Thomas Godoj (born Tomasz Jacek Godoj; March 6, 1978) is a Polish-German rock singer and songwriter. He was the winner of the fifth season of ''

Deutschland sucht den Superstar ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany is looking for the Superstar") is a German reality talent show. Part of the ''Idol'' franchise, it was created by British media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show ''P ...

'' (2008), the German version of ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

''.

Early life

Godoj was born on 6 March 1978 in

Rybnik Rybnik (Polish pronunciation: ; ) is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, around 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Katowice, the region's capital, and around 19 km (11 mi) from the Czech Republic, Czech border. It i ...

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 ...

to Danuta and Eugen Godoj. In 1988, along with his parents and his sister Hannah, he moved to

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; ) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghaus ...

. Godoj then attended a secondary school and passed his specialty graduation examination for a career as a

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

. He attended the

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

University of Applied Sciences, specializing in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

. During his studies, Godoj became interested in music and played with local bands such as Cure of Souls, Fluxkompensator, Tonk!, and WINK.

''Deutschland sucht den Superstar''

In the summer of 2007, Godoj auditioned in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

for the fifth season of ''

'' (DSDS). The judges enjoyed his rock style and attitude and voted him on to the next round, and later into the Top 15. In the first live show, Godoj performed "

Chasing Cars "Chasing Cars" is a song by Northern Irish–Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol, released on 6 June 2006 in the United States and 24 July in the United Kingdom as the second single of their fourth album, '' Eyes Open'' (2006). The son ...

" by

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...

and received a standing ovation over multiple minutes while the jury gave him overwhelming praise. Week after week, Godoj performed for Germany until he reached the Top 2. He won the final contest with 62.2%. Although Thomas was a

front-runner In politics, a front-runner (also spelled frontrunner or front runner) is a leader in an electoral race. While the front-runner in athletic events (the namesake of the political concept) is generally clear, a political front-runner, particularly i ...

from the start of the competition, he landed in the bottom groups twice during live result shows. After the voting results were published, however, it was shown that Godoj received the highest percentage of votes every week. This places him in ''DSDS'' history, along with Mark Medlock, as a contestant with the highest number of votes each week. Technically, this would also rank Godoj with Medlock and

Alexander Klaws Alexander Klaws (born 3 September 1983) is a German singer, songwriter, actor, and television host. He rose to fame in 2003 after winning the debut season of the television series ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German ''Idol'' series ...

as the only winner never in the bottom 3, as he ranked the highest every week, but the bottom group was picked at complete random. He is the second "rocker" to win the competition alongside

Tobias Regner Tobias Regner (born 5 August 1982) is a German singer and guitarist who has enjoyed success in the rock music genre. He made his debut under major label Sony BMG Domestic after he won the highly publicized third season of the television series ...

. After the ''DSDS'' show he got back together with his ex-girlfriend Jennifer. Their first daughter Lynn Jennifer Godoj was born on 3 January 2009.Hier ist der Storch gelandet
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Discography

Albums

Singles

Promo singles *2008: "Autopilot" (radio single with video; from the album ''Plan A'')

Awards

2008

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice, is an American annual awards ceremony show produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in March or early April, the show honors the year's biggest in tel ...

: Favorite Singer * Journalia 2008 (award of Polish magazine ''Samo Życie'') *

Jetix Jetix (stylized in all caps) was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action and adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated fr ...

Awards: Newcomer of the Year 2008

2009

* 18th Echo music awards: Best National Newcomer

External links

Official website

Thomas Godoj online forum

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godoj, Thomas 1978 births Deutschland sucht den Superstar winners Living people People from Rybnik People from Recklinghausen 21st-century German male singers German rock singers Polish rock singers Polish emigrants to Germany Naturalized citizens of Germany