Kazimiera



Kazimiera Nazwiska (born March 27, 1978) is the former host of the weekly TRL program, and also has a music career on the side, where she has scored four top 40 hits, plus an additional two as a member of Individually Priced. Her career was revived in 2009 when she won Uravision.

Early life
Kazimiera was born and raised in Poland, in the city of Lodz, but following the fall of Communism, her family was left unemployed. After realizing that she could not get into any higher educational systems without having enough money, she turned to the only job that would take her... she became a stripper, much to the disapproval of her parents. Once they found out where she was late all those nights, they kicked her out and she decided to start her life over.

Using her earnings from her stripper days, she ended up in Germany, where she started taking advanced dance classes. During this time, she started taking up singing as a pastime, and got interested in the technical aspects of music. This led her to mee up with a classmate, Grzyzstwr Sklymktr, who would eventually take the name DJ Double Garage. She sent him early demos of her singing to him for production, but no record companies were interested.

2005-06: Early career
While continuing her studies, Kazimiera had always wanted to sing dance music, but no producers were interested in doing anything with her. She briefly returned to being a stripper again, but after a few months, got the chance to team up with DJ Double Garage once again, as he was in search of a singer to sing the hook on his song, "Shake It". Kazimiera accepted, and the result was a #10 hit on the singles chart, giving DJ Double Garage his first top 10 hit in a year. Kazimiera felt this exposure would give her an easier launchpad to her solo career, and then re-recorded her old demos.

Kazimiera couldn't decide between "Float Away" and "Surrender" for her debut single, so she released both as a double A-side. An executive at Tigerstar Records heard her demos, and signed her up as the first act on their label. The single was a success, as it reached #10 in the singles chart, no longer making Kazimiera the anonymous "hook girl" from her previous single, but she still had more time to go if she were to ever become a household name.

Over the summer, her album was plagued by delays, as she could not get any inspiration anywhere. Without a single to promote, Kazimiera looked elsewhere until she was ready to release again, and her manager notified her that TRL was looking for a host to replace Chad Blore, who left that position. Kazimiera accepted, and still hosts TRL weekly, giving her a new thing for which she would become known.

Finally, 6 months after the promotion for her solo debut single, she announced plans to release another single and album. "I Wanna Lose My Mind", which was written by labelmate Ana Simpson, was released, and became her biggest hit, reaching #6. This was followed by her debut album "Flower Power" the week after, which also made the top 10.

Long waits between singles would become the norm for Kazimiera, as her hosting duties often took priority over her singing career. But in 2006, Kazimiera vowed to continue her singing career, and she eventually resurfaced with a new self-written single, "Take A Chance (Start To Dance)". The video was set at a university campus, where she got all the students to take a chance, and start to dance! The single was another success, reaching #9 in the singles charts. Kazimiera's next appearance was in the inaugural Tango Challenge, where she was paired with no-promo act Tiffany. Despite this misfortune, she carried on with the single, which was called "Open The Doors To Fun". It charted at #26, which she was satisfied with given all the circumstances, fearing that having a no-promo act tied to it would make it DNC. During the promotion, she claimed that Tiffany had sabotaged her by entering and never having any intention to promote! The truth was never revealed because Tiffany herself disappeared without a trace.

2007: Individually Pricec
Kazimiera retired from hosting TRL nearly 2 years after taking over the reins of the show. However, instead of resuming her solo career, she has instead elected to join Individually Priced, which Ash had carried on following the firing of Sky from the project. Individually Priced, being a studio project far removed from pop/dance stuff that she is normally known for, is her way of distancing herself from the TRL image, and instead getting more credibility as a musician in her own right. During this time, she also made a guest appearance on Ellen Fitzpatrick's single, I'm Beautiful (Dammit!), alongside Jake.

However, as a nod to her dance/pop style, in 2008, she resurfaced as a competitor in Uravision, representing Sweden while Individually Priced is on hiatus, much like the way that Sky participated last year after she was fired from IP. However, Kazimiera, despite being under new management, is entering under her usual name.

2009: Uravision win and career comeback
While Individually Priced's future has remained in limbo, Kazimiera has decided to enter Uravision once again; in 2009, she is representing her homeland of Poland. Her entry, Disco In The Dark, has been described as a sexy disco stomper that fits right in with her classic dance/pop style. It will also act as the lead single for her new album The Timeline: All The Hits, which collects her greatest moments to date.

Kazimiera ended up winning Uravision with a score of 126 points. The single would chart at #10 the week of the announcement, giving Kazimiera her first top 10 appearance in 3 years. A follow-up single has been announced, called "Sweat & Blush"; it was released in August, and charted at #7.

2010: Cosmic and finally achieving huge success
After this, she had another long break before resurfacing in early 2010 with a brand new image. She announced that, to tie in with the release of Elite Presents: Shut Up & Live!, a covers album featuring artists from her record label, Elite Entertainment, that she would release her cover version of Emma Brown's single Shut Up as a single herself. She has also expressed interest in participating in the fourth edition of the Tango Challenge, as well as releasing her long-awaited second studio album.

"Shut Up" charted at #3, becoming her biggest hit to date, and first top 5 single.

Kazimiera was accepted as a replacement act in the Tango Challenge, where she was paired with newcomer Tiffany Amber; their collaboration, Worlds Collide, will be released on April 12th! The collaboration will appear on Kazimeira's forthcoming studio album, Cosmic.

"Worlds Collide" became another top 5 hit, cementing Kazimiera's status as a hitmaker after years of inconsistencies. The follow-up single, Hermit, is released on June 28th. During the promotion for this single, Kazimiera found herself imprisoned for fraud and arson charges, and several disagreements delayed the production of the video. Despite this, Kazimiera and collaboration partner DJ Double Garage were considered front-runners for the top spot, and despite debuting at #5 in the singles chart, climbed to #2 the week after.

Kazimiera has announced a new single, TimeSlide, for release one October 18th. It charted at #10, becoming her 9th top 10 hit and climbed to #6 the week after. A fifth and final single, An International Party/The Dragon, was also released and charted at #8.

While she prepared her next album, she featured alongside Bella-May and Flaming SteffY on their single, The Orgy Song, which reached #1, becoming Kazimiera's first ever appearance on a #1 single.

2011-12: Under The Covers: Volume 1
Kazimiera announced her new album, a covers album, for release on September 5th; the first single is a cover of the Riley Hart single Up, Up and Away. The album, entitled Under The Covers: Volume 1, became her first #1 album. The second single, a cover of the Nikki hit Jukebox, is set for release on December 12th; it charted at #6.

In 2012's Tango Challenge, she was paired with No Little Thing. While the pairing was seen as unusual at first, they hit it off well professionally, and came up with their track, Not My Scene. The single debuted at #5, then climbed to #4, and ended up with a platinum certification, becoming Kazimiera's best selling single to date.

This led to the release of another single from her covers album, Hey Lucy!/Never The Bride. The first track, a cover of Lindsay Belle, was paired with a non-album track, a cover of a hit from Naomi. While expectations had it in the top five, Kazimiera went all out with its videos, featuring celebrity guest stars in a way nobody had imagined before. All the effort paid off, as after seven years in the business, Kazimiera finally scored a #1 single with sales of 89,234.

2012-13: Electroparty
Kazimiera's fourth studio album, Electroparty, is set for release on Christmas week. The lead single, Epic, is a duet with Christmas week legend Ellen Fitzpatrick. The album is a mix of cover songs and originals designed for a great party mix.

"Epic" charted at #9 on Christmas week, and climbed to #8 in its second week. The album reached #2 in its first week, behind a strong seller from Aurora Reed. A second single has been set for an April 15th release.

Albums

 * 2005: Flower Power #9
 * 2009: The Timeline: All The Hits #6
 * 2010: Cosmic #6
 * 2011: Under The Covers: Volume 1 #1
 * 2012: Electroparty #2

Singles

 * 2005: Shake It (with DJ Double Garage) #10
 * 2005: Float Away/Surrender #10
 * 2005: I Wanna Lose My Mind #6
 * 2006: Take A Chance (Start To Dance) #9
 * 2006: Open The Doors To Fun #26
 * 2007: I'm Beautiful (Dammit!) (with Ellen Fitzpatrick & Jake) #17
 * 2007: My Kind of Pretty (with Individually Priced) #13
 * 2009: Disco In The Dark #10
 * 2009: Sweat & Blush #7
 * 2010: Shut Up #3 Gold
 * 2010: Worlds Collide (with Tiffany Amber) #5
 * 2010: Hermit (with DJ Double Garage) #2
 * 2010: TimeSlide #6
 * 2011: An International Party/The Dragon #8
 * 2011: The Orgy Song (with Bella-May & Flaming SteffY) #1
 * 2011: Up, Up and Away #4
 * 2011: Jukebox #6
 * 2012: Not My Scene (with No Little Thing) #4
 * 2012: Hey Lucy!/Never The Bride #1
 * 2012: Epic (with Ellen Fitzpatrick) #8