Michał Szpak

Michał Szpak
Background information
Also known as	Miszel, Miszanel
Born	26 November 1990 (1990-11-26) (age 20) Jasło, Poland
Origin	Jaslo, Poland
Genres	Alternative rock, Classical music, Art rock, Progressive rock, Rock
Occupations	Singer, Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Universal Music Polska
Associated acts	Whiplash
Website	http://michalszpak.socjum.pl/

Michał Szpak (born 26 November 1990) is a Polish singer who rose to fame after he received second place in the Polish first series of X Factor in June 2011.^[1] On Sunday, 5 June 2011 Szpak and Alexandra Burke sang Hallelujah during the finale of the show.^[2]

Musical influences: Queen, Muse, Zbigniew Preisner, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Michael Jackson.

Biography

Szpak was born in Jasło, a small city in southern Poland. He has two sisters and one brother. Szpak started singing when he was nine years old, and admits to never having taken any formal music lessons. As a high school student Szpak was part of the Whiplash band playing mostly hard rock style of music.^[3] In addition to his musical accomplishments with Whiplash, Szpak has recently started recording his first solo album which is expected to be released later this year. On Friday, June 17, 2011, Szpak was on the lineup for the Orange Warsaw Festival at Stadion Legii, Warsaw, Poland. The other artists taking part in this year's Orange Warsaw Festival included Moby, Skunk Anansie, My Chemical Romance, Sistars, Plan B (musician), The Streets and Jamiroquai.^[4] On July 24 2011 it was announced that Michal Szpak will participate in the 2011 Fall edition of the Polish version of Dancing with the Stars or Taniec z Gwiazdami (season 13), a Polish light entertainment reality television series broadcast by TVN (Poland). It is the Polish version of the BBC's popular Dancing with the Stars franchise which has been sold to more than 30 countries worldwide.^[5]

On August 28 2011 it was announced that DRUTEX company, the biggest producer of PVC windowns and doors in Europe, has become a sponsor of Michal Szpak first album. The album will be issued by Universal Music Poland, and the premiere is scheduled for autumn this year. In the album Michal Szpak will present himself as not only a performer, but also the author of several texts. Most of the songs, as the singer admits, will be made in Polish. "I am pleased that DRUTEX has decided to support my debut album, being confident of my talent and believing in my success. Certainly this kind of support will even more impact my motivation and mobilization to create a CD that will be the perfect and energetic project, full of modern sound and climate songs. "- says Michal Szpak. ^[6]

Awards and nominations

• 2011: X Factor (Poland) Runner Up
• 2011: Poland Style & Design Awards for Creative Performance & Achievement Emerging Talent^[7]
• 2011: Fall edition of Dancing with the Stars, Taniec z Gwiazdami (season 13), 5th place ^[8]

References

1. ^ http://xfactor.plejada.pl/
2. ^ http://www.sam-pol.com/2011/06/alexandra-burke-michal-szpak-hallelujah.html
3. ^ http://www.agencjaluxart.com/michal-szpak-whiplash/
4. ^ http://orangewarsawfestival.pl/artysci.html
5. ^ http://www.se.pl/rozrywka/plotki/michal-szpak-w-tancu-z-gwiazdami-13-zatanczy-z-kobieta_197229.html
6. ^ http://www.drutex.pl/en/news/news-2011/drutex-sponsors-the-album-of-michal-szpak.html
7. ^ http://www.psda.pl/
8. ^ http://tanieczgwiazdami.plejada.pl/3582,info,paulina_biernat_michal_szpak,uczestnicy_detal.html

Persondata
Name	Szpak, Michal
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 November 1990
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

• (Polish) Official Site – Taniec z gwiazdami
• (Polish) Taniec z gwiazdami on Polish Wikipedia