Roksana Węgiel


Roksana Emilia Węgiel, sometimes known as Roxie, is a Polish singer. She represented Poland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Anyone I Want to Be", and went on to win the competition. She is the first Polish entrant to win the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
Węgiel has received numerous accolades, including the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Polish Act 2019, a nomination for Kids' Choice Award and several Fryderyk awards.
Before Junior Eurovision, Węgiel won season one of the Polish version of The Voice Kids, where she was coached by Edyta Górniak.

Early life

Węgiel was born in Jasło, Poland. As a child, she competed in artistic gymnastics and ballroom dancing, and additionally competed in judo internationally. Węgiel began singing at age eight, during a karaoke concert at a judo camp in Croatia.

Career

2017–present: ''The Voice Kids'' and Junior Eurovision

Węgiel's professional singing career began in 2017, when she auditioned for season one of the Polish version of The Voice Kids. At her blind audition, she sang "Halo" by American pop star Beyoncé and had all three coaches turn their chairs for her, eventually joining the team of Polish singer-songwriter Edyta Górniak, who represented Poland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994. When Górniak first heard Węgiel's voice, she described her as 'unreal' and stated that she did not believe that even Beyoncé had such a strong voice at that age. Węgiel advanced through the competition until being declared the winner during the final on 24 February 2018, performing Górniak's 1994 Eurovision entry "To nie ja!" and an original song "Żyj". After winning the competition, she was signed to Universal Music Polska, and released her second single "Obiecuję". In October 2018, Węgiel performed with Górniak on the single "Zatrzymać chwilę", recorded for the soundtrack of the Polish version of the film .
trophy
On 21 September, Węgiel was announced by Polish broadcaster Telewizja Polska as Poland's entrant in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018, to be held in Minsk, Belarus. Her song for the competition, titled "Anyone I Want to Be", was written by an international team consisting of Polish singer Lanberry, Danish producer Cutfather, British-American songwriter Maegan Cottone, and Danish-Norwegian musician Daniel Heløy Davidsen. The song was released on 6 November, with its official music video being released the same day. The video surpassed one million views on YouTube within two weeks, becoming the most-watched video of the 2018 contest. The competition was held on 25 November, where Węgiel was eventually crowned the winner, placing first with the viewing public and seventh with the professional juries. Węgiel is the first Polish entrant to win the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
On 12 April 2019, Roksana released her first international song, called "Lay Low" although she received much criticism for it, as some said it was inappropriate for her age.
On 22 August 2019, Roksana was announced as one of the hosts for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 along with Ida Nowakowska and Aleksander Sikora. Węgiel is the first former winner to host an edition of the contest, although there have been previous participants who have hosted past editions, such as Lizi Pop and Helena Meraai.
At the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards, she won the award for Best Polish Act. She is the first winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to win this award as there have been no previous Polish winners. Węgiel performed her song "Anyone I Want to Be" at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 as an interval act. In October 2019, Węgiel also went on her first tour, 'The X Tour Roxie'.

Personal life

Węgiel's parents are called Rafał and Edyta. She has two younger brothers, Maksymilian and Tymoteusz. From November 2018 to mid-2019 she was allegedly dating fellow Junior Eurovision singer Daniel Yastremski. It has also been alleged by Polish media that Węgiel and Viki Gabor are feuding. This is possibly due to their shared status as Polish Junior Eurovision winner and similar age; however, Węgiel has vehemently denied these claims and says that 'she had her fingers crossed for Viki from the very beginning'.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As featured artist

Awards and nominations