| Haim Moshe Haim Moshe is one of Israel's first Mizrachi musicians to crossover into mainstream popularity. His music has become an intrinsic part of Israeli life with songs like "Todah" permeating the Israeli experience. With 24 albums and three international solo performing tours under his belt, Haim Moshe performs almost every night in Israel and abroad. He has also made many appearances in popular festivals as well as at official events in Israel. Among his best-loved songs are Kol Nedarai, Od Yom Oleh, Nishbah,Yachad and Pireus. Born in Israel in 1955 to a traditional Yemenite family, Haim Moshe began his musical career as an entertainer in nightclubs and private events. His album, Ahavat Hayai brought him his first mass exposure to the Israeli audience. Two songs in particular, "Ahavat Hayai" and "Linda Linda" , became popular across the border in some of Israel's neighboring Arab countries. Eyal Golan Eyal Golan the most popular Mizrachi singer nowadays in Israel is only 27 years old and with his first three albums he has acquired a multitude of devoted fans. Eyal was born and grew up in the city of Rehovot. He spent his adolescence years visiting nightclubs and was exposed to the rich Mizrachi music. This was how he was introduced to oriental music. Eyal admired Zohar Argov, a pioneer of Mizrachi music in Israel. Like many other modern artists, Eyal strongly believes that Zohar will always be "The King" of this genre of music. When Eyal was about 16 years old, he started to perform in the nightclubs and he soon became a mini super star. In 1991, he appeared for the first time on national television as part of a memorial service for Zohar Argov. As a result of this performance, the public instantly fell in love with him. Two years later, he put out his first major label album, called "LeHishah Ba Laila." The following year, in 1996, he put out another album, called "BeHofa'ah Haya" and included collaborations with other Israeli artists. These two albums were not as successful as expected. But within a year, he put out his third album, "Bila'adaich"(Without You), which was well received in Israel and in Israeli communities all around the world. Over 120,000 copies of this album were sold and Eyal's album went platinum. Since then he has released two more albums called " Hayal Shel Ahavah" and "Histakli Eli." Eyal Golan has been voted as best male singer of Israel by the public, and his fans eagerly await the release of his next album. Ofra Haza Ofra Haza was an artist who literally lived for music. Raised as the youngest of nine children to a traditional Yemenite family in the Hatikva neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Haza's fairy-tale climb to fame and fortune has become a legend. At age of 12, she joined the Hatikva Theater group. With the encouragement of the group's founder Bezalel Aloni, who later became her manager, Haza took on stronger and more demanding leading roles within the Hatikva group, and by the time she was 19, her solo career was fully launched. After serving two years in the IDF she recorded her first solo album and quickly rose to become one of the Israel's top singers. She proudly represented Israel and won second place in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest with "Chai." This success was followed with release of 16 gold and platinum albums. Then, the unlikely idea of matching traditional Yemenite songs with a throbbing dance beat unexpectedly launched her internationally acclaimed career. In 1985, Haza, released her first international album titled "Yemenite Songs." It was a collection of interpretations of poetry written by the 17th-century Rabbi Shalom Shabazi. Then in 1988, Ofra emerged in the international music scene with the remix of "Paid in Full" from the movie "Colors." Shortly after, Ofra's song "Im Nin Alu" reached number one in the German charts for nine consecutive weeks, as well as number one in the Euro charts for two weeks, making her an international name. Haza began to focus on the international arena, relocating to Los Angeles but returned home a number of times each year for performances and visits. Her next album, "Shaday" sold over one million copies worldwide and received The New Music Award for the International Album of the Year in New York City in 1989. The success of "Shaday" broke into the American, Canadian, and Japanese markets as her tour continuously sold out and her single, "Im Nin Alu", won first place at the Tokyo music festival. Her visual image, with her colorful national dress and the exotic mixture of Middle Eastern ballads and rhythms blended with western styles, helped make her the most popular Israeli singer in the world. In 1992, Ofra's album "Kirya" was nominated for a Grammy for best album in the World Beat category. At the request of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Haza performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo in December 1994. Haza continued to appear in many projects in recent years, including the DreamWorks Prince of Egypt and The Governess soundtrack, both in 1998. Haza married businessman Doron Ashkenazi in 1997. It came as a shock to the world when on February 23, 2000 she passed away at the young age of 43. She was loved by the people and will always be remembered for her musical contributions throughout the world. |