József "Joci" Pápai (Hungarian: [ˈjot͡si ˈpaːpɒi]; born 22 September 1981) is a Hungarian singer, rapper and guitarist of Romani descent. He represented Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Origo" finishing in 8th place.[1] He represented Hungary again at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Az én apám".[2] However he failed to qualify for the grand final being the first Hungarian entry not to since returning in 2011.
Joci Pápai | |
|---|---|
 Pápai in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | József Pápai |
| Born | 22 September 1981 Tata, Hungary |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
Career
editPápai came into contact with music early as his older brother had started writing songs and playing guitar at the age of four. He was influenced by music of the 1960s and 1970s, and rock, pop, soul, and R&B music. His public debut was in 2005, when he was a part of the second season of the TV2 show Megasztár, where he was eliminated in the consolation rounds, but was interviewed by the Budapest daily tabloid Blikk. Afterwards, he started to produce his official debut.[3]
His first big success was Ne nézz így rám. In 2006, he collaborated with his then-roommate, rapper Majka with Nélküled and Nekem ez jár, but his greatest success came in 2015 with Mikor a test örexik.[4] He then released a song in collaboration with Caramel and Zé Szabó titled Elrejtett világ. His last collaboration with Majka appeared together with the pop-funk song Senki más.[3]
On 8 December 2016, it was announced that Pápai would be one of the thirty acts participating in the 2017 edition of A Dal, the national selection for Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the self-penned "Origo",[5] in which he progressed to the final and won the competition, giving him the right to represent Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, coming in 8th place overall. He competed again in the 2019 edition, with the song "Az én apám".[6] He won that as well and represented Hungary again at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel.[2] This time, however, he failed to qualify from the semifinal.
Following his Eurovision 2019 participation, Pápai moved away from the apartment him and Majka were renting, but the two remained close friends.
Discography
edit
Studio albums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Vigaszdíj |
|
Singles
editAs lead artist
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUN [7] |
SWE [8] |
SWI [9] | |||||||||||
| "Ne nézz így rám" | 2010 | 2 | — | — | Vigaszdíj | ||||||||
| "Nélküled" (with Majka and Tyson) |
— | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Rabolj el örökre" | 2011 | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||
| "Nekem ez jár" (with Majka, Curtis, and BLR) |
2013 | 5 | — | — | |||||||||
| "Mikor a test örexik" (with Majka) |
2015 | 2 | — | — | |||||||||
| "Elrejtett világ" (with Caramel and Zé Szabó) |
— | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Senki más" (with Majka) |
2016 | 25 | — | — | |||||||||
| "Origo" | 2017 | 2 | 97 [10] |
70 | |||||||||
| "Özönvíz" | 1 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Távol" | 2018 | 11 | — | — | |||||||||
| "Látomás" | 12 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Kirakós" | 26 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Az én apám" | 2 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
As featured artist
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUN [7] | |||||||||||||
| "Bom Chicka Wah Wah" (Majka feat. Tyson & Joci Pápai) |
2011 | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||
| "Irány sopron" (Majka & Curtis feat Joci Pápai) |
2018 | 12 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Mercereau, Damien (5 March 2017). "Eurovision 2017 : Joci Pàpai revient aux origines pour la Hongrie" (in French). Le Figaro. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ a b Herbert, Emily (23 February 2019). "Hungary: Joci Pápai Selected For Eurovision 2019". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Honnan jött Pápai Joci, és mit csinált az Eurovízió előtt?" (in Hungarian). Origo. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- ^ "Te lájkolnád? Majka legújabb dala is Youtube-siker" (in Hungarian). Zaol.hu. 2015. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ "Radics Gigi nyerte A Dal utolsó válogatóját". hirado.hu. 4 February 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ "Hungary presents their top 30 for 'A Dal' 2019". eurovision.tv. 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ a b Peak positions on the Hungarian Single Top 40:
- For "Origo": "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com – Discography Pápai Joci". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ "hitparade.ch – Discographie Pápai Joci". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
External links
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