Mark Ćwiertnia (born 11 January 1983), known professionally as Mark Forster, is a German singer, songwriter and television personality.

Mark Forster
Forster in 2024
Forster in 2024
Background information
Birth nameMark Ćwiertnia
Born (1983-01-11) 11 January 1983 (age 41)
Kaiserslautern, West Germany
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active2012–present
Spouse
(m. 2020)
[1]
Websitemarkforster.de

Career

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Forster performing in 2015

Forster is of mixed German and Polish descent. His father was born in Dortmund and his mother, Agnieszka Ćwiertnia, was born in Warsaw.[2] His mother called him Marek and in his early days as a musician used the name Marek Ćwiertnia. He grew up in Winnweiler, near Kaiserslautern (State: Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany.[3] He later moved to Berlin where he developed a career as a singer, songwriter, pianist and composer of jingles for television including for the show Krömer – Die Internationale Show. From 2007 to 2010, he accompanied actor and comedian Kurt Krömer as a pianist sidekick.

In 2006, Forster joined the band Balboa as their frontman. He was also in Kurt Krömer's Kröm De La Kröm alongside musician Mitumba Lumbumba[4] and in 2010 was signed to German record label Four Music where he released his albums Karton 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 with Laith 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 rapper Sido'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 album Bauch 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 won Bundesvision Song Contest 2015.

In 2015, Forster became vocalist for the musical project Eff, made up of Forster as vocalist and Felix 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 is a fan of the German football club 1.FC Kaiserslautern.

Forster made his debut on The Voice of Germany in 2017 and continued to serve as coach until 2022, where he coached the winner Anny Ogrezeanu in the same year. In 2024, it was announced that Forster would be rejoining The Voice of Germany, alongside Samu Haber, Yvonne Catterfield and new coach Kamrad.[5]

Discography

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Albums

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List of albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
GER
[6]
AUT
[7]
SWI
[8]
Karton 45
  • GER: Gold
Bauch und Kopf
  • Released: 16 May 2014
  • Label: Four Music
10 35 37
  • GER: 2× Platinum
Tape
  • Released: 3 June 2016
  • Label: Four Music
2 2 7
  • GER: 2× Platinum
  • AUT: Platinum
  • SWI: Platinum
Liebe
  • Released: 16 November 2018
  • Label: Four Music
3 5 8
  • GER: Gold
  • AUT: Gold
  • SWI: Gold
Musketiere
  • Released: 13 August 2021
  • Label: Four Music
2 4 3
Supervision
  • Released: 20 October 2023
  • Label: Four Music
3 9 16

Singles

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Year Title Peak positions Certifications Album
GER
[6]
AUT
[7]
SWI
[8]
2012 "Auf dem Weg" 49 Karton
"Zu dir (weit weg)" 64
2014 "Au revoir"
(featuring Sido)
2 2 6
  • GER: Diamond
  • AUT: Gold
  • SWI: Platinum
Bauch und Kopf
"Flash mich" 11 10
  • GER: Platinum
2015 "Bauch und Kopf" 15 59
  • GER: Gold
2016 "Wir sind groß" 3 18 16
  • GER: Platinum
  • AUT: Gold
  • SWI: Platinum
Tape
"Chöre" 2 2 7
  • GER: Platinum
  • AUT: Gold
  • SWI: Platinum
2017 "Sowieso" 22 7 23
  • GER: Platinum
  • AUT: Gold
  • SWI: Gold
"Kogong" 34 7 9
  • GER: Gold
  • AUT: Gold
  • SWI: Gold
2018 "Like a Lion"
(featuring Gentleman)
38 64 Non-album single
"Einmal" 24 39 56
  • GER: Gold
  • SWI: Gold
Liebe
2019 "747"
"194 Länder" 13 19 61
  • GER: Platinum
  • SWI: Platinum
"Wie früher mal Dich"
2020 "Übermorgen" 7 10 18
  • GER: 3x Gold
  • AUT: Platinum
  • SWI: Platinum
Musketiere
"Bist du okay"
(with Vize)
11 46 55
  • GER: Gold
  • AUT: Gold
2021 "Ich frag die Maus" 88 Non-album single
"Drei Uhr nachts"
(featuring Lea)
15 32 68
  • GER: Platinum
  • AUT: Platinum
Musketiere
"Musketiere"
2022 "Memories & Stories" 93 Non-album single

Featured in

Year Title Peak positions Certifications Album
GER
[6]
AUT
[7]
SWI
[8]
2013 "Ich und du"
(Anna Depenbusch feat. Mark Forster)
Non-album single
"Einer dieser Steine"
(Sido featuring Mark Forster)
4 12 8
  • GER: Gold
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

References

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  1. ^ "Altes Video aufgetaucht: "schwanger" im TV". Bild (in German). 10 January 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  2. ^ Agnieszka Ćwiertnia Official website Archived 28 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
  3. ^ Mark Forster bei HIT RADIO FFH:„Ich spreche polnisch wie ein Elfjähriger“ Archived 9 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in German)
  4. ^ Kurt Krömer – Kröm De La Kröm (DVD) (in German)
  5. ^ ""The Voice of Germany" 2024-Alle Infos zu den neuen Coaches der 14. Staffel". 17 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Discographie Mark Forster" (enter "Mark Forster" into the "Suchen" box). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  7. ^ a b c "Discographie Mark Forster". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  8. ^ a b c "Mark Forster – Liebe". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
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