Mark Forster

Mark Ćwiertnia (born 11 January 1983), known professionally as Mark Forster, is a German singer, songwriter and television personality. He is known for his albums, Karton, Bauch und Kopf, and Eff, collaborations for other artists and work for TV. In addition to his music career, Forster appeared as a coach on the reality competition show The Voice of Germany from 2017 to 2022, and again in 2024. Forster's team was victorious in 2022 with winner Anny Ogrezeanu being mentored by him.

Early life

Born in 1983 in Kaiserslautern, Forster is of mixed German and Polish descent. His German father was born in Dortmund and his Polish mother, Agnieszka Ćwiertnia, was born in Warsaw. 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 in Winnweiler, near Kaiserslautern of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. After moving to Berlin, Forster discontinued the professional use of his Slavic birth surname, Ćwiertnia, choosing to go by "Forster" instead. From 2007 to 2010, Forster accompanied actor and comedian Kurt Krömer as a pianist sidekick.

Karton In 2010 was signed to German record label Four Music where he released his album 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)".

Head and heart 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.

Eff 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.

The Voice (Germany) 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 Catterfeld and new coach Kamrad.

Personal life Forster is a fan of the German football club 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He speaks both German and Polish.

Released: 1 June 2012 Label: Four Music

GER: Gold

Released: 16 May 2014 Label: Four Music

GER: 2× Platinum

Released: 3 June 2016 Label: Four Music

GER: 2× Platinum AUT: Platinum SWI: Platinum

Released: 16 November 2018 Label: Four Music

GER: Gold AUT: Gold SWI: Gold

Released: 13 August 2021 Label: Four Music

Released: 20 October 2023 Label: Four Music

Singles Year Title Peak positions Certifications Album GER AUT SWI 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 "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: 3× Gold AUT: Platinum SWI: Platinum Musketiere "Bist du okay"(with Vize) 11 46 55 GER: Gold AUT: Gold 2021 "Ich frag die Maus" 88 — — "Drei Uhr nachts"(featuring Lea) 15 32 68 GER: Platinum AUT: Platinum Musketiere "Musketiere" — — — 2022 "Memories & Stories" 93 — —

Featured in Year Title Peak positions Certifications Album GER AUT SWI 2013 "Ich und du"(Anna Depenbusch feat. Mark Forster) — — — "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