Songwriter and Guitarist Andrzej Citowicz with Wife Shereen Shoukry Citowicz Release Deeply Personal Album on First Day of 2026 – “Now I Understand” Lyric Video Marks New Year’s Day Debut of Album Written Through Loss, Resilience, and 53 Years of Untold Stories.
In an unexpected New Year’s Day release, CITOVITZ AND FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY—the musical partnership of songwriter and guitarist Andrzej Citowicz and his wife, Shereen Shoukry Citowicz—have released “My Story,” a surprise 12-track album available now on all major streaming platforms.
Unlike their recent Italian Christmas collaboration, “My Story” represents something far more personal and unexpected: an entire album where Andrzej composed every song, but Shereen wrote all the lyrics—transforming 53 years of lived experience, overlooked pain, and unspoken trauma into music.
A SURPRISE ALBUM BORN FROM SURVIVAL
“My Story” arrives without advance promotion or industry fanfare—released on January 1st, 2026, as an honest beginning to a new year following one of the darkest periods in the couple’s life.
“This album wasn’t planned as a surprise release,” Andrzej Citowicz explains. “But after everything we’ve been through—the loss of our son, the grief, the struggle to keep breathing—we realized this couldn’t wait for traditional album cycles or marketing strategies. These songs needed to exist in the world. My wife’s words needed to be heard. On the first day of 2026, we wanted to give something real, something honest, something that might help someone else who’s been overlooked, unappreciated, or broken by life.”
The 12-song collection translates trauma into music, grief into melody, and survival into art—continuing the couple’s evolution from Andrzej’s deeply personal “Living Room Rockstar Part 2” (dedicated to their stillborn son Jonasz) through their Italian Christmas singles, and now into this complete collaborative statement.
SHEREEN’S VOICE: 53 YEARS OF UNTOLD STORIES
While Andrzej Citowicz has spent years processing emotion through music, “My Story” marks the first time his wife Shereen has claimed the narrative entirely through her own words.
“My wife sums up her 53 years of life in this album,” Andrzej states. “It is her message to the world—a world that was often cruel and unfair to her. She was overlooked and unappreciated for so long. With my music, she is voicing her own traumas and laying out the truth. If you too are overlooked and unappreciated, this is for you.”
The discovery of Shereen’s remarkable voice during their Italian Christmas recordings revealed one hidden dimension of her talent. “My Story” reveals another: her ability to transform personal pain into universal truth through lyrics that speak for anyone who has been dismissed, diminished, or denied.
“These aren’t just her stories,” Andrzej emphasizes. “They’re the stories of everyone who was told they didn’t matter, everyone who carried trauma in silence, everyone who survived what they were never supposed to survive. She’s giving voice to all of that. Every lyric comes from lived experience. Every word is earned.”
“NOW I UNDERSTAND” – THE ALBUM’S OPENING STATEMENT
Leading the album is “Now I Understand,” accompanied by a lyric video released simultaneously on New Year’s Day.
“This song is crucial,” Andrzej explains. “It represents that moment when everything suddenly makes sense—when you look back at your life and understand why things happened the way they did, why you had to go through what you went through, why the pain had purpose. My wife wrote these lyrics from a place of hard-won wisdom. After 53 years of being overlooked, she finally understands her own story. And now she’s sharing that understanding with anyone who needs it.”
The lyric video allows listeners to connect directly with Shereen’s words—to read, absorb, and recognize their own experiences reflected in her truth.
“We wanted people to see the lyrics as they listen,” Andrzej notes. “These words matter. They deserve to be read, considered, felt. This isn’t background music. This is someone’s life, translated into language that might help someone else survive theirs.”
FROM LOSS TO MUSIC: TRANSLATING EVERYTHING
The couple’s recent journey—from the devastating loss of their son Jonasz to the revelation of Shereen’s musical gifts—has been marked by their choice to transform unbearable pain into creative expression.
“We translate everything into music and lyrics,” Andrzej states simply. “It’s how we survive. After losing Jonasz, music was the only language I had. Now, with ‘My Story,’ my wife has found her own language too. We’ve taken the hardest moments of our lives—loss, grief, trauma, being overlooked and unappreciated—and we’ve made something from them. Not to glorify the pain, but to prove that even the worst experiences can be transformed into something that matters, something that connects, something that helps.”
The album continues the musical evolution established in their earlier collaborations, with Andrzej’s guitar-driven compositions providing the foundation for Shereen’s unflinchingly honest lyrics.
“I write the music from my heart,” he explains. “She writes the lyrics from her lived experience. Together, we’re creating something neither of us could make alone. That’s what ‘My Story’ represents—two people who’ve survived the unsurvivable, creating art from the wreckage.”
A MESSAGE FOR THE OVERLOOKED AND UNAPPRECIATED
Throughout “My Story,” the album speaks directly to those who have felt invisible, dismissed, or denied their truth.
“If you’ve ever felt like the world didn’t see you, like your pain didn’t matter, like your story wasn’t worth telling—this album is for you,” Andrzej emphasizes. “My wife spent 53 years being overlooked. She spent decades with her trauma unacknowledged, her experiences diminished, her voice unheard. ‘My Story’ is her way of saying: I was here. I survived. My story matters. And so does yours.”
The surprise release on New Year’s Day carries symbolic weight—a declaration that new beginnings are possible even after profound loss, that voices can be found even after decades of silence, that stories can be told even when the world tried to silence them.
“Starting 2026 with this album feels right,” Andrzej reflects. “It’s a statement of survival, of resilience, of refusing to let pain have the final word. My wife’s lyrics prove that even when life has been cruel and unfair, you can still create something beautiful from what tried to destroy you.”
TECHNICAL AND ARTISTIC APPROACH
Musically, “My Story” maintains Citovitz’s signature approach—guitar-driven compositions influenced by classic rock craftsmanship while embracing contemporary production techniques. But the lyrical focus shifts entirely to Shereen’s perspective, creating an album that balances Andrzej’s melodic sensibility with Shereen’s narrative truth.
“I wanted the music to serve her words,” Andrzej explains. “Every guitar line, every arrangement choice, every production decision was about creating space for her lyrics to breathe, to be heard, to land with the weight they deserve. This isn’t a guitar showcase. This is her story, supported by my music.”
The 12-track collection covers the full range of human experience—from trauma to healing, from being overlooked to being seen, from survival to understanding.
“We didn’t hold anything back,” he states. “These songs are honest about the hardest parts of life. But they’re also honest about hope, about resilience, about the possibility that understanding can come even after decades of pain. That’s what ‘My Story’ offers—not false optimism, but earned hope.”
CONTINUING THE JOURNEY: FROM ITALIAN CHRISTMAS TO “MY STORY”
“My Story” follows the couple’s Italian Christmas singles “Notte Di Stelle” and “Un Altro Domani,” which marked their first musical collaboration and the discovery of Shereen’s vocal abilities.
“Those Christmas songs revealed that my wife had this incredible voice,” Andrzej recalls. “But ‘My Story’ reveals something deeper—that she has stories that need to be told, experiences that need to be voiced, truth that needs to be heard. The progression feels natural. First, we discovered she could sing. Now, we’re discovering what she needs to sing about.”
The couple’s evolution from Andrzej’s solo grief processing in “Living Room Rockstar Part 2” through collaborative holiday celebration and now into full album-length storytelling demonstrates music’s capacity to hold everything—from individual mourning to shared joy to collaborative truth-telling.
“Every project has been necessary,” he reflects. “‘Living Room Rockstar Part 2’ was me trying to survive losing Jonasz. The Italian Christmas songs were us celebrating life and partnership after that darkness. ‘My Story’ is my wife claiming her own narrative after 53 years. They’re all connected. They’re all part of the same journey from loss toward healing, from silence toward voice, from alone toward together.”
AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE PLANS
“My Story” is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms. The lyric video for “Now I Understand” is available on YouTube.
The couple plans to continue their collaborative work, with more music from the “My Story” collection to be promoted throughout 2026.
“This is just the beginning of my wife’s voice being heard,” Andrzej promises. “She has more to say. The world needs to hear it. And I’ll keep writing music that gives her the platform she deserves—the platform she was denied for too long.”
STREAMING LINKS:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/49gPbwNQGB0?si=uWGVLkauIlrfsAZs
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/album/0J30vjwbCFPJFV0pcRKESG
ARTIST CONTACTS & LINKS:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7aIeg5DyI7xwkYLsBgJNWf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrzejCitowicz
Instagram: https://instagram.com/citovitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citovitz/
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About Andrzej Citowicz:
Andrzej Citowicz is an acclaimed Polish guitarist and songwriter currently based in Cairo, Egypt. As a former recording artist for DownBoys Records, he has built a reputation for emotionally resonant songwriting and distinctive guitar work. His music combines classic rock influences with contemporary production, creating a sound that bridges generational and cultural gaps while maintaining artistic authenticity. His YouTube channel has garnered over 70,000 views from an international audience.
Connect with Andrzej Citowicz:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7aIeg5DyI7xwkYLsBgJNWf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrzejCitowicz
Instagram: https://instagram.com/citovitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citovitz/
℗© 2026 Citovitz and The Fireflies of February / Andrzej Citowicz
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