Mikoláš Josef (; born 4 October 1995), known professionally as Mikolas Josef, is a Czech singer-songwriter and former model. He represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal with the song "Lie to Me", and finished in sixth place, the best result for the Czech Republic in Eurovision history. Early life and career Josef 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 south Bohemia. Between 2006 and 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. 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. While studying, he was involved in many fashion shows and photoshoots for major brands, including Diesel, Replay or Prada. However, he later left modeling as he did not agree with its industry practices. After his modelling experience he made a living by busking in large European cities, such as Prague, Oslo, Zurich, Hamburg, and Vienna. During this period, 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. Music career 2015–2018: Beginnings and Eurovision Song Contest Josef 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 15 hit in the Czech Republic. That same year, he also released the single "Believe (Hey Hey)". 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 2017, Josef released the single "Lie to Me", and later confirmed that the song would be competing in the Czech national final for the Eurovision Song Contest