Blue Café are a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

musical group with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

influences. The band was formed in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

in 1998 and had three consecutive hit singles in Poland in 2002-03. They were nominated in the category Best Polish Act at the 2003 MTV Europe Awards, and are also known internationally for representing

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2004 The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European Broa ...

Band members

The original line-up of the band was leader, composer, arranger and keyboardist Paweł Rurak-Sokal, singer

Tatiana Okupnik Tatiana Olga Okupnik vel Tatiana (born 2 September 1978, Łódź, Poland) is a Polish singer, composer and songwriter. She has a characteristic, unique voice timbre. She has collaborated with musicians such as Tim Hutton, Wyclef Jean, Lenny White ...

, Viola Danel (guitar), Sebastian Kasprowicz (guitar), Marcin Markuszewski (bass), Łukasz Moszczyński (drums), Piotr Sławiński (trumpet) and Michał Niewiadomski (trombone).

History

Their first single "Español" was released in 2001, with album ''Fanaberia'' following in late 2002. Blue Café submitted "You May Be in Love", a track from ''Fanaberia'', to the 2003 Polish Eurovision Song Contest selection, where it made the final, finishing in third place. It subsequently topped the Polish chart when released as a single. The following year, the band took part in the Eurovision selection again with "

Love Song A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...

", a Latin-flavoured track from their second album ''Demi-sec''. In a close televoting and SMS result, "Love Song" emerged the winner, earning Blue Café the Polish ticket for the 49th Eurovision Song Contest. 2004 was the year in which a pre-qualifying semi-final was introduced to Eurovision; however,

Ich Troje Ich Troje ("The Three of Them") is a Polish pop band. Ich Troje was founded in 1996 by songwriter Michał Wiśniewski and composer Jacek Łągwa. Since 2000, Ich Troje has been one of the most successful Polish groups. They have sold more than 1.5 ...

's top 10 finish for Poland the previous year meant that Blue Café gained automatic entry to the final, which was held in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

on 15 May. Five members - Okupnik, Rurak-Sokal, Sławiński, Niewiadomski and newcomer Piotr Grąbkowski - appeared on stage on the night of the contest, when "Love Song" finished in 17th place of 24 entries. Okupnik decided to leave the band in 2005, and was replaced as lead singer by Dominika Gawęda. The band's fourth and most recent album, ''Four Seasons'', was released in 2008.

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Cafe Polish pop music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Poland Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2004