II
Kasia Kowalska

About:

13 June 1973

Born in Sulejówek, Kasia began performing in the 1980s when she joined the band of Robert Amirian. Afterwards she sang as a female vocalist for numerous Polish bands, including Human, Fatum and Talking Pictures. During a concert at Stodola Club in Warsaw in 1993 she was noticed by the head of the Izabelin Studio Katarzyna Kanclerz.

In 1994 she started her solo carrier releasing the album ‘Gemini’. The album is said to represent her complex personality following her zodiac sign. The same year she went on tour with Edyta Bartosiewicz and performed as a support act for Bob Dylan during his two concerts in Poland. In 1995 she took part in the Sopot Festival, where she won Grand Prix and Grand Prix and the Audience Award. One of the judges was Malcolm McLaren. After that, she released her second album ‘Koncert Inaczej’ a collection of her live performances and rock and jazz covers.

In 1996 she represented Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo with a song called ‘Chcę znać swój grzech...’ ('I want to know his sin (Why should I)') and finished 15th out of 23 and received 31 points. In the same year Kasia was also active in the movies starring as an actress in ‘Nocne Graffiti’ (where she played the part of Monika) and recording a song for soundtrack; ‘Straciłam swój rozsądek’. She also recorded a song to the soundtrack of a Disney movie, ‘The Hunchback Of Notre Dame - the prayer of Esmeralda’. With the release of her third album she also got involved with Kostek Yoriadis, the future father of her daughter Aleksandra Julia. In 1997 she again performed in a movie called ‘Monica Graffiti Night’. One new song was contributed to the soundtrack. Later that year she recorded a duet, ‘Jeśli chcesz kochanym być’,  with singer Kostiem Yoriadisem. The following albums secured Kasia success. In 2001 she returned to Opole with the song ‘Starczy słów’ and won the first Polish MTV Europe Music Awards as "The Best Polish Artist".

In 2003 Kasia participated in the RMF FM radio campaign aimed at combating piracy. On a special album, which the price was 9.99 PLN, she contributed two covers, "Widzę twoją twarz' (original ‘Listen to your heart’ by Roxette) and Mniejsze zło (original ‘All By Myself’ by Eric Carmen). The 2004 album ‘Samotna w wielkim mieście’ (Lonely in a big city) also made her visit Japan for a photoshoot, performances and a video. On 23 June 2008 she gave birth to her second child, son Ignacy Ułanowski. In the same year, in November, her eigth album ‘Antepenultimate’ was released. The latest single (released may 2009) is ‘Spowiedź’. In 2010 she releasing a tribute live album to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the death of Lady Pank songwriter Gregory Ciechowski.

On the web:
- Kasia's official website: http://www.kasiakowalska.pl/

If you like this, you probably like... / european counterparts:

Gianna Nannini (Italy)

Lis Sørensen (Denmark)

(Denmark)

What do we think:

DB: Those of you who know Kasia from her dreamy Eurovision performance better listen to her albums first before buying. Kasia is a pure rock chick and is known as a true "stage animal" because of her strong vocal possibilities and great communication with audience. And maybe for the better since the listener might fall asleep otherwise. Strong voice and good albums, although sometimes a bit to standard rock to my taste. Her debut album is the absolute hit album with over 300.000 copies sold. Since then her albums sales have been decreasing (to 40.000 for the last album). Her live performances stay popular however.

Albums:

- Gemini - 1994

- Koncert Inaczej - 1995

♪♪ - Czekając Na... - 1996

♪♪♪♪ - Pełna Obaw - 1998

♪♪♪ - 5 - 2000

♪♪ - Antidotum - 2002

Samotna W Wielkim Mieście - 2004

♪♪♪♪ - Antepenultimate - 2008

- Ciechowski. Moja krew - 2010

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♪♪♪♪♪ = outstanding album, an absolute must-have
♪♪♪♪ = great album, highly recomended
♪♪♪ = nice album
♪♪ = be careful, requires listening before buying
♪ = best to be avoided