Kayah

Katarzyna Magdalena Rooijens (née Szczot; born 5 November 1967 in Warsaw ), professionally known as Kayah, is a Polish singer-songwriter performing a variety of music genres, including pop, soul, jazz, world and dance.

She has also experimented with disco, funk, electronica as well as Balkan and Jewish music.

Kayah started performing with various bands from the mid-1980s and appeared as a backing vocalist in the song "Mówię ci, że..."

by Polish rock band Tilt, which was a hit in 1986.

She debuted as a solo artist in 1988 at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole performing the song "Córeczko", which she co-wrote, and subsequently took part in the Baltic Song Contest in Karlshamn, Sweden.

The same year, her first full-length eponymous album was released by Polskie Nagrania Muza, which consisted of material written by Maciej Zembaty, John Porter and Neil Black, yet originally intended for another artist.

The label did little to promote the record, leading to its commercial failure, and today Kayah does not include it in her official discography.

The singer tried to terminate the hastily signed, disadvantageous record deal, which she has described as "incapacitating", and eventually succeeded.

In the early 1990s, she also contributed backing vocals for such artists as De Mono, Grzegorz Ciechowski and Paweł Stasiak.

In 1991, the English language version of Kayah's debut album was released by Rogot without her consent.

The singer relocated to Vienna where she briefly worked as a model.

In 1993, she appeared in a self-written song "Mówili o mnie" on a live album by Polish band Republika.

In 1994, she performed her song "Ja chcę ciebie" at the Opole Festival where she received a special award, and at the Baltic Song Contest where she came second.

Kayah released her first self-written album in 1995 and has since established herself as one of the most critically and commercially successful Polish singers.

She is one of the most awarded artists by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV) and has placed fourth on Polish music magazine Machina's list of "50 best Polish female singers".

Kayah has sold over one million records in Poland and most of her albums have been certified platinum or gold by ZPAV.

Her first self-written and co-produced solo album, Kamień, was released in November 1995 by Zic Zac and BMG Poland.

It consisted of melancholy pop songs, influenced by soul and jazz.

The album included the popular single "Fleciki" and was an unexpected commercial success, earning gold certification in Poland.

It was also nominated to the Fryderyk award as the Pop Album of the Year and Kayah herself won in the Female Vocalist of the Year category.

In March 1997, she released the album Zebra, heavily inspired by soul, funk and disco music of the 70s.

It was promoted by two singles, "Na językach" and "Supermenka", which both reached the top of the Polish airplay chart.

The latter's music video featured a guest appearance by Ice-T.

Zebra was a critical and commercial success, quickly receiving platinum certification and selling over 200,000 copies.

It was awarded with a Fryderyk for the Pop Album of the Year and Kayah received awards for the Composer, Author, and Female Vocalist of the Year.

Later in 1997, Kayah released the duet "Uwierz... to nie ja" with Polish singer Urszula which also became a hit.

In 1998, Kayah hosted the TV show To było grane on the newly launched Polish channel TVN.

Particularly successful was the 1999 collaborative album Kayah i Bregović, recorded with Yugoslav musician Goran Bregović, which was certified diamond for selling over 700,000 copies, and spawned hit singles "Śpij kochanie, śpij" and "Prawy do lewego".

Her other hits include "Fleciki", "Na językach", "Supermenka", "Testosteron", "Prócz ciebie, nic" with Polish singer Krzysztof Kiljański and "Po co" with Israeli musician Idan Raichel.

She has also collaborated with Cape Verdean singer Cesária Évora.

She also met the Yugoslav musician Goran Bregović with whom she went on to record a collaborative album, Kayah i Bregović, released in April 1999.

In the early 2000s, Kayah co-founded her own record label, Kayax, which has since signed many successful artists and released numerous critically acclaimed albums.

She has also hosted a number of television and radio shows and occasionally appeared in TV series and films in Poland.

Kayah has also been outspoken politically, having supported Poland's Women's Party and the Committee for the Defence of Democracy.

She is also an ally and supporter of the Polish LGBT community.

Kayah was born in Warsaw to a Polish mother and a Jewish father, but grew up with her grandparents in Białystok.

She has two stepsisters on her father's side.

Her grandmother was the cousin of Polish poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński and Polish writer Maria Dąbrowska.

As a young girl, Kayah wanted to be an archaeologist or a basketball player, and prior to musical career, she worked in a shop selling ties.

Kayah's pseudonym is 'Kaja' written phonetically in English, which was her childhood nickname, a kind of a diminutive from her birth name, Katarzyna.