Poland 🇵🇱 National Selection: Polskich Kwalifikacji

Introduction

I gotta say that I really enjoyed watching the Polish national selection. Even better that the Polish spoken in the national selection into English in real time. It was kind of funny hearing a woman voice translating for both the men and women speaking in Polish. But hey, beggars cannot be choosers.

Poland's 🇵🇱 History in Eurovision

Entry year / number of ESC participations: Poland first appeared in ESC in 1994 and has participated in 26 contests.

Number of ESC wins: 0

Highest placement (aside from winning year(s)): 2nd place in 1994 (Dublin, Ireland) with Edyta Górniak's To nie ja! (It wasn't me)

The country has had an interesting relationship with the contest by mostly finishing in middle or low positions. Since the the country's entry in 1994, Poland finished in the top ten in 3 out of its 26 appearances. However, with introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Poland has qualified 8 out of 18 times.

My favorite Polish entry to date:

Since I am a relatively newcomer to ESC, I have not heard ALL (or even a large number) of Poland's entries. I think my favorite song/performance so far is Ochman's River. In ESC 2022 (Turin, Italy) River landed in 12th place (105 public votes and 46 jury votes), which is a decent position IMO. I will admit that I was a bit surprised with the "low" amount of jury votes that the performance received. To be honest, I would have assumed that the number of public and jury votes were switched. While this is a clip of the music video, I though Ochman did a better job in the live version. Actually, I maybe the low number of jury votes was due to the massive amount of cheesy effects he had in his performance.

 
 

The Songs & Performances

One paper, I thought Depi Evratesil had a nice mix of 12 performances. Out of 226 songs submitted to Telewizja Polska (TVP), 11 songs made it to the final. Wait, I think there were supposed to be 12 songs in the final, but for some reason they had 12. Perhaps, someone dropped out or was disqualified.

Overall, I really vibed to 5 of the 11 songs. While many of these songs would be considered unique, different and/or weird, I thought the vocals elevated beyond the level of uniqueness or weirdness. Also, the run of show was pretty streamlined. However, I thought the hostess that interviewed the performers seemed a bit out of it, but that probably was just her personality.

From the 100% televote national selection, Justyna Steczkowska's Gaja was choosen to represent Poland in this year's contest.

 

Image courtesy of Eurovision World (***)

 

POland's ranking vs mine

Poland's results courtesy of Eurovision World (***).

I'll admit that within the first 30 sections of Justyna's performance, I was like WTF. However, the song definitely grew on me during the three minute performance. Her performance is three minutes of pure randomness. I LOVED all of it - the costumes, the vocals (more on that below), the screaming, the twirling, the acrobats, and the violin solo.

 
 

I'll hand to Justyna because she did an amazing job especailly as a 52-year old women. I do not think many in their 20s could do all of this. The one question I have regarding the performance: was it 100% live? Ok, I think she was singing live, but I think she might have had a lot of help from the pre-recorded backing track. For instance, I cannot see how she held all of those sustained notes while jumping and spinning around. Ok, it's not impossible to do this, but I would have expected some changes in her voice with all of the moving that she did during the performance. At the end of the day, I guess that's not a big problem because Eurovision has become a little loosey goosey with the use of pre-recorded backing vocals.

I'll say another thing, her vocals definitely have improved since her first appearance in Eurovision back in 1995 with her song Sama.

 
 

Controversies & Drama

Based on the comments from the ESC Twitter/X fandom, I do not recall seeing too much drama regarding Poland's selection. However, I did see a few comments saying things like the performance was too "satanic" and "pagan" for their liking, but those folks were in the minority.

How Will This Do at Eurovision?

Based on the songs that have been selected for ESC, I think this song and performance has great potential to finish somewhere in the middle of the pack (or even better).

Strengths:
✅ The song is very unique, energetic, and visually appealing.
✅ The vocals, even with the pre-recorded backing track, are strong, which might help out with the jury votes. On the other hand, the performance might be "too weird" for the jury. I guess the jury could go eitehr way considering that many of the songs in this year's contest are a bit "nontraditional".
✅ Since Justyna has been around the Eurovision game for a bit (she's tried to compete in ESC a couple of times since her appearance in 1995), she has some name recognition.

Weaknesses:
❌ For some, the performance might have TOO much going on making it look too chaotic.
❌ Some folks may not get the song right away. I have to admit it took me a couple of days to start liking the song in comparison to the other other songs going to ESC 2025.
❌Some of the camera angles seem a bit weird and distracting.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think this was a decent choice for Poland. Although this song was not my favorite song in the national selection, it was in my top two. Relative to the other songs selected for ESC 2025, it did take me a few days to really enjoy the song, but now I kinda love it. I wonder how this will do in the actual contest, because many of the majority of ESC viewers' (aka local fans) first time hearing the songs is during ESC week in May. So, I'm not sure the majority of the public will have "time" to appreciate the song/performance during ESC week.

Video of the National Final:

 
 

Polskich Kwalifikacji 2025 Playlist:

 

Social Media Plug:

 

Eurovision (ESC) Thursday - ESC22 Then & Now - Part 2

I figured that I would do a comparison of what I thought about the songs when they were first released and what I think about the songs now since we are about 1.5 weeks away from the big day. Keep in mind for my “now”, I’m factoring in several things – preparty performances, general personality, and of course the song.

Since there are 40 countries competing in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, I’m breaking this topic down into two parts. Here’s the second half of the list in alphabetical order by country.

LATVIA – CITI ZENI – “EAT YOUR SALAD”

 
 

The guys from Citi Zeni pretty much have stayed the same for me throughout this crazy ESC2022 season.

LITHUANIA – MONIKA LIU – “SENTIMENTAI”

 
 

I gotta say that Monika is an entire vibe, and I’m such a huge fan of her song and her personality.

MALTA – EMMA MUSCAT – “OUT OF SIGHT” “I AM WHAT I AM”

 
 

Malta did a little switcheroo on us. They released one song but decided to change its entry later in the national selection season. While that’s not against the rules, it did rub some folks the wrong way. If it is part of the rules, I cannot fault Malta for taking advantage of this loophole. Although this song isn’t a huge improvement compared to the first one originally submitted, I do like this song a bit more than the first one.

MOLDOVA – ZDOB ȘI ZDUB & FRAȚII ADVAHOV – “TRENULEŢUL”

 
 

Looking back, I may have given Moldova too low of a score – that’s why this entry is Then and Now. While I’m not a huge fan of the revamp, this song still puts a smile on my face. Oh, I’m not too huge of a fan of the revamp because I think they made it too “rocky” at the expense of the folk sound.

MONTENEGRO – VLADANA – “BREATHE”

 
 

Throughout this season, Vladana has been delivering the fashions. Seeing what she was going to wear to the preparties was one of the reasons why I followed the preparties. Unfortunately, the vocal did not really match all of the fashions that she was delivering.

NETHERLANDS – S10 – “DE DIEPTE”

 
 

I will be honest that I pretty much skipped this song early in the season, but it really grew on me. For instance, as I type this, I’m singing “OOOOOHHHH oOOOHHHH AAAAH AAAHH something, something, something in Dutch” in my head. The unexpected is one of the things that I like about Eurovision. A song in a language besides English or Spanish that I would normally ignore has become one of my top songs for the year. In addition to a strong song, I have to give S10 so many props (or as the kids say her flowers) for overcoming so many obstacles just to get this to this point.

NORTH MACEDONIA – ANDREA – “CIRCLES”

 
 

Andrea’s song started off really strong for me, but it lost that spark over the season. Compared to other artists this year, I feel that she lacks a certain stage presence when performing this particular song. However, I am a bit conflicted because I LOVE the personality that she has displayed during interviews.

NORWAY – SUBWOOLFER – “GIVE THAT WOLF A BANANA”

 
 

The jump from three stars to five stars is primarily based on the group’s personality. For example, the group has made parodies (in a good, friendly way) of most of the other songs/videos for this year’s contest. Honestly, I look forward to seeing what randomness they are going to post on Instagram. They seem like the type of folks whom you want on your party’s or brunch’s guest list. While the group has not revealed their identities, I (as well as others in the fandom) think they are Ylvis. The duo that had that somewhat popular “Fox” song from a few years ago. A few reasons for this assumption:

  • They are both from Norway and on the same record label

  • The costumes imitating animals

  • Dancers wearing ties

  • Special choreography

  • Since Subwoolfer is from the Moon (for ESC2022 at least), they do not speak and have a “translator” do their interviews. I think this is clearly a decoy to throw off folks who might recognize their speaking voices.

POLAND – KRYSTIAN OCHMAN – “RIVER”

 
 

This song pretty much has stayed in my top 5 through this Eurovision season.

PORTUGAL – MARO – “SAUDADE SAUDADE”

 
 

I really tried, but I just could not get into this song even after multiple listens. My one-star does not mean the song is bad; it just means (for whatever reason) the song just doesn’t resonate with me.

ROMANIA – WRS – “LLÁMAME”

 
 

Boy oh boy. This song is such an earworm. Like I’m actually singing Hola, mi be-bé-bé. {HEY} Hola, mi be-bé-bé. {HEY} Llámame, llámame. I dunno why, but this song always seems to put a smile or a smirk on my face. For me, the huge jump in stars is less about the song and more about the artist, Wrs. While he seems quite eccentric, he also seems to be quite down to earth with a super chill vibe. If Eurovision gave out a Mr. Congeniality award, Wrs would be my top candidate for ESC2022. Although Wrs is going to be in a tough semifinal round, I really hope that he qualifies to the grand final.

SAN MARINO – ACHILLE LAURO – “STRIPPER”

 
 

I might have unfairly judged this one. No, I take that back. I think that I judged it fairly based on Achille’s performance during San Marino’s national selection. However, over time the artist and the song really grew on me. Also, I kind of like the mystery behind Achille. With his too cool-for-school demeanor, I’m like does he even want to be in Eurovision. I guess that’s the mystery behind him. You know, do not give them too much so they will always want more. Oh, I do think he wants to participate in Eurovision because he would not have competed in two separate national selections for the contest. After placing in the bottom half of Italy’s Sanremo festival, he decided to compete in San Marino’s national selection.

SERBIA – KONSTRAKTA – “IN CORPORE SANO”

 
 

This has been one of my favorite songs and performers throughout ESC2022 season. No one had better say anything bad about Konstrakta.

SLOVENIA – LPS – “DISKO”

 
 

Last Pizza Slice (or LPS) gained a little power with me. While I am a fan of disco music, the song never resonated with me. However, there is one part of the song when the lead singer (I think his name is Philip) and the band really slows down the groove. I don’t know why but I absolutely love that part of the song. In fact, I mainly listen to the song because of that transition. Random LOL. Doesn’t the group look like bunch of high schoolers set up a band with their music teacher?

 

Photo courtesy of RTV SLOVENIA

 

SPAIN – CHANEL – “SLOMO”

 
 

What an amazing talent. While Chanel does not have the strongest vocals of the female performers in this year’s contest, her dancing and stage presence are undeniable. If she plays her cards right and has a good team, I’m sure that we will hear a lot from her in the future.

SWEDEN – CORNELIA JAKOBS – “HOLD ME CLOSER”

 
 

I have no words that reflect how much I enjoy listening to this song.

SWITZERLAND – MARIUS BEAR – “BOYS DO CRY”

 
 

Sorry Switzerland, but I just could not get into the singer or the song.

UKRAINE – KALUSH ORCHESTRA – “STEFANIA”

 
 

This is complicated because Ukraine originally was sending Alina Pash as its representative. However, she had to withdraw after it was discovered that she illegally traveled to Crimea, which is a no no for Ukrainian citizens. Since Kalush Orchestra came in second place for the national selection, they became the Ukrainian candidates for ESC2022. I’m sorry but the song does not really work for me. Actually, I take that back. The rapper does not really work for me. Since anything related to Ukraine is clearly a touchy subject, I’ll just leave my comments there.

THE UK – SAM RYDER – “SPACE MAN”

 
 

While Poland is my favorite to win, I think Sam is going to bring the Eurovision microphone trophy back to the UK after many, Many, MANY years. My only concern with his song during my original review was with hitting those high notes live. At the time of the review, I only commented on the music video. I gotta say that he delivered those high notes at every single preparty. Also, I have seen some clips of his rehearsals for Eurovision and the staging is probably one of the best stagings that I have seen in the few years of watching Eurovision. The BBC really invested quite a bit of pounds in this artist, and I think the UK will be extremely pleased with his results. I’m going to say this right now, but you know there is some geopolitical crap going on if Sam does not finish in the top 10 overall and in the top five for the national juries vote.

My Complete Rankings

 
 






Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) – Poland 🇵🇱

Krystian Ochman – River

 
 
 

Final Thoughts:

 
 

I think this one would be somewhere between a 2 and a 3 for me, depending on my mood. Overall, I like the song, but I thought the lead singer was a bit off-key at times. At first, I thought it was going to be a regular ol ballad, but I was very pleased when the tempo picked up after the ~45-second mark. One other thing, the OOOOO OOOOHH AAAAAHH really reminds me of the chorus to Duncan Laurence’s Arcade, which won ESC2019. Since ESC22 is held (if the Ukraine-Russian War does not escalate) in May, I think Krystian will have plenty of time to clean up his vocals, which are not bad to begin with.

Poland in last year’s Eurovision

RAFAL – THE RIDE

  • Semi-final results: 14th place out of 17 performances (35 total points – 18 national juries and 17 public votes).

  • Final results: Since he did not place within the top ten in his semifinal heat, he did not qualify for the final.

 
 

Since this clip is from the jury show, the home audience got a slightly different presentation of the song. Let me start with the good. I gotta admit that this song is very catchy, and it has crept into many of my running and random playlists. I could totally see this song being used for a cheezy car commercial. As for the performance, I thought Poland did a great job with the dancers and the staging. I love performances that have a lot of movement and utilize a large chunk of the stage (in this case, the two stages). In the version that the folks saw at home, Rafal did not sing that much and relied entirely too much on his backing vocal/playback. He pretty much let the backing vocals do the work while he continuously made a bunch of shoutouts to Europe.

Make some noise, Europe! How are you feeling, Eurovision! Europe, let me hear you. Man, stop shouting out everyone and sing the damn song!!!!

I know ESC is a song contest (not a singing contest, per se), but I think most folks would like to hear a performer’s live vocals. To be perfectly honest, I was a bit surprised that he performed better in the televote compared to others in his heat. I can understand why he received more national jury votes than others in his heat because he actually sang (or came close to singing) in the jury show. Just as an FYI: The jury show and the show that the audience view are held on separate nights.