Destination Lisbon (#5): Meet Netta Barzilai from Israel
21 March 2018 at 08:00 CETIn February, Netta Barzilai won the fifth season of HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion, or The Next Star for Eurovision, and with it the ticket to represent Israel at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. Her song Toy was chosen by a committee, established by Israel's public broadcaster.
Netta is known for her use of the looper, a unique sound recorder which adds a special dimension to her performances. She left quite an impression during her first audition for HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion, when she performed her own version of Rihanna's famous song Rude Boy:
Netta is a very ambitious and determined 25-year-old. But despite her young age, Netta has an extensive background in music. She finished high school with excellence merit in extended music studies and went on to study at the renowned Rimon School of Music in the Electronic Studies Department.
In 2016, Netta co-founded an improvisation singing ensemble called The Experiment, touring all over Israel. She was also given a lead role in the theatre production Running on the Sea, with theatre professor Ruth Kanner and composer Avshalom Ariel, who is also one of her backing vocalists at this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Netta has been an active soloist for two years in the successful show group Gaberband, performing in Israel and abroad, and has been giving looping workshops to young musicians.
Toy is about the empowerment for women and is written and composed by Doron Medalie and Stav Beger.
Doron Medalie is one of Israel's most successful songwriters, composers and artistic directors. If you ever visited Tel Aviv, you probably know the city's anthem Tel Aviv, one of his top hits. Toy is Doron's third Eurovision entry for Israel, having penned Nadav Guedj’s Golden Boy in 2015 and Made of Stars performed by Israeli singer Hovi Star in 2016.
While Stav Beger is an upcoming Israeli producer, writer and composer, he is only 25 years old and has written several Israeli hits over the last two years. Toy is his first entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Check out the official music video for Netta's song Toy below:
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You can follow Netta on the following social media platforms:
Watch more of Netta's unique performances here on YouTube.
Netta will perform Toy in Lisbon for Israel on the 8th of May in the first Semi-Final of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
What do you think of Netta's Toy? Leave your review in the comments below!
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