Ferenc Molnár (born 1 February 1982,

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, wh ...

), known by the stage name Caramel, is a Hungarian singer. He is most well known for winning the second season of

Megasztár ''Megasztár - Voice of the Year'' was a Hungarian a music talent show that started in 2003 on TV2. While it is widely considered an unlicensed clone of the British television show ''Pop Idol'' (and sometimes even referred to as ''Hungarian Id ...

Personal life

Caramel was born on 1 February 1982 in the town of

. He is of Hungarian Roma descent. At age 16, he moved to

Törökszentmiklós Törökszentmiklós is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, in the Northern Great Plain region of central Hungary. It is the third-largest settlement in the county. Geography It covers an area of and has a population of 23,145 (2002). Hist ...

with his stepfather, mother and siblings. His parents' relationship deteriorated after his brother was killed in a car crash, leading him to move out at age 17. Work was hard to find because of his

herniated disc Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical ...

. He got his nickname Caramel from a friend when he received a negative response from a publisher.

Musician

In 2004, he applied to Megasztár. In 2005, Caramel narrowly won over fellow contestant Tamás Palcsó to become the first contest's winner. He started to compile his first album in his apartment. In 2005, he released two albums: a compilation of the songs he sang at Megasztár, the second one being called ''Nyugalomterápia''. Both reached number one at the JAHASZ charts. In December of that year, he held his first release concert with other artists, such as István Lerch, Eszter Szabó,

Joci Pápai József "Joci" Pápai (; born 22 September 1981) is a Hungarian singer, rapper and guitarist of Romani people in Hungary, Romani descent. He represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with ...

, and Eszter Bartók. In 2006, he released his next album, ''Újrahangolva'', with music videos filmed in London. More albums followed in 2010, 2011 and 2014. He took part in multiple music shows as judges, including the Hungarian version of

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

, and ''Az ének iskolája'', a school-inspired music competition show. In 2011, Caramel was selected as a contestant for

A Dal 2012 Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Hungarian entry was selected through A Dal (which means "The Song"), consisting of two semi-finals and a final, organised by the Hungarian broadcaster M1. Compact Di ...

, the first edition for the national selection of

Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest Hungary has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 17 times since making its debut in . Hungary attempted to participate in but failed to qualify from ''Kvalifikacija za Millstreet'', a special qualifying competition set up for seven form ...

, with the song "Vízió". It was one of the top 4 by televoting, but lost to

Compact Disco Compact Disco is a Hungarian electronic music band and musical producer trio based in Budapest, founded in 2008 by three musicians of varying musical backgrounds. The band represented Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbai ...

. He was a judge for the only season of

The Voice – Magyarország hangja ''The Voice – Magyarország hangja'' (''"Voice of Hungary"'' in English) is a Hungary, Hungarian reality competition aimed to find new singing talent. Based on the reality singing competition ''The Voice of Holland'', it is part of The Voice ( ...

. He was a judge in

A Dal 2017 Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The local Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA) and the Hungarian broadcaster Duna Media Service organised the national final ''A Dal 2017'' in order to select the Hungarian entry ...

and was also a jury member for

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "1944 (song), 1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molnar, Ferenc 1982 births Living people 21st-century Hungarian male singers Hungarian Romani people People from Szolnok