POLAND – Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hit na Eurowizję (‘The heart of Europe beats here! We choose the hit for Eurovision’) was Poland’s competitive selection show to find the international successor to their 2021 Eurovision entry, The Ride by Rafał Brzozowski.

Krystian Ochman came out on top with River and will compete in the Second Semi-Final on Thursday 12 May.

Broadcaster TVP opened a submission period for interested artists and songwriters to submit their entries over the Autumn of last year. The broadcaster received 150 potential songs for their pre-selection.

THE PERFORMANCES

• Kuba Szmajkowski – “Lovesick“
• Ania Byrcyn – “Dokąd“
• Siostry Szlachta – “Drogowskazy”
• Lidia Kopania – “Why Does It Hurt?”
• Karolina Stanisławczyk & Toro Chica – “Move”
• Karolina Lizer – “Czysta Woda”
• Unmute – “Głośniej Niż Decybele“
• Emilia Dębska (Mila) – “All I Need”
• Krystian Ochman – “River”
• Daria – “Paranoia”

THE JURY

• Justyna Steczkowska – Represented Poland at Eurovision 1995
• Blue Café – Represented Poland at Eurovision 2004
• Viki Gabor – Won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 for Poland
• Sarah James – Represented Poland at Junior Eurovision 2021
• Kasia Mos – Represented Poland at Eurovision 2017
• Rafał Brzozowski – Represented Poland at Eurovision 2021
• Ell and Nikki – Winners of Eurovision 2011 representing Azerbaijan

THE RESULTS

• Krystian Ochman – “River” – 1st place
• Daria – “Paranoia” – 2nd place
• Unmute – “Głośniej niż decybele” (Louder than decibels) – 3rd place
• Kuba Szmajkowski – “Lovesick” – 4th place
• Karolina Lizer – “Czysta woda” (Clean water) – 5th place
• Ania Byrcyn – “Dokąd” (Where) – 6th place
• Siostry Szlachta – “Drogowskazy” (Signposts) – 7th place
• Karolina Stanisławczyk & Chica Toro – “Move” – 8th place
• Lidia Kopania – “Why does it hurt” – 10th place
• Emilia Dębska (Mila) – “All I need” – 9th place

ABOUT OCHMAN

Ochman started to take singing lessons during his high school years. Moreover, he played the role of the prince in the musical reproduction of Cinderella at his high school.

Following his graduation from high school, he started to study at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.

In 2020, he took part in the auditions for the eleventh season of The Voice of Poland. Having joined the team of Michał Szpak, he reached the final which he won.

After the competition, he signed a contract with Universal Music Polska. He has published his debut single “Światłocienie” and his debut album titled Ochman in 2021.

In early 2022, Telewizja Polska (TVP) announced that he would compete in the Polish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song “River” written by Ochman himself along with Ashley Hicklin, Adam Wiśniewski and Mikołaj Trybulec.

On 19 February 2022 he won the Polish national final, and therefore the right of representing Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin.

Ochman is the grandson of the Polish tenor Wiesław Ochman. He is a dual citizen of Poland and of the United States. Also interested in swimming and football, he resides in Katowice and Warsaw since his late-teenage years.

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