Eurovision 2022 Poland profile: 'River' by Ochman

Poland in Eurovision

Poland first competed at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 and has made a further 23 appearances, making it to the Grand Final on 14 occasions.

The country's Eurovision fortunes remain mixed: Polish acts have made the top 10 three times (with its best placing being the second place achieved by Edyta Górniak and 'To nie ja!' on debut) but have not advanced beyond their semi-finals at the past three Contests.

Last year, Rafał carried Polish hopes with 'The Ride' but failed to qualify, coming in 14th place in his semi-final.

2022 entry: Ochman - 'River'

• Semi-final: Ochman will compete in the second half of semi-final 2

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 7th

• Odds to win ranking: 6th

(Rankings as of 23 March 2022)

About the artist

Krystian Ochman, who performs simply as Ochman, is a 22-year-old singer-songwriter born into a Polish family living in Massachusetts (USA) and grandson of a Polish tenor.

After graduating from high school, he relocated to Katowice (Poland) to pursue university studies in music.

He came to prominence after winning Season 11 of 'The Voice of Poland' after opting to be coached by Michał Szpak, Poland's 2016 Eurovision representative who placed 8th with 'Color of Your Life'.

About the song

The song 'River' is co-written by Ochman together with a three-man Polish-English team and is sung in English.

It features Ochman's soaring vocals and marries classical (almost operatic)-infused elements with modern, dark pop and the tale of a haunted man facing whatever awaits him “down by the river”.

How was Ochman chosen for Eurovision?

On 19 February, Ochman participated in 'Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hity na Eurowizję', the live Polish national final to select the artist(s) and song for Eurovision 2022.

Together with two other acts, he advanced from the first round to the "superfinal" as one of the three favourites based on a 50/50 combination of votes from a professional jury and the voting public.

He was the public's choice in the superfinal with 51% of the votes cast, which was ultimately enough to secure him victory despite the jury picking another act as its winner.

Our interview with Ochman

Aussievision review and rank podcast episode

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Poland will compete in semi-final 2 on May 12 (European time) in Turin.