Mikolas Josef

Mikoláš Josef[2] (Czech pronunciation: ['mɪkolaːʃ 'jozef 'tʃaːpoun]; born 4 October 1995), known professionally as Mikolas Josef, is a Czech singer, songwriter, music producer, music video director, and choreographer.[3] He represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "Lie to Me", reaching sixth place. Josef is the most successful Czech entrant to date in Eurovision history.

For the Czechoslovak ice hockey player, see Josef Mikoláš.

Mikolas Josef
Josef in Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon
Born
Mikoláš Josef

(1995-10-04) 4 October 1995
Prague, Czech Republic
Years active2013–present
Home townKamenice, Czech Republic[1]
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Websitemikolasjosef.com

In April 2018, he signed an international recording contract with Sony Music and RCA Records.

Life and career

Early life

Josef was born on 4 October 1995 in Prague to a musical family.[4] He is of Czech, Moravian, Austrian, German and Italian descent.[3] He was raised in a village in central Bohemia. His parents used to be English teachers and he graduated from the English College in Prague.[5][6] He has a brother named Karel and an older half-sister called Martina and has been playing guitar since he was five years old.[7] He grew up in Znojmo and in Kamenice, a small village in central Bohemia.[1] He first began making folk records moving on to hip hop, house and pop music influenced by folk music, creating a unique combination and style. At age 17, Mikolas began modelling professionally and took part in fashion shows for clothing brands such as Diesel and Prada.

2015–present: Music career

Josef decided to begin pursuing music professionally. He worked as a street performer and folk guitarist in several European cities such as Oslo, Zürich, Hamburg, and Vienna.[4] He independently released his debut single "Hands Bloody" in 2015.[8] The following year, he released the single "Free", which became a top twenty hit in the Czech Republic.[9][10] That same year, he also released the single "Believe (Hey Hey)".[11][12][13] After he released the single "Believe", he moved to Vienna, following an invite by Nikodem Milewski.[3]

Josef was approached to represent the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "My Turn", but rejected the offer as he did not believe the song suited him.[6] In 2017, Josef released the single "Lie to Me". He later confirmed that the song would compete in the Czech national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon.[14][15][16] "Lie to Me" later won the national selection, and represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. He finished 6th, giving Czech Republic its best result so far in the competition.[17][18]

In April 2018, in Munich, he signed an international deal with Sony Music and RCA Records.[19] Later in 2018, he released the single "Me Gusta". His contract with Sony Music failed and was removed from its roster only one year later; "Abu Dhabi" is his final release for Sony Music. Since then, he records again independently, currently for Vivienne Records. "Acapella", a latino-themed song, is his first release for this label. It achieved success in Czech Republic (his first chart-topper here) and Poland.

Discography

Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CZE
[20]		 CZE (Dig.)
[21]		 AUT
[22]		 FRA
[23]		 GER
[24]		 POL
[25]		 SCO
[26]		 SPA
[27]		 SWE
[28]
"Hands Bloody" 2015 ————————— Non-album singles
"Free" 2016 15————————
"Believe (Hey Hey)" —————————
"Lie to Me" 2017 522912229—563921
"Me Gusta" 2018 710———————
"Abu Dhabi" 2019 —22———————
"Acapella"
(featuring Fito Blanko and Frankie J)		 120———2———
"Colorado" 4664———5———
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.
Title Year Album
"Used to This"[29]
(Lukas Rieger featuring Mikolas Josef)		 2019 Justice

References
  1. "Bio". Mikolas Josef. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  2. "Official webpage of Mikolas Josef". Mikolas Josef. Vivienner Records s.r.o. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  3. televize, Česká. "Mikolas Josef – Lidé — Česká televize". ceskatelevize.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  4. "Mikolas Josef je novou tváří návrháře Lukáše Macháčka" (in Czech). ČTK. 14 February 2016.
  5. Jordan, Paul (29 January 2018). "Mikolas Josef to represent the Czech Republic in Lisbon". Eurovision Song Contest.
  6. Adams, William Lee (14 January 2018). "Mikolas Josef: "Lie to Me" is about not getting swallowed by negativity during tough times". Wiwibloggs.
  7. Coufalová, Veronika Angelina (10 July 2016). "ROZHOVOR: Zpěvák Mikolas Josef, sám sobě producentem" (in Czech). Krásná.cz. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  8. Herrmannová, Nela (17 September 2015). "Připadal jsem si jako hadr, říká český model, který zběhl k muzice". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech).
  9. "Mikolas Josef na Apríla odpremiéruje nový videoklip k písničce "Free"" (in Czech). Musicserver.cz. 31 March 2016.
  10. "Talentu Mikolase Josefa nelze nevěřit. Potvrzuje to i v novince "Believe"" (in Czech). Musicserver.cz. 30 September 2016.
  11. Martínek, Josef (29 September 2016). "PREMIÉRA: Mikolas Josef singlem Believe potvrzuje mezinárodní ambice. Žánrové hranice nemá" (in Czech). iREPORT.cz.
  12. Balušek, Honza (5 December 2016). "Mikolas Josef do "Believe" obsadil Island a krásnou holku" (in Czech). Musicserver.cz.
  13. "VIDEOPREMIÉRA: Mikolas Josef, kandidát na účast v Eurovizi, natočil klip Believe (Hey Hey) na Islandu" (in Czech). iREPORT.cz. 8 November 2016.
  14. "CZECH REPUBLIC: SIX ACTS TO CONTEST EUROVISION 2018 NATIONAL SELECTION". wiwibloggs.com. 7 December 2017.
  15. "CZECH REPUBLIC: JAKUB ONDRA AND MIKOLAS JOSEF SET FOR SIX-ACT NATIONAL FINAL". wiwibloggs.com. 9 December 2017.
  16. "CZECH REPUBLIC: CT REVEALS PHOTOS OF THE SIX FINALISTS… BUT ONLY SHOWS THEIR LEGS". wiwibloggs.com. 15 December 2017.
  17. Halpin, Chris (29 January 2018). "Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef wins Eurovision Song CZ with "Lie to Me"". Wiwibloggs.
  18. Weaver, Jessica (29 January 2018). "Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef to Lisbon with Lie To Me!". ESCToday.
  19. Granger, Anthony (4 April 2018). "Czech Republic: Mikolas Josef Signs Worldwide Record Deal". Eurovoix.
  20. "CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 MIKOLAS JOSEF" (in Czech). ČNS IFPI. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  21. "CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 MIKOLAS JOSEF" (in Czech). ČNS IFPI. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  22. "Discographie Mikolas Josef". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  23. "Discographie Mikolas Josef". lescharts.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  24. "Mikolas Josef – German Charts". GfK. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  25. Peak positions for singles in Poland:
  26. Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
  27. "Discography Mikolas Josef". spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  28. "Discography Mikolas Josef". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  29. Rieger, Lukas (16 May 2019). Used to This (YouTube.com). Retrieved 22 May 2020.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Martina Bárta
with "My Turn"		 Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest
2018		 Succeeded by
Lake Malawi
with "Friend of a Friend"
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