Netta Barzilai ( he, נטע ברזילי; born 22 January 1993), also known mononymously as Netta, is an Israeli singer. After winning
the fifth season of ''
HaKokhav HaBa
''HaKokhav HaBa'' ( he, הַכּוֹכָב הַבָּא, translated as "The Next Star"; formerly ''HaKokhav HaBa LaErovizion'', ''Rising Star to the Eurovision'') is an Israeli interactive reality singing competition, which was first broadcast ...
'', she earned the right to represent her country at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2018
The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song "Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European B ...
. On 12 May 2018, she won the contest, held in
Lisbon, Portugal, with her song "
Toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pe ...
", marking
Israel's fourth win in the Eurovision Song Contest (after
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 � ...
,
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, and
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
).
Early life
Barzilai was born in
Hod HaSharon,
Israel. Her mother is from a
Maghrebi Jewish
:''See Mashriqi Jews for more information about Jews in the rest of North Africa and Western Asia.''
Maghrebi Jews ( or , ''Maghrebim'') or North African Jews ( ''Yehudei Tzfon Africa'') are ethnic Jews who had traditionally lived in the Maghre ...
family (of
Moroccan-Jewish and
Libyan-Jewish descent), whereas her father is from an
Ashkenazi Jewish
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
family (of
Polish-Jewish descent). She has two brothers. As a child, Barzilai lived in
Nigeria for six years, where her father, who is an engineer, worked on a project for Israeli company
Solel Boneh.
Barzilai attended Hadarim High School in Hod HaSharon and was a youth leader in the
HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed youth movement. Prior to her military service in the
Israel Defense Forces, she spent a
Service Year The Pre-Army Service Year ( he, שנת שירות, ''Shnat Sherut''), abbreviated Shin-Shin ( he, ש"ש), is a one-year voluntary service program for Israeli high school graduates prior to their service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Contrary ...
volunteering in the paramilitary
Nahal
Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...
. She completed her military service in the
Israeli Navy Band
The Israeli Navy Band ( he, להקת חיל הים, r=Lehakat Heyl Hayam) was an ensemble of the Israeli Navy, and was one of many in the Israel Defense Force (IDF).
History Early years
The navy band first appeared in October 1948. The band consi ...
. Afterwards, she studied
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means (electroac ...
at the
Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, however she did not complete a degree there.
Career
Eurovision Song Contest
In September 2017, Barzilai auditioned for
season five of ''
HaKokhav HaBa
''HaKokhav HaBa'' ( he, הַכּוֹכָב הַבָּא, translated as "The Next Star"; formerly ''HaKokhav HaBa LaErovizion'', ''Rising Star to the Eurovision'') is an Israeli interactive reality singing competition, which was first broadcast ...
'', Israel's national selection for the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pri ...
, with "
Rude Boy" by
Rihanna. After receiving 82% of the votes, she advanced to the second stage of the competition in which she sang "
Hey Mama" by
David Guetta. In February 2018, she performed "
Wannabe" by the
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...
, and although she lost a duel to Ricky Ben Ari, she proceeded to the next stage after being selected by the judges.
The last song Barzilai performed in the competition was a mashup of "
Gangnam Style" by
Psy and "
Tik Tok" by
Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...
. After receiving 210 points from the judges and audience, Barzilai won first place and the right to represent Israel at Eurovision.
On 25 February 2018, it was reported that the song that Barzilai would perform at the contest would be called "
Toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pe ...
" and that it would be performed in English, apart from a phrase in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. The song was written and composed by
Doron Medalie
Doron Medalie ( he, דורון מדלי; born 5 December 1977) is an Israeli songwriter, composer and artistic director. He co-wrote the song "Toy", which was performed by Netta Barzilai and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
Biography
Doron M ...
and
Stav Beger, and produced by Berger.
The song was released on 11 March 2018, and its music video went on to receive more than 20 million views two months before the beginning of Eurovision. On 14 April 2018, Barzilai performed her song at ''Eurovision in Concert'' in
Amsterdam, the largest Eurovision promotional event. Four days later, she performed the song ''Hora Heachzut'' at the
torch-lighting ceremony that opened the 70th
Israeli Independence Day
Independence Day ( he, יום העצמאות ''Yom Ha'atzmaut'', lit. "Day of Independence") is the national day of Israel, commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. The day is marked by official and unofficial ceremonies ...
.
On 8 May 2018, Barzilai participated in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, winning the semi-final with 283 points and qualifying for the final on 12 May. In the final, she placed first with televoters and third with international juries, amassing 529 points in total and winning the competition, marking Israel's fourth Eurovision win (after
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 � ...
,
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, and
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
).
Shortly after winning Eurovision, Barzilai signed a worldwide record deal with New York-based label
S-Curve Records
S-Curve Records was founded in 2000 by former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg. It is based in New York City. In 2001 the label established a distribution and licensing agreement with EMI Records. Among the hits released by S-Curve be ...
. On 1 February 2019, Barzilai released her follow-up single "
Bassa Sababa", alongside a music video filmed in
Kyiv with Eddie Kabtner.
At the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 held in
Tel Aviv, Barzilai opened the first semi-final with a new version of her winning song "Toy". During the final she sang a new single, "
Nana Banana".
Post-Eurovision projects
Barzilai began appearing around the world between Pride parades across Europe and TV programs in the United States. The record was set on 19 October 2019, when she appeared at the Zhejiang Satellite TV Autumn Festival in China in front of approximately 500 million television viewers and tens of thousands in the audience.
At Hanukkah 2019, Barzilai began performing in the show "Pop Up Music 2" alongside
Omer Adam
Omer Adam ( he, עומר אדם; born October 22, 1993) is an Israeli singer whose music fuses elements of eastern Mizrahi music (Oriental-Middle Eastern) and Western Pop instrumentation. In 2009, he participated in the seventh season of '' Kok ...
,
Keren Peles
Keren Peles Toor ( he, קרן פלס טור; born March 11, 1979) is an Israeli singer-songwriter, poet and pianist.
Music career
Peles graduated from the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2005, she became famous for her songwritin ...
,
Moshe Peretz
Moshe Haim Peretz ( he, משה פרץ; born 10 May 1983) is an Israeli Mizrahi music pop singer-songwriter and composer. Beginning in 2013, Peretz acted as judge for the The X Factor Israel.
Early life
Peretz was born and raised in Tiberias, I ...
and more. In November, they released the theme song of the show "We Got The Power" together with Adam, Moshe Peretz and Rotem Cohen who participated alongside her in the show. She later released a duet with Adam, titled "
Beg".
On 7 February 2020 she released a new song, titled "
Ricki Lake
Ricki Pamela Lake (born September 21, 1968) is an American television host and actress. She is known for her lead role as Tracy Turnblad in the 1988 film ''Hairspray'', for which she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for B ...
". In addition, Barzilai debuted a new project titled ''Netta's Office'', a series of YouTube videos in which she remixes songs using her trademark
looper
Looper may refer to:
Animals
* Cabbage looper (''Trichoplusia ni''), a member of the moth family Noctuidae
* Inchworm, of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies
People
* Looper (surname), a Dutch-language surname with the mea ...
. In the same year she participated in the new version of the program "We Will Not Stop Singing" on
Channel 12. Barzilai competed in the first episode alongside Keren Peles and Moshe Peretz and won the episode.
On 16 May 2020, she performed a new song, "
Cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes sepa ...
", during the ''
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light'' special event. Her debut EP ''
Goody Bag'' was released soon after on 25 June, containing all five singles she had released up until that point: "Toy", "Bassa Sababa", "Nana Banana", "Ricki Lake" and "Cuckoo". She later made a cameo in the
Netflix film ''
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga''. A second EP titled ''The Best of Netta's Office, Vol. 1'' was released on 18 December, containing six of her remixes seen in the ''Netta's Office'' series. She served as a judge on the
fourth season of ''
The X Factor Israel
''The X Factor Israel'' ( he, אקס פקטור ישראל) is the Israeli version of the British television music competition ''The X Factor'', created by Simon Cowell. The show started airing fall of 2013 on Reshet.
Judges and hosts
The first t ...
'', which determined the Israeli representative for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
On 13 October 2021, Barzilai released "CEO" and "Dum", her first new solo music in over a year, and first since leaving her previous label Tedy Productions for a complete transition to S-Curve Records. Further singles in 2022 included "I Love My Nails" and "Playground Politica" (with Nigerian-born Ghana-based singer
Mr Eazi
Oluwatosin Ajibade (born 19 July 1991), better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, is a Nigerian-born, Ghana-based singer. He is a pioneer of Banku music, a fusion of sound he describes as a mixture of Ghanaian highlife and Nigerian chord progressi ...
).
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Other charted songs
Filmography
See also
*
Music in Israel
The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. For almost 150 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements ...
*
Culture of Israel
The roots of the culture of Israel developed long before modern Israel's independence in 1948, and traces back to ancient Israel ( 1000 BCE). It reflects Jewish culture, Jewish history in the diaspora, the ideology of the Zionist movement that de ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barzilai, Netta
1993 births
21st-century Sephardi Jews
21st-century Israeli women singers
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2018
Eurovision Song Contest winners
Israeli dance musicians
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Israel
Israeli expatriates in Nigeria
Israeli people of Libyan-Jewish descent
Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent
Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent
Israeli pop singers
Living people
People from Hod HaSharon
Israeli military musicians
Israeli Ashkenazi Jews
Israeli Sephardi Jews
Women in electronic music