After making a stunningly successful Eurovision
debut in 1994 when they finished second, things have been pretty
unspectacular for Poland ever since. Onlye once since then (in
2003) has the Polish entry finished in the Top 10, and for the last
two years, they have failed to qualify for the final, albeit
unluckily, finishing 11th on both occasions.
This year Polish television decided to stage
another public selection to choose its entry and ten songs competed
in the national final, staged in Poland on February 3rd. The
public's choice to go to Helsinki was "Time To Party"
performed by a duo called The Jet Set.
The debut of The Jet Set took place in January
2006, with the aim of trying to fuse to fuse the music of east and
west. Their music is a combination of the outstanding voice and
youthful energy and talent of 17 year old Sasha Strunin who was
born in St. Petersburg, Russia and as well as rap of David Junior
Serame who comes from England. The music of The Jet Set is a mix of
R'n'B and rap with elements of pop and dance music.
Though born in Russia Sasha has been living in
Poland for 15 years, and David J from the U.K., who has been very
active on the German music market for years and is currently living
in Poland. The premier of the group's first album titled "Just
Call Me" took place at the end of July 2006. The album has
already gained a gold disc award for sales in Poland.
The Jet Set started on the road to fame during
the Polish pre-selections for the Eurovision Festival in 2006,
where they came very close to winning. Their song "How Many
People" quickly reached the charts in Poland and was a bigger
hit than Ice Troje's Eurovision entry. From that moment the
popularity of The Jet Set has been constantly growing. The second
single "Just Call Me" also became a hit and the song
placed second in the Polish category during the prestigious Sopot
Festival in 2006.
Throughout the last year The Jet Set took part
in many televised concerts and played for many thousands of people
and on February 3rd 2007, the group fought to have the honour to
represent Poland at the Eurovision Festival in Helsinki. The group
were also showcased during the presigious Midem Music Fair in
Cannes earlier this year and many representatives of show business
were interested in the group. The release of their album is planned
for many European countries and other parts of the world including
India and the USA.
The composer of this year's Ppolish entry is
Mateusz Krezan who is a Music Academy graduate. Mateusz was raised
on classical , jazz and gospel music. He has written several hits
that were sung by many singers. His compositions have repeatedly
received awards at music festivals and his songs were also used in
movies.
Two lyrics are responsible for "Time To
Party"; David Junior Serame comes from England. David sang in
the Audry Motaung African Heritage Choir and in the jazz band Ghee
Spot. David has also worked with some famous names in the music
industry including Missy Elliot, Mouse T, Bootsy Collins and Dante
Thomas In 2004, together with two friends he created a production
company in Germany - "Floatin' Disasta" that specialised
in rap and hip hop and David Junior Serame wrote songs for German
rappers. In 2005, he was invited to join couple of German artists
to record a charity song for the Tsunami victims and all profits
went to those in need. Since 2006 he has been concentrating on The
Jet Set, where is works as a songwriters as well as being the
frontman of the duo in which he sings and raps.
The second lyricist is Kamil Varen who has many
hit songs under his belt. These songs were performed by different
singers and music groups, including hits that were at the top of
the hit charts for many years. Many of his recordings received
awards.
The Jet Set have made many foreign trips to help
promote their entry, travelling to places as far apart as Ireland
and Cyprus. While the song which is a little avant-gard for many
Eurovision fans, and hasn't done well in internet polls, also it
isn't rated among the songs which the bookmakers feel will qualify
from the semi-final.
POLAND @ EUROVISION