Dawid Henryk Podsiadło ([pɔtɕadwɔ]; born 23 May 1993) is a Polish singer-songwriter who won the second series of X Factor in 2012. He received PLN 100,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music. On the show, he was mentored by Tatiana Okupnik.
His debut album, titled Comfort and Happiness, was released on 28 May 2013. It debuted at number one on the Polish Albums Chart and was certified triple Platinum the same year, becoming the best-selling album of 2013 in Poland. The album received Diamond certification in 2015.
In October 2014, Podsiadło released an album with his band Curly Heads. The album, titled Ruby Dress Skinny Dog and produced by Daniel Walczak, debuted at number four on the Polish Albums Chart and was certified Gold.
The album was nominated for the 2015 Fryderyk award in the Rock Album of the Year category.
Podsiadło's second solo album, Annoyance and Disappointment, was released on 6 November 2015. The album debuted at number one in Poland and was certified Diamond.
Early life and education
Dawid Podsiadło was born and raised in Dąbrowa Górnicza. He attended the Walerian Łukasiński Secondary School and received formal musical education at a music school, where he studied trombone in the class of Grzegorz Pytlik. During his youth, he received vocal training at the Youth Creative Work Center (MOPT). At the age of 12, he performed in an amateur music competition in Tunisia, where he sang a song by the band Myslovitz. In interviews, Podsiadło stated that he was a dedicated student who preferred attending classes, which influenced his early social interactions and a desire for peer acceptance.
Career
In 2010, Podsiadło formed the rock band Curly Heads with school friends. Before his solo breakthrough, the band performed in local venues and sometimes paid to play in pubs. In 2011, he participated in the first season of the Polish version of The X Factor but was eliminated during the bootcamp stage. He returned in 2012 for the second series, which he ultimately won.
His debut studio album, Comfort and Happiness (2013), was produced by Bogdan Kondracki and reached number one on the Polish Albums Chart. Podsiadło wrote the English lyrics, while Karolina Kozak wrote the Polish lyrics for the singles "Trójkąty i Kwadraty" and "Nieznajomy". The album earned four Fryderyk awards and a nomination for the Paszport Polityki. In 2014, Curly Heads released their debut album Ruby Dress Skinny Dog, which received a Gold certification in Poland.
Following the release of his second Diamond-certified album, Annoyance and Disappointment (2015), Podsiadło took a one-year break from touring in 2017. He returned in 2018 with the album Małomiasteczkowy, produced by Bartosz Dziedzic, which includes songs related to urban life. The record earned him the Paszport Polityki award in the Entertainment Music category.
In September 2019, Podsiadło and rapper Taco Hemingway sold out the PGE Narodowy stadium in Warsaw for over 60,000 attendees, with tickets selling out within hours. In 2022, he released his fourth album, Lata dwudzieste, featuring danceable tracks alongside intimate compositions such as "mori". In 2023, he performed a solo 360-degree concert at the PGE Narodowy for 80,000 people, setting a record for a Polish act at the time. Since 2021, he has co-hosted the Podsiadło Kotarski Podcast.