# Thomas Godoj

Thomas Godoj (born Tomasz Jacek Godoj; 6 March 1978) is a Polish-German rock-pop singer and songwriter. He was the winner of the fifth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (2008), the German version of Pop Idol.

## Early life

Godoj was born on 6 March 1978 in Rybnik, Poland to Danuta and Eugen Godoj. In 1988, along with his parents and his sister Hannah, he moved to Recklinghausen. Godoj then attended a secondary school and passed his specialty graduation examination for a career as a draftsman. He attended the Bochum University of Applied Sciences, specializing in civil engineering. During his studies, Godoj became interested in music and played with local bands such as Cure of Souls, Fluxkompensator, Tonk!, and WINK.

## Deutschland sucht den Superstar

In the summer of 2007, Godoj auditioned in Berlin for the fifth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS). The judges enjoyed his rock style and attitude and voted him on to the next round, and later into the Top 15. In the first live show, Godoj performed "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol and received a standing ovation over multiple minutes while the jury gave him overwhelming praise. Week after week, Godoj performed for Germany until he reached the Top 2. He won the final contest with 62.2%.
Although Thomas was a front-runner from the start of the competition, he landed in the bottom groups twice during live result shows. After the voting results were published, however, it was shown that Godoj received the highest percentage of votes every week. This places him in DSDS history, along with Mark Medlock, as a contestant with the highest number of votes each week. Technically, this would also rank Godoj with Medlock and Alexander Klaws as the only winner never in the bottom 3, as he ranked the highest every week, but the bottom group was picked at complete random. He is the second "rocker" to win the competition alongside Tobias Regner.
After the DSDS show he got back together with his ex-girlfriend Jennifer. Their first daughter Lynn Jennifer Godoj was born on 3 January 2009.
| Theme | Song | Original Artist | Result |
| Auditions in Berlin | "Fairytale Gone Bad" | Sunrise Avenue | Advanced to Recall |
| Recall 1 | "Wherever You Will Go" | The Calling | Advanced |
| Recall 2 (Group Performance) | "Here Without You" | 3 Doors Down | Advanced |
| Recall 3 | "Dieser Weg" | Xavier Naidoo | Advanced to Top 15 |
| Theme (date) | Song | Original Artist | Place/Percentage |
| Top 15 Show: Jetzt oder nie (8 March 2008) | "Chasing Cars" | Snow Patrol | 47.50% (1/15) |
| Current Hits (15 March 2008) | "Stark" | Ich + Ich | 52.75% (1/10) |
| Greatest Film Hits (22 March 2008) | "Same Mistake" | James Blunt | 39.88% (1/9) |
| Mariah Carey and Take That (5 April 2008) | "Rule the World" | Take That | 52.10% (1/8) |
| Greatest Hits (12 April 2008) | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | U2 | 40.81% (1/7) |
| Judges' Choice (19 April 2008) | "Shadow of the Day" | Linkin Park | 50.38% (1/6) |
| Party Songs and Ballads (26 April 2008) | "You Get What You Give" | New Radicals | 50.04% (1/5) |
| Party Songs and Ballads (26 April 2008) | "Behind Blue Eyes" | The Who | 50.04% (1/5) |
| Germany vs. England (3 May 2008) | "Wonderwall" | Oasis | 46.83% (1/4) |
| Germany vs. England (3 May 2008) | "Mensch" | Herbert Grönemeyer | 46.83% (1/4) |
| No. 1 Hits, The Beatles, Dedications (10 May 2008) | "In the Shadows" | The Rasmus | 46.34% (1/3) |
| No. 1 Hits, The Beatles, Dedications (10 May 2008) | "Let It Be" | The Beatles | 46.34% (1/3) |
| No. 1 Hits, The Beatles, Dedications (10 May 2008) | "Easy" | Faith No More | 46.34% (1/3) |
| Final (17 May 2008) | "Fairytale Gone Bad" | Sunrise Avenue | 62.20% (Winner) |
| Final (17 May 2008) | "Chasing Cars" | Snow Patrol | 62.20% (Winner) |
| Final (17 May 2008) | "Love Is You" | Thomas Godoj | 62.20% (Winner) |

## Discography
### Albums

| Year | Information | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Sales | IFPI certifications |
| Year | Information | GER | AUT | SWI | WOR | Sales | IFPI certifications |
| 2008 | Plan A! Debut studio album Released: 4 July 2008 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 18 | Germany: 200,000+ Germany: 18th best-selling album of 2008 | Germany: Platinum |
| 2009 | Richtung G Second studio album Released: 20 November 2009 | 15 | — | — | | | |
| 2011 | So gewollt Third studio album Released: 14 October 2011 | 24 | 67 | 82 | | | |
| 2013 | Männer sind so Fourth studio album Released: 31 May 2013 | 28 | — | — | | | |
| 2014 | V Fifth studio album Released: 24 October 2014 | 51 | — | — | | | |
| 2016 | Mundwerk Sixth studio album Released: 23 September 2016 | 29 | — | — | | | |
| 2018 | 13 Pfeile Seventh studio album Released: 25 May 2018 | 27 | — | — | | | |
| 2020 | Stoff Eighth studio album Released: 13 November 2020 | — | — | — | | | |
| 2023 | Album des Jahres Ninth studio album Released: 3 November 2023 | — | — | — | | | |

### Singles

| Year | Single | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Album |
| Year | Single | GER | AUT | SWI | LIT | LUX | EUR | WOR | Album |
| 2008 | "Love Is You" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 26 | Plan A! |
| 2008 | "Helden gesucht" (Sought After Heroes) | 12 | 39 | 98 | 25 | 29 | 48 | — | Plan A! |
| 2009 | "Nicht allein" (Not Alone) | 18 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | Richtung G |
| 2010 | "Uhr ohne Stunden" (Hourless Clock) | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Richtung G |
| 2011 | "Dächer einer ganzen Stadt" (Roofs of a Whole Town) | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | So gewollt |
| 2012 | "Herzblut" (Heartblood) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | So gewollt |
| 2013 | "Männer sind so" (Men Are Like That) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Männer sind so |
| 2013 | "Einfach nur anders" (Simply Different) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Männer sind so |
| 2014 | "Magnetisch" (Magnetic) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | V |
| 2016 | "Mensch sein" (Being Human) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mundwerk |
| 2018 | "Auf die Freiheit" (Cheers To Freedom) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13 Pfeile |
| 2020 | "So weit kommen" (Getting This Far) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Stoff |
| 2020 | "Astronaut" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Stoff |
| 2020 | "Lass es regnen" (Let It Rain) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Stoff |
| 2022 | "Neuland" (New Territory) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | "Endlos furchtlos" (Endless Fearless) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Album des Jahres |
| 2023 | "Letzter Blick" (Last Look) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Album des Jahres |
| 2023 | "Brücken bauen" (Building Bridges) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Album des Jahres |
Promo singles
* 2008: "Autopilot" (radio single with video; from the album Plan A)

## Awards
### 2008

* Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards: Favorite Singer
* Journalia 2008 (award of Polish magazine Samo Życie)
* Jetix Awards: Newcomer of the Year 2008

### 2009

* 18th Echo music awards: Best National Newcomer