Mark Forster ( Marek Cwiertnia) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Forster in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Mark Ćwiertnia (1983-01-11)11 January 1983 (age 42) |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Website | markforster |
Mark Ćwiertnia (born 11 January 1983), known professionally asMark Forster, is a German singer, songwriter and television personality. He is known for his albums,Karton,Bauch und Kopf, andEff, collaborations for other artists and work for TV. In addition to his music career, Forster appeared as a coach on the reality competition showThe Voice of Germany from 2017 to 2022, and again in 2024. Forster's team was victorious in 2022 with winnerAnny Ogrezeanu being mentored by him.
Born in Kaiserslautern, Forster is of mixed German and Polish descent. His German father was born inDortmund and his Polish mother, Agnieszka Ćwiertnia, was born inWarsaw.[1] His father walked out of the family, and his mother raised him, calling him "Marek". As a result, in his early days as a musician he used the name Marek Ćwiertnia. He grew up inWinnweiler, near Kaiserslautern of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.[2] After moving to Berlin, Forster discontinued the professional use of his Slavic birth surname, Ćwiertnia, choosing to go by "Forster" instead.[2]
In Berlin, he developed a career as a singer, songwriter, pianist and composer of jingles for television including for the showKrömer – Die Internationale Show.
In 2006, Forster joined the band Balboa as their frontman. He was also inKurt Krömer'sKröm De La Kröm alongside musician Mitumba Lumbumba[3] From 2007 to 2010, Forster accompanied actor and comedian Kurt Krömer as a pianist sidekick.
In 2010 was signed to German record labelFour Music where he released his albumKarton in 2012. The album was produced by Ralf Christian Mayer and coproduced by Sebastian Böhnisch and recorded in Germany, France and Spain. He toured starting February 2012 withLaith Al-Deen and promoted his album. Two minor singles from the album were released: "Auf dem Weg" and "Zu dir (weit weg)".
In November 2013, he was featured in the rapperSido's hit "Einer dieser Steine", singing in the refrain. An even bigger hit for Forster was "Au revoir", this time with roles reversed—Forster listed as primary artist and featuring Sido—with this single being a prelude to the very successful albumBauch und Kopf in 2013. The album was certified gold and included the now-smash-hit "Au revoir" and two other follow-up hit singles, "Flash mich" and the title track "Bauch und Kopf", the latter of which wonBundesvision Song Contest 2015.
In 2015, Forster became vocalist for the musical projectEff, made up of Forster as vocalist andFelix Jaehn as DJ and music producer. The two met at an event in Vienna in 2015. Eff is a reference to Felix and Forster. Their debut single, "Stimme", topped the German Singles Chart for three consecutive weeks, also charting in Austria and Switzerland.
Forster made his debut onThe Voice of Germany in 2017 and continued to serve as coach until 2022, where he coached the winnerAnny Ogrezeanu in the same year. In 2024, it was announced that Forster would be rejoiningThe Voice of Germany, alongsideSamu Haber,Yvonne Catterfield and new coachKamrad.[4]
Forster is a fan of the German football club1. FC Kaiserslautern. He speaks bothGerman andPolish.[2]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [5] | AUT [6] | SWI [7] | |||
| Karton |
| 45 | — | — |
|
| Bauch und Kopf |
| 10 | 35 | 37 |
|
| Tape |
| 2 | 2 | 7 |
|
| Liebe |
| 3 | 5 | 8 |
|
| Musketiere |
| 2 | 4 | 3 | |
| Supervision |
| 3 | 9 | 16 | |
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [5] | AUT [6] | SWI [7] | ||||
| 2012 | "Auf dem Weg" | 49 | — | — | Karton | |
| "Zu dir (weit weg)" | 64 | — | — | |||
| 2014 | "Au revoir" (featuringSido) | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Bauch und Kopf |
| "Flash mich" | 11 | 10 | — |
| ||
| 2015 | "Bauch und Kopf" | 15 | 59 | — |
| |
| 2016 | "Wir sind groß" | 3 | 18 | 16 |
| Tape |
| "Chöre" | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| ||
| 2017 | "Sowieso" | 22 | 7 | 23 |
| |
| "Kogong" | 34 | 7 | 9 |
| ||
| 2018 | "Like a Lion" (featuringGentleman) | 38 | — | 64 | Non-album single | |
| "Einmal" | 24 | 39 | 56 |
| Liebe | |
| 2019 | "747" | — | — | — | ||
| "194 Länder" | 13 | 19 | 61 |
| ||
| "Wie früher mal Dich" | — | — | — | |||
| 2020 | "Übermorgen" | 7 | 10 | 18 |
| Musketiere |
| "Bist du okay" (with Vize) | 11 | 46 | 55 |
| ||
| 2021 | "Ich frag die Maus" | 88 | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Drei Uhr nachts" (featuringLea) | 15 | 32 | 68 |
| Musketiere | |
| "Musketiere" | — | — | — | |||
| 2022 | "Memories & Stories" | 93 | — | — | Non-album single | |
Featured in
| Year | Title | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER [5] | AUT [6] | SWI [7] | ||||
| 2013 | "Ich und du" (Anna Depenbusch feat. Mark Forster) | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Einer dieser Steine" (Sido featuring Mark Forster) | 4 | 12 | 8 |
| 30-11-80 | |
| 2014 | "Camouflage" (Nazar featuring Mark Forster) | — | — | — | Camouflage | |
| 2015 | "Maniac" (Victoria Conrady featuring Mark Forster) | 99 | — | — | Dein Song 2015 | |
| 2017 | "Das Original" (Prinz Pi featuring Mark Forster) | 59 | — | — | Nichts war umsonst | |
| 2019 | "Warte mal" (Fidi Steinbeck featuring Mark Forster) | — | — | 71 | Non-album single | |
| International | |
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| Artists | |
| People | |
