rapper, singer and record producer, who creates R&B, pop, and rap music. He has collaborated with performers such as: Ewa Farna, Kaz Bałagane, Otsochodzi, B ...

, whom she dated at the time.

Eurovision Song Contest (2023)

On 15 February 2023, Blanka was announced as one of ten competitors of , the Polish national selection for the

with "Solo". She won the contest, receiving maximum points from the jury and coming second in public voting. As a result, she became Poland's entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. Her victory in sparked

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in Poland due to alleged rigged votes and corruption within the jury panel for the national selection. At Eurovision, Blanka performed in the second semi final, placing third and advancing to the grand final. In the final, she finished 19th with 93 points. "Solo" charted across Europe, and was certified Diamond in Poland.

Post-Eurovision (2023–present)

Following her participation in Eurovision, Blanka released the singles: "Boys Like Toys" and "Rodeo" in 2023, and "Cara mia", "If U Want Me" and "Asereje (Airplane Mode)" in 2024. "Rodeo" reached number four in the Polish charts, while "Boys Like Toys", "Caria mia" and "If U Want Me" charted in the country's top 20. "Asereje (Airplane Mode)" was featured in season three of the

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series ''

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''. In February 2024, Blanka appeared in the music video for

the Kolors The Kolors is an Italian pop rock band founded in 2009 by lead vocalist Antonio Stash Fiordispino, drummer Alex Fiordispino, and Daniele Mona who plays synthesizers. They are best known for their 2023 hit " Italodisco", which peaked at number one ...

's song "

Un ragazzo una ragazza "Un ragazzo una ragazza" () is a song by Italian rock band The Kolors, released on 7 February 2024 through Warner. The song competed in the 74th Sanremo Music Festival, Italy's musical festival which doubles also as a selection of the act for Eu ...

". In April 2024, she served as the opening act for the Polish date of

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Since the start of his solo recording career in 2009, he has sold over 250 m ...

's worldwide Nu King World Tour. In 2025, she was a contestant on

season 29 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of the Polish version of the dancing show ''

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) ...

.'' Her partner was Mieszko Masłowski and they placed 5th in the quarter-finals on 27 April 2025.

Discography

Singles

Promotional singles

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stajkow, Blanka Living people 1999 births 21st-century Polish women singers Polish people of Bulgarian descent Musicians from Szczecin Polish female models English-language singers from Poland Eurovision Song Contest entrants