Poland: Will Natalia Szroeder be the Polish entrant for Tel Aviv?

Following their recent Junior Eurovision victory in Minsk last month, it appears that Poland’s TVP may be internally-selecting their entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in 2019. This speculation comes in light of an interview given by the Head of TVP with Radio Zet.

In this interview, Jacek Kurski heavily suggested that Poland will be internally-selecting an artist for Tel Aviv, rather than selecting through a national selection show. This would be the first time Poland send an internally-selected act to Eurovision since 2015. Between 2016 and 2018, Krajowe Eliminacje was used to select their entries, yielding mixed results – two qualifiers, a top 10 and a non-qualifier. The top 10 was of course Michał Szpak’s “Color of Your Life”, which brought Poland its best result since 2003.

“There will not be such an open competition”

Discussing the issues with the current selection format, Mr Kurski explained that many ‘prestigious’ Polish artists are being put off by the elimination process. Evidence of this is 2016 fan favourite and runner-up Margaret, who ditched Poland for Sweden’s Melodifestivalen last year. After becoming the first non-Swedish act to make the final, she is confirmed to be returning to the 2019 edition. 

We had signals from prestigious Polish performers that they do not want to participate in the qualifying rounds, where nine or ten artists have to lose, and one wins…Therefore, we are looking for a more discreet formula that will involve the best, but at the same time there will not be such an open competition. Maybe this is the right formula. I cannot give details yet.

Head of TVP Jacek Kurski in an interview with Radio Zet

Perhaps an internal selection will help attract a higher-profile artist, which served Poland well at Junior this year. Roksana Węgiel, winner of Poland’s The Voice Kids, become the first Polish entrant to win Junior Eurovision last month. Notably, Poland had previously selected their Junior entrant through a televised selection process. Perhaps these fortunes could be mirrored in the adult contest?

Natalia Szroeder for Tel Aviv 2019?

According to Onet, this change of strategy might have already attracted a big name to the table for discussions. 23-year-old popstar Natalia Szroeder is already rumoured to have been approached by TVP. According to Onet’s source, Szroeder is interested under certain conditions. Allegedly, her participation depends on the budget and song that TVP are willing to provide for the project. 

If Natalia was to be selected, she would be in good company. So far, we have confirmations that Srbuk will represent Armenia and Tamta will represent Cyprus in Tel Aviv. They join Albania’s Jonida Maliqi, who became the first national selection winner of the season. 

Poland at the Eurovision Song Contest – mixed selection, mixed results

Poland made their Eurovision debut back in 1994 with Edyta Gorniak’s “To nje ja”, which finished in 2nd place. To date, this remains their best result at the contest. Following the introduction of the semi finals, Poland failed to qualify in six out of seven contest between 2005 and 2011, before withdrawing from the 2012 and 2013 contests.

Upon their return, Poland enjoyed better results. Since returning to the contest in 2014, they have only missed the grand final once. In Lisbon, DJ and producer Gromee featuring Swedish singer Lukas Meijer flew the Polish flag with “Light Me Up”. They failed to qualify, placing 14th place in the second semi-final with 81 points. Although the song would have qualified on a televote, it was only 15th with the juries.

Do you think Natalia Szroeder would bring Poland back to the Eurovision final? Is there another artist you would like to see represent Poland in Tel Aviv? Let us know below! Be sure to follow @ESCXtra on Twitter and like our Facebook page.