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Top 10 Most Famous Polish Singers

The origin of Polish music can be traced as far back as the 13th century, from which manuscripts have been found in Stary S膮cz, containing polyphonic compositions related to the 麻豆APPian Notre Dame School.

Over the course of history, the music from Poland has developed and popularized a variety of music genres and folk dances such as mazurka, polonaise, krakowiak, kujawiak, polska partner dance, oberek; as well as the sung poetry genre and others.

Below, we discuss the top 10 most famous Polish singers;

1. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in Amsterdam, 1961 – Wikipedia

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf is considered to have been the greatest German lyric soprano of the twentieth century and one of the finest Mozart singers of all time, with an “indescribably beautiful” voice.

She was born on 9 December 1915 in Jarotschin in the Province of Posen in Prussia, Germany (now Poland).

In recent years, her name has been closely linked to her Nazi party membership. Her reputation was tarnish once it was discovered that her Nazi past was in fact an active one. The question now remains, do we dismiss her contributions and achievements in the music scene because of this?

Schwarzkopf died in her sleep during the night of 2鈥�3 August 2006 at her home in Schruns, Vorarlberg, Austria, aged 90.

2. Czes艂aw Niemen

Czes艂aw Niemen, 1976 – Wikipedia

Czes艂aw Niemen, often credited as just Niemen, was one of the most important and original Polish singer-songwriters and rock balladeers of the 20th century, singing in mainly in Polish. He possessed an unusually wide voice range and equally rich intonation.

Niemen was born Czes艂aw Juliusz Wydrzycki on February 16th, 1939 in a small village of Stare Wasiliszki, then part of Poland, but now in Bielarus. He made his debut in the early 1960s, singing Polish rock and soul music.

He died of cancer on January 17, 2004, in Warsaw. And his legacy lives on. Many streets in Poland are named after him, in 2009, the National Bank of Poland minted silver and golden 10-zloty coins with his face on them and Warsaw鈥檚 football club, Legia Warszawa, have adopted one of his songs, 鈥楧ream of Warsaw鈥� as their official anthem.

3. Maryla Rodowicz

Maryla Rodowicz, 2017 – Wikipedia

Maria Antonina Rodowicz, known professionally as Maryla Rodowicz, is a Polish singer, guitarist and actress. She remains one of the most prominent and successful artists in the history of popular music in Poland.

She began her musical career in 1967, after winning first prize at the Festiwal Piosenki i Piosenkarzy Studenckich (Student Songs and Singers’ Festival) in Krak贸w.

Maryla has released twenty Polish and four foreign-language studio albums including five with platinum and three with gold certifications and selling over 15 million records. Her most popular songs include “Ma艂go艣ka” (1974), “Futbol” (1974), “Remedium” (1978), “Niech 偶yje bal” (1984), “艁atwopalni” (1997) and “Wszyscy chc膮 kocha膰” (2005).

4. Krzysztof Krawczyk

Krzysztof Krawczyk, 2018 – Wikipedia

Krzysztof Krawczyk was a Polish baritone pop singer, guitarist and composer whose relative activity in the area of music was characterized by a combination of various music genres such as rock and roll, country music and rhythm & blues.

He is best known as the vocalist of a popular Polish band, Trubadurzy (“the Troubadours”), from 1963 to 1973 when he started his solo career. Barely 2 years after his solo debut he won three awards at the Sopot Festival: Journalists鈥� Pick, Audience Pick and the Voice of Coastline Pick.

He also got many awards for the entirety of his career, like SuperWiktor (2013), The King of Polish Bandstand (2014) and Fryderyk (2021), the most prestigious Polish musical award.

In March 2021, Krawczyk was hospitalized with COVID-19. He left the hospital on April 3, but died two days later.

5. Sanah

Official album cover for “Kr贸lowa dram” by Sanah – Wikipedia

Sanah is a Polish singer, songwriter, violinist, and composer, performing indie pop and art pop. She received nationwide popularity in 2020, with the release of her single “Szampan”, which became a number-one hit in Poland.

Sanah was born Zuzanna Irena Jurczak on September 2, 1997, in Warsaw. The nickname “sanah” was created after shortening the English version of the singer’s first name, Susannah.

The young singer is on her way to becoming one of Poland’s biggest music sensations, thanks to her evocative songs and borderline indie-art pop accompaniment. Her tremendously moving voice, amazing sensitivity, a tinge of sorrow, and superb intuition have led to a steady increase in her fan base.

6. Basia

Basia performing in Gda艅sk, Poland in 2011 – Wikipedia

Barbara Stanis艂awa Trzetrzelewska, better known as Basia, is a Polish singer-songwriter and recording artist noted for her Latin-inspired jazz-pop music. The singer is noted for possessing a wide vocal range, approximately three octaves.

Basia began singing professionally in various Polish bands from the late 1960s. She rose to fame as a singer in the British trio Matt Bianco By 1986, Basia and her bandmate Danny White had left the group to focus on her solo career. She signed on with Epic Records and enjoyed a successful international career between 1987 and 1995.

During that period, her biggest hits were “Time and Tide”, “New Day for You”, “Promises”, “Baby You’re Mine”, “Cruising for Bruising”, and “Drunk on Love”.

Basia took a lengthy hiatus due to personal tragedies, then made a comeback to regular recording and performing in the late 2000s. She currently releases her music through independent labels.

7. Doda

Doda during one of her performances in 2008 – Wikipedia

Doda, born Dorota Aqualiteja Rabczewska, is a Polish singer-songwriter, actress, producer, and television personality who is regarded as one of the most successful Polish artists in terms of number of prizes won.

She rose to fame as a member of the Polish rock band Virgin, with whom she released three studio albums: Virgin (2002), Bimbo (2004), and the triple platinum Ficca (2005). After the group disbanded in 2007, she continued as a solo artist, releasing two platinum albums: Diamond Bitch (2007) and 7 pokus g艂贸wnych (2011).

The singer is notable for her innovative and controversial performances and music videos. In 2011, Helen Pidd of The Guardian named Doda one of the most successful and one of the most controversial Polish musical artists of all time.

8. Katarzyna Rooyens

Kayah, 2011 – Wikipedia

Katarzyna Magdalena Rooijens, professionally known as Kayah, is a Polish singer-songwriter performing a variety of music genres, including pop, soul, jazz, world and dance.

She released her first self-written album 碍补尘颈别艅 and established herself as one of the most successful Polish singers with further releases Zebra (1997) and Kayah i Bregovi膰 (1999). Kayah has so far sold over one million records in Poland, and most of her albums have been certified platinum or gold by ZPAV.

In the early 2000s, Kayah co-founded her own label, Kayax, which has signed up many successful artists and released numerous critically acclaimed albums.

9. Monika Brodka

Monika Brodka at Life Festival, O艣wi臋cim 2013 – Wikipedia

Monika Brodka is a Polish singer, who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of Polish Pop Idol in 2004.

Since then, Brodka has released 3 albums, including the 2010 album Granda which received critical acclaim in Poland and abroad.

Brodka is known for her penchant for electronica and repetitive beats, adding in just a dash of creative, folksy dissonance that sets her work apart from the mass-produced artists of the pop world. Her most famous songs include 鈥淭en鈥� and 鈥淒ziewczyna Mojego Ch艂opaka.鈥�

10. Sara James

Sara James, 2021 – Wikipedia

Sara James is a Polish singer and songwriter who rose to fame after winning the fourth series of the Polish talent show The Voice Kids and represented Poland at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021.

Although she鈥檚 young, Sara has experience competing and winning singing shows. At the age of 6 years old, she took part in a Christmas carols festival in Szczecinek, Poland, which she won.

In 2022, James auditioned for the seventeenth season of America’s Got Talent. Her spectacular performance earned her a Golden Buzzer with her chilling rendition of 鈥�Lovely鈥� by Billie Eillish during her Audition.

She then impressed Cowell even more with her cover of Elton John鈥檚 鈥�Rocket Man,鈥� which the Judge described as 鈥渁bsolutely genius.鈥� And after performing “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” on the Final, Heidi Klum said James was one of AGT’s “greatest discoveries.”

James proceeded to make it to the finals but was eliminated when the top five contestants were announced.