Poland: Aussievision's Finał Krajowych Kwalifikacji 2026 rankings

On the eve of the Poland's national final Finał Krajowych Kwalifikacji 2026, eight Aussievision contributors have listened to the eight Polish songs and ranked them in the usual Eurovision style.

We have one notable returnee from a previous edition, powerhouse vocal Alicja is giving Eurovision another shot after her failed attempt in 2020, not making it to Eurovision because of the cancelled Contest. She is one of the faves to win!

Poland made their Eurovision debut back in 1994 with Edyta Górniak's To Nie Ja! which gave them their best result to date when they finished in a formidable 2nd place. Poland has entered the Contest 26 times and since the semi-finals were introduced, has qualified to the Grand Final on 17 occasions. Their most recent best result was in 2016 with Michael Szpak's Colour of Your Life which finished in 8th place after surprisingly finishing in third place in the televotes.

Let's take a look at what the Aussievision Team liked in the Polish selection!

8. Piotr Pręgowski - Parawany tango (23 points)

Highs: 6 points from Paul

Lows: 1 point from Srdjan, Kyriakos, Srdjan and Joel

" If you’re looking for something fun that will put a smile on your face in this selection, then this is the song. This song is just pure unadulterated fun with no reservations or pretentions. This song isn’t competitive by any means, but sometimes you just want a song to make you smile, which it does very successfully." ~Paul

7. Karolina Szczurowska - Nie bój się (38 points)

Highs: 6 points from Rebecca and Joel

Lows: 3 points from Kyriakos and Liv

6. Ola Antoniak - Don't you try (44 points)

Highs: 10 points from Hayley and Sam

Lows: 3 points from Srdjan and Paul; 1 point from Rebecca

"Love the vibe with this song. Not sure it is a song that I would send to Eurovision but its got some real soul - love her voice!" ~Hayley

"The confidence and voice of this 16 year old is incredible and would make Edyta Gorniak proud. Her voice has so much soul and passion for her age. I'm not sure why so many people dislike this - I think this girl should be given a chance. This would have done bloody well at Junior Eurovision." ~Sam

5. Jeremi Sikorski - Cienie przeszłości (53 points)

Highs: 10 points from Paul; 8 points from Rebecca and Joel

Lows: 1 point from Hayley

"Dark and moody, this song combines what Poland would do if they mixed Imagine Dragons and Justin Timberlake together, with a slight tempo change in the middle. Melodic, soulful, and sonically consistent sung by a good-looking guy – a strong entry that shouldn’t be ignored." ~Paul

4. Anastazja - Wild child (55 points)

Highs: 12 points from Srdjan; 10 points from Liv and Joel

Lows: 3 points from Rebecca; 1 point from Paul

"This is FUN - is it groundbreaking and never before seen? No, but it makes me shake arse which is always a good metric." ~Liv

"The great thing about this is it sounds exactly like what you’d hear fresh on the radio right now. I like it without loving it - but if she can bring vocals with attitude to the live performance it’ll definitely lift for me." ~Joel

"This is the song that instantly got stuck in my head, I feel it has both public and jury appeal, we all know Poland has historically struggled with juries at Eurovision and this could be something that propels them slightly higher up the leaderboard." ~Srdjan

3. Stasiek Kukulski - This too shall pass (56 points)

Highs: 12 points from Kyriakos; 10 points from Rebecca

Lows: 3 points from Sam; 1 point from Liv

"This song is haunting and captivating! It has drive and a moment that can work well at Eurovision. It’s my 12 points!" ~Kyriakos

"A beautiful voice singing a beautiful and intense piano-led song. The insistence of how This Too Shall Pass as he passionately sings while the song just builds and builds. The song is definitely inspired by Duncan Laurence’s Arcade as you can hear the structural similarities between the two songs. While it may not be as strong as Arcade, it definitely provides and excellent platform for Stasiek’s talent." ~Paul

2. Alicja - Pray (69 points)

Highs: 12 points from Joel; 10 points from Kyriakos and Srdjan

Lows: 7 points from Paul, Rebecca and Sam

"Nice soulful start fitting in with the religious theme – the start sounding like the thumping start to an Imagine Dragons song. Then goes into a rap/spoken word solo with an R’n’B beat something reminiscent of what Beyonce was doing with her Lemonade album. This sounds like a mesh of multiple songs in the one – and while it’s sonically all over the place, the one consistent thing is Alicja’s powerful voice." ~Paul

"Love this song and totally unexpected, it’s a powerful song! I really enjoyed listening to this!" ~Kyriakos

"WHAT A VOICE! I didn’t want this song to end after 3 mins. I could listen to Alicja sing my shopping list all day and still throw money at her to keep going. She’s giving me definite Ochman vibes from 2022, and despite parts of the song feeling a little inconsistent at times, this could be a strong contender." ~Joel

"Alicja has improved vocally so much since first being selected to represent Poland in 2020 and I feel like this type of song represents better the kind of artist she is. This would be a good choice for Poland to get a solid position in the final." ~Srdjan

1. Basia Giewont - Zimna woda (78 points)

Highs: 12 points from Paul, Hayley, Sam, Liv, Rebecca

Lows: 7 points from Srdjan

"God this is weird - I love it! On first listen I knew this had to be the song that Poland sends this year. It is the witchy-vibe that this year's Contest needs. In saying that, the staging possibilities are big here - leaning into the witchy aesthetic but Poland, I say this with love - DON'T OVERCOOK THE STAGING PLEASE (I recommend calling Bambie Thug for some staging advice here!) And in case you are wondering, zimna woda translates to "cold water". ~Hayley

"This is a post-modern Polish folk song turned into a thumping electronic banger that is very addictive and severely underrated. This reminds me of a Polish version of Shum in its hypnotic electronic beat infused with cultural references. The visuals on the video are fantastic. The most arresting of the songs in the Polish selection this year for sure!" ~Paul

"I love how this morphs from a folksy tune that embraces Polish musical tradition, into an insanely catchy dance bop. Simply head and shoulders above the rest of the field." ~Sam

"I loooooove the fusion of the old and new in this entry. From first listen this jumped out at me as the best quality this year and sounded the best representation of the local Polish music scene." ~Liv

"Damn, Poland seems to really excel in the ethnopop catgory. Something about it really just hits me different than the ethnopop we usually see from other countries. The sound is so elegant and earthy, I feel like a witch performing a ritual in the forest. The polish language also compliments the sound so wonderfully. Absolutely love it!" ~Rebecca

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Finał Krajowych Kwalifikacji 2026 will take place on Saturday 7 March and will be broadcast live on TVP. The winner and 2026 Polish representative will be chosen via an online 100% public vote. The voting has been open since 28 February and closes 7 March at 5pm CET. The winner will be announced on the morning show Pytanie na Śniadanie (Sunday night for us Aussies).

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