Yael Naim ( he, יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "

New Soul "New Soul" is a song by the French-Israeli R&B/ soul singer Yael Naïm, from her self-titled second album. The song gained popularity in the United States following its use by Apple in an advertisement for their MacBook Air laptop. In the son ...

" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its

MacBook Air The MacBook Air is a line of ultrabook computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. It consists of a full-size keyboard, a machined aluminum case, and, in the more modern versions, a thin light structure. The Air was originally positione ...

. The song peaked at No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2013, the French government made her a knight of the .

Life and career

Yael Naim was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France to Maghrebi Jewish immigrants from

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. At the age of four, she moved with her family to

Ramat HaSharon Ramat HaSharon ( he, רָמַת הַשָּׁרוֹן, ''lit.'' ''Sharon Heights'', ar, رمات هشارون) is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south, Hod HaSharon to ...

, Israel, where she spent the rest of her childhood. She served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

as a soloist in the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

Orchestra. She began her singing career with a part in the musical ' and her first solo album, '' In a Man's Womb'' (recorded in Los Angeles with Kamil Rustam), was released in 2001. She also sang the song "You Disappear" by

Bruno Coulais Bruno Coulais (born 13 January 1954) is a French composer, most widely known for his music on film soundtracks. Life and career Coulais was born in Paris; his father, Farth Coulais, is from Vendée, and his mother, Bernsy Coulais, was born in ...

for the film ''

Harrison's Flowers ''Harrison's Flowers'' is a 2000 film by Elie Chouraqui. It stars, among others, Andie MacDowell, Elias Koteas, Brendan Gleeson, Adrien Brody, Marie Trintignant, Gerard Butler, and David Strathairn. The film is also Quinn Shephard's big scre ...

''. In her early work, she was credited simply as Yael. She also performed a duet with

Din Din Aviv Din Din Aviv ( he, דין דין אביב, born 9 October 1974 as Dina Aviv) is an Israeli pop and folk singer. After performing with Gaya and with the Idan Raichel Project, she released her debut album, ''Sodotay (My Secrets)'' in 2006. Biogra ...

titled "Mashmauyot". Her version of the

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

song "

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...

" also garnered significant attention. Naim joined with percussionist and, over a period of two years, they arranged and recorded thirteen of Naim's songs in a studio in her apartment in Paris. These were released as her second album, ''

Yael Naim Yael Naim ( he, יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song pea ...

'', on 22 October 2007, on the label. The songs are in French, English, and

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 ...

and received critical acclaim. The album entered the French album chart at No. 11 the week after its release. Her style has been described as having a touch of folk and a touch of jazz, with mysterious and evocative words sung with a delicate and intentionally husky voice. In January 2008, Apple featured her song "

" in its debut commercial for the

laptop.

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a m ...

himself picked the song for the launch of the laptop line.''Hey, Let's Write a Song Called "Steve Jobs Is Dreamy"''
100 And Single, Idolator. Accessed 12 February 2008Farber, Jim

''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

'', 11 March 2008. Owing to high U.S. digital sales, the song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the chart week of 16 February 2008, at No. 9, becoming Naim's first U.S. top ten single, and making her the first Israeli solo artist to ever have a top ten hit in the United States. "New Soul" moved up to No. 7 the following week. The song was also featured on the soundtrack of the movies ''

The House Bunny ''The House Bunny'' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Fred Wolf, written by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, and starring Anna Faris, Colin Hanks, and Emma Stone. It tells the story of a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be th ...

'' and ''

Wild Target ''Wild Target'' is a 2010 black comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and starring Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Eileen Atkins, Martin Freeman, and Rupert Everett.

''. Her third album was released in November 2010. The first single from this new record was "Go to the River". In 2016, she won her second Female Artist of the Year award at , the French equivalent of the Grammys.A French-Israeli Singer Takes an Unlikely Path to Success
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. 16 March 2016 She previously won the award in 2011.French-Israeli Singer Claims Top Award in Paris
Haaretz. 3 March 2011

Personal life

She is married to , a Martiniquais musician, with whom she has two children.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

* 2001 – "You Disappear" * 2001 – "Do I Do" * 2001 – "Avril" * 2007 – "

" (SPAIN Peak #35) * 2008 – "Too Long" * 2009 – "Far Far" * 2010 – "Go to the River" * 2010 – "The Only One" * 2011 – "Come Home" * 2015 – "Dream in My Head" (FRANCE Peak: #77) * 2015 – "Coward" (FRANCE Peak: #123)

Awards and nominations

Television

Naim's voice was used in a Season 21 episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'', entitled "

The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-first season of the American animated television series '' The Simpsons'', and the 457th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March ...

". She voiced Dorit, the niece of an Israeli tour guide named Jakob (voiced by

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...

).Older and Wiser, Singer Yael Naim Still Feels Like a New Soul
Haaretz. 20 April 2015 Her single "Come Home" was in an episode of Season 7 of ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'' and in episode 6 of the

ABC Family The American cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and six different name changes) during its h ...

series '' Switched at Birth''. Also, her cover of

Irene Cara Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...

's " Flashdance (What a Feeling)" was used in the promotion video of ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original ''The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

'' in 2014.

Philanthropy

On 27 November 2015, she participated together with

Nolwenn Leroy Nolwenn Le Magueresse (; born 28 September 1982), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (), is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally classically trained (violin and opera singing), she rose to fame after winning the second ...

and

Camélia Jordana Camélia Jordana Aliouane (born 15 September 1992) is a French-Algerian pop singer. She rose to fame after participating in the television show '' Nouvelle Star'', the French version of ''Pop Idol'', in 2009, where she came in third. Life and c ...

at the national memorial day for the victims of the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

singing the song "" from

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial blogYael Naim's 'New Soul' Review on Daily Music GuideOfficial biography
(French) *

(Hebrew)
Yael Naim at NPR Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naim, Yael 1978 births Living people Actresses from Paris Atlantic Records artists English-language singers from France English-language singers from Israel French emigrants to Israel 20th-century French Sephardi Jews French people of Tunisian-Jewish descent French voice actresses 21st-century Israeli women singers Israeli voice actresses Israeli pop singers Jewish folk singers Musicians from Paris People from Ramat HaSharon Ukulele players 21st-century French women singers