Mikolas was born on 4 October 1995 in Prague into a musical family. He is of Czech, Moravian, Austrian, German and Italian descent. He has a brother named Karel and an older half-sister called Martina. He has been playing guitar since he was five years old. He grew up in Znojmo and in a small village in central Bohemia. In 2006-2008 he studied at an art school, majoring in playing the guitar, which he was not able to finish. He continued his studies at a grammar school where he received an E in a music class! “At that point I told myself there is no authority nor institution called school that will help me get wherever I want to be. Then I chose to take a whole different path. And it was the best decision I have ever made.” He knew he wanted to make music ever since he was five years old. The moment he realised this was at a concert of a local folk band called Fleret. He first began making folk records moving on to hip hop, house and pop music influenced by folk music, creating a unique combination and style. In 2015 he graduated from the English College in Prague. At the age of 17 he was awarded a gold medal for solo acting by the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. However, he decided not to pursue this course. Instead of studying in prestigious universities, he decided to devote his life to music. While studying he was involved in many fashion shows and shoots for major brands, such as Diesel, Replay or Prada. He ended this promising career as he did not agree with its practises. After his modelling experience he made a living by busking in large European cities, such as Prague, Oslo, Zurich, Hamburg, and Vienna. “Busking was the best musical education I could ever have wished for. If I hadn´t started in the streets, I would never have understood what it means to be a musician,” Mikolas says. At that time he was also cleaning a recording studio during the week – so that he could produce his own music there once a month whenever it was empty. In 2018 he appeared in a selection of “18 inspiring people of 2018” in a Forbes magazine who “overcome convention and inspire others”. In 2019 he was the face of an ad campaign for Tezenis underwear and Huawei. In 2019 he and his family established their own independent record company, Vivienne Records. Mikolas´ family supported him in his career from the beginning and now they make up his management team.
Music career
Mikolas decided to pursue music professionally. He independently released his debut single "Hands Bloody" in 2015. The following year, he released the single "Free", which became a top four hit in the Czech Republic. That same year, he also released the single "Believe ". After this he moved to Vienna, following an invitation by Nikodem Milewski. Josef was approached to represent the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "My Turn", but rejected the offer as he did not believe the song suited him. In November of 2017, Josef released the single "Lie to Me" where he spoke about infidelity in a past relationship. "You can always look at things from a different perspective, even though they might feel like the worst at that moment". He later confirmed that the song would compete in the Czech national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon. "Lie to Me" later won the national selection, and represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. He finished 6th with 66 points from the international jury and 215 points from the audience, giving the Czech Republic its best result so far in the competition. In May of 2020 Lie to Me reached 30 million streams on Spotify, a major global streaming platform, which puts the single into the position of most streamed Czech song. In April 2018, in Munich, he signed an international deal with Sony Music and RCA Records. Later in 2018, he released the single "Me Gusta" on which he collaborated with a Swedish song writer Joacim Persson and others. Its music video was shot in the baroque library Klementinum. "Abu Dhabi" was his final release for Sony Music. Since then, he began recording independently once more, currently for Vivienne Records. "Acapella", a latino-themed song, was his first release for this label. It achieved success in Czech Republic and in Poland. At the end of November 2019, he released a single “Colorado”. The inspiration behind it came from his longing for countryside and mountains and to once again be the person he used to be before all the publicity. In July 2019 Mikolas performed in Athens in front of 55 000 people. “You come there, spread your arms wide and suddenly what you´re doing becomes a drug and it´s like jumping off a plane. You are invincible, you are everything and nothing. It´s an addiction.” In April Mikolas debuted with his own concert in a sold out Forum Karlin, Prague, called “My Name is Mikolas” where, amongst all his hits, he performed a range of unreleased singles accompanied by six African vocalists. In December 2019 he toured the Czech Republic with his show, “Closer to You”.
