Israel's Netta Barzilai won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Portugal, with her song "Toy". But who is she, what's her story? She and her family lived in Nigeria for a period of four years, eventually returning to Israel. In her son, she reflects on the awakening of female power and social justice.
Want to know who she is? Here, we've got you covered
1. 25-year-old Netta Barzilai was born on January 22, 1993 in Hod HaSharon, Israel. She and her family lived in Nigeria for a period of four years, eventually returning to Israel.
2. Prior to her mandatory enlistment to the Israeli Defense Forces, Barzilai spent a service year volunteering in the Nahal. She did her military service in the Israeli Navy Band.
3. She worked all types of jobs in the struggle of trying to pursue dreams of being an artist. She worked as a waitress and even as a teacher at nursery school.
4. She is the first artist ever to use a vocal looper on the Eurovision stage.
5. The artist has even won the fifth season of HaKokhav HaBa. She was selected to represent Israel after winning the fifth series of their popular show The Next Star.
6. Netta performed the song "Toy" at the Eurovision song contest. It is this year's most popular songs, written by two Israeli song-writers, Doron Medalie and Stav Beger.
7. Barzilai has an extensive background in music, according to Eurovision's website. She studied music in high school and at Israel's Rimon School of Music.
8. The young singer chose to perform "Toy" as it gave an important message. She reflected the awakening of female power and social justice by creating a wonderful vibe on stage.
9. Interestingly, she was almost eliminated in the first round after losing her duel. However, the judges saved her with their executive powers. Netta won the contest with a whopping 529 points.
10. In 2016, Netta co-founded an improvisation singing ensemble called “The Experiment”. The ensemble toured all across Israel for two years with their special freestyle improvisation gigs.
She thanked everyone for the support and love. Have a look at her winning reactions here.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held at the Altice Arena in Lisbon. The final round took place on May, 12. Forty-three countries participated in the contest, equaling the record of the 2008 and 2011 editions. Cyprus took home second place in this year's competition and Austria came in third.
More stories by Bhawana
Bhawana is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv
/shethepeople/media/agency_attachments/2024/11/11/2024-11-11t082606806z-shethepeople-black-logo-2000-x-2000-px-1.png){kind=logo}
/shethepeople/media/member_avatars/mgYZhetaB0k3crNYJHNX.jpeg )
Follow Us/shethepeople/media/post_banners/bfISccOdOdxI8xrd2Z03.jpg)