Ewa Farna

Ewa Chobot (née Farna, born 12 August 1993) is a Polish-Czech pop-rock singer. She released five Polish-language and four Czech-language studio albums, and received platinum and gold certifications for them, both in Poland and the Czech Republic. Farna is the youngest commercially successful singer in the Czech Republic. She was a judge on the Česko Slovenská SuperStar in 2013, the Polish X Factor in 2014, and the Polish Idol in 2017.

Biography
Farna was born on 12 August 1993 into a Polish family residing in the Vendryně village close to Třinec, Czech Republic. She attended a Polish elementary school in Vendryně, art school for five years and a Czech Gymnasium in Český Těšín. She also attended a dance school and learned to play the piano. Farna first attracted attention after winning local talent competitions in both the Czech Republic and Poland in 2004 and 2005. After being discovered by producer Lešek Wronka, she released her debut album Měls mě vůbec rád in 2006. This was followed by her winning the Revelation of the Year award in the 2006 for the Český slavík ("Czech Nightingale") national music poll. Her second album, Ticho, which peaked at number two in the Czech Republic, and the Polish version of her debut album, entitled Sam na Sam, were released in 2007. After a tour, the concert DVD Blíž ke hvězdám became the best-selling music DVD of 2008 in the Czech Republic. In early 2009, the Polish version of her second album was released as Cicho. In 2010, she made an appearance in one episode of the sitcom Hela w opałach.

Her next album, Virtuální, was released on 26 October 2009, and her 2009–2010 tour Buď Virtuální started on 3 November 2009 in Brno and closed in Prague on 6 December 2009. The international leg of the tour also covered Poland and Slovakia. In 2010, Farna's debut Polish album EWAkuacja was released, which ended up gathering many awards, including Viva Comet 2011. The most well-known singles from EWAkuacja are "Ewakuacja", "Bez Lez", and, later in 2011, "Nie przegap". 2011 was the year of Farna's 18th birthday, so birthday concerts were held: one in the Czech Republic (after which a DVD titled 18 Live being released with live recordings from the concert), and one in Poland (with another DVD release, titled Live, niezapomniany koncert urodzinowy).

In October 2013, Farna's major comeback with her album (W)Inna? (winna meaning guilty, inna meaning different) caused confusion, as many mistook the title to be a reference to her 2012 car accident. In 2014 Ewa's Czech single "Leporelo" along with a music video, and the song "Lesek" about her manager Leszek Wronka, were released. Her and Leszek later had a falling out in 2017, culminating in Farna firing him and not inviting him to her wedding. In 2021 and 2023, she ranked first in the category Best Female Singer in the annual Czech music award Český slavík.

Car crash
On 22 May 2012, Ewa Farna crashed her car between the towns of Třinec and Vendryně. She suffered only minor scratches. According to a breath test she was driving under the influence of alcohol, with a blood alcohol content level less than 1‰. She had been celebrating the passing of her matura the day before and fell asleep behind the wheel; she blamed her exhaustion on a week-long cram session in the week preceding the exam.

Personal life
In 2017, Farna and her long-time partner Martin Chobot got married.

Nationality
Ewa Farna hails from a patriotic Polish family from Vendryně in the Trans-Olza region. Her father Tadeusz is a musician in regional Polish folk groups. Farna holds dual Polish-Czech citizenship although she has stated many times that she feels "as a proud Pole". She energetically campaigns for the rights of the Polish minority in the Czech Republic, often cooperating with the Congress of Poles in the Czech Republic.

Awards

 * 2008
 * Srebrne Spinki award given by the General Consul of the Polish Republic in Ostrava for musical successes and promoting Polish minority from Zaolzie.
 * 2009
 * 1st place in Opole Festival (Superjedynki): Album of the year – "Cicho"
 * 1st place in Sopot Hit Festival: Polish Hit of the Summer – "Cicho"