Michał Szpak

Michał Szpak is a Polish singer.

He was born into a family with musical traditions: his father sang in a choir, and his mother sang and played the guitar. At the age of nine, he made his debut on stage at the Culture House in Jasło during a competition for Christmas carols, where he won an award. He then joined the local choir. During his middle school years, he took a three-year break from singing due to voice mutation. During his high school years, he was the vocalist of a heavy metal band called Whiplash, where he performed with his friend Kamil Czapla. He unsuccessfully tried to enter the Vocal Department of the Fryderyk Chopin State Music School in Warsaw. He was rejected due to his appearance and makeup, which was, according to the examiners, it was considered shocking.

In the spring of 2011, he auditioned for the first season of the talent show X Factor. His androgynous appearance sparked disapproval and dismissive reactions from the audience during his performance in front of the judges. However, after singing, he received a standing ovation from the audience. In the end, he became the overall runner up in the X Factor.  In July of the same year, he opened for Suzanne Vega’s concert in Poland. In the autumn, he participated in the thirteenth edition Taniec z gwiazdami (Dancing with the Stars). At the end of the year, he released his debut studio mini-album titled “XI”.

On August 17, 2013, thanks to his performance of the song “Oczy czarne,” he won the Russian Song Festival in Zielona Góra, receiving the Golden Samovar and a check for 50,000 Polish złoty. 

In April 2015, Michał released the single “Real Hero,” which heralded his debut full-length studio album. On June 12, he released the Polish version of “Real Hero” – “Jesteś bohaterem” (You Are a Hero), with which he won the “SuperPremiery” competition during the 52nd National Festival of Polish Song in Opole on June 13. On October 23, he released the music video for the song “Byle być sobą” (Just to Be Myself), and on November 13, his album titled “Byle być sobą” was released, dedicated to his late mother. The album reached the top position on the official sales chart and achieved double platinum status, selling over 60,000 copies. 

 In December, Michał released the music video for the song “Such Is Life,” which was supposed to be his Eurovision entry sent to Telewizja Polska. Eventually, he entered the national selection with the song “Color of Your Life”and won the national selection, becoming the representative of Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest. He finished in eighth place in the Eurovision Song Contest, getting especially high votes from th televote. In June, he performed at the 53rd National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, where he received the title “SuperArtist of the Year” for the single “Byle być sobą” and won the Grand Prix of Opole for his performance of the song “Jesteś bohaterem”. In the same year he provided the voice for one of the characters in the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. In the summer, he embarked on a multi-week concert tour in Baltic cities. In the autumn, he performed at the Eurovision Live Concert in Setúbal, and in October, he gave a concert in Aarhus. In November, he performed at the Rock & Chanson Festival in Cologne, and at a concert in Dublin. 

From the beginning of 2017, he performed concerts incessantly. In April of that, he gave a concert in Brussels. In addition to outdoor concerts, such as during the Lato z Radiem tour, he embarked on a coastal tour called Color of Your Life.  In June, he released the music video for the single “Tic Tac Clock” and was announced as one of the coaches for the eighth season of the TVP2 program The Voice of Poland. On November 25, during the finale of The Voice of Poland, he premiered the song “Don’t Poison Your Heart” in a duet with his protégée, Marta Gałuszewska, who ultimately won the public vote. 

In 2018, Michał went on a concert tour called Classica Tour, featuring his sister, soprano Marlena Szpak. He also became a coach on the ninth season of The Voice of Poland. On May 14, he released the music video for the single “Dreamer,” the title track from his second studio album. The album was released on May 25 and achieved gold status in Poland. In June, he performed at the Orange Warsaw Festival and the 55th National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, where he received the title “SuperArtist of the Year” for the album “Dreamer”. In the autumn, he went on the Dreamer Tour, performing concerts in Poland and abroad.

In February 2020, he participated in the charity event “Siepomaga” in Zielona Góra. 

In April 2021, he released the single “Soldier of Love”. On May 22, he performed at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, where he received the “MediaTory” award. On November 5, he released the album “NIE” with the singles “Puk Puk” and “Mój Wiatr”.

In February 2022, he released the single “Halo Waterfall” , to which a music video was published in April. In the spring, he took part in an advertising campaign for Pantene shampoo. In June, his single “24na7” premiered. In august, he published the single “(dark) Warszawianka”. In 2023, he took part in Prime Video LOL: Who Laughs Last.