Chen Aharoni (; also known as Chen and also transliterated as Hen Aharoni; born in

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

on 12 April 1990) is an Israeli singer-songwriter, musician and television presenter.

Career

''Kokhav Nolad'' (2007)

He came into fame after taking part in 2007 in season 5 of ''

Kokhav Nolad ''Kokhav Nolad'' (; meaning "A Star Is Born") was an Israeli reality television show searching for talented new vocalists, based on the British ''Pop Idol'' model. Since its debut on Israeli Channel 2 in 2003, Kokhav Nolad has become popular and ...

'' ( meaning A Star Is Born) structured on the international ''

Idol series ''Idol'' (also known as ''SuperStar'' in some countries) is a reality television singing competition format created by British television producer Simon Fuller and developed by Fremantle. The format began in 2001 with the British television se ...

''. He was eliminated after a showdown with Shlomi Bar'el before the finals. Aharoni finished 4th overall, with Bar'el ending up third. The 2007 title was won by Bo'az Ma'uda with

Marina Maximilian Blumin Marina Maximilian Blumin (; born 15 December 1987), known professionally as Marina Maximilian, is an Israeli singer-songwriter and actress. She was the runner-up on the fifth season of the reality music competition show ''Kokhav Nolad''. Early ...

as runner-up.

Solo career

After ''Kokhav Nolad'', Chen Aharoni went on to sign a deal with the Israeli record label

NMC Music NMC Music () is an Israeli record label. It was established in 1964 as a subsidiary company of CBS, and became independent in 1988. Artists represented by NMC include Noa Kirel, Mashina, Yehuda Poliker, Shlomi Shabat, Chava Alberstein, Ehud B ...

and gaining popularity. While Chen made musical performances throughout Israel, he started hosting TV show called "Ra'ash" (meaning noise in Hebrew) on the Israeli music channel

Music 24 Channel 24 (), formally known as Music 24 (), is an Israeli free-to-air television channel owned by Telad, which was launched on July 20, 2003 and broadcasts music videos by Israeli musicians. Apart from music videos, the channel has different ...

for 2 seasons. In August 2008 he was drafted into the Israeli army ( IDF). In 2009, he started to release singles from his forthcoming debut album. The self-titled debut album '' Chen Aharoni'' (חן אהרוני) was released on 23 December 2010 and received critical acclaim. ''

Yedioth Ahronoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

'' in its ''Entertainment Plus'' special supplement published on the occasion of the Hebrew New Year picked the album as one of the Top 10 best albums of the year 2010–2011 alongside names like Dudu Tasa,

Berry Sakharof Berry Sakharof (, ; born 7 July 1957) is an Israeli rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer who is popular and critically acclaimed. He is often referred to as "the prince" or "the prince of Israeli rock". Biography Sakharof was born i ...

and Noam Rotem. He has had many successful hits including No.1 on the Israeli singles chart with "Neshima" () a duet with Israeli singer Esti Ginzburg. He reached No. 2 with his co-authored song "Kol ma SheRatziti" () and scored a second No. 1 hit in his career with "Mami" (), from the Israeli rock opera '' Mami''. On 26 June 2011, Chen's first single from his upcoming album was released. It was entitled "Holech Le'sham" ( meaning: Go there) Chen's second album '' Nosea Rahok'' () was released in October 2012 and got positive reviews. Three songs from this record have topped the 10 Israeli music charts. On 17 October 2012, Chen opened his official "Nosea Rachok Tour" that will tour all around Israel.

''Kdam Eurovision'' (2011)

On 8 March 2011, Chen Aharoni took part in the '' Kdam Eurovision'' selection contest finals for the Israeli entry to the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...

in Düsseldorf, Germany with the song "Or" ( meaning Light) written by Sahar Hagai and Nitzan Kaykov finishing fourth with 142 points, with

Dana International Sharon Cohen (; born 2 February 1969), professionally known as Dana International (), is an Israeli Pop music, pop singer. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums. She was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest ...

winning the contest with 270 points with "

Ding Dong A Ding Dong is a chocolate cake produced and distributed in the United States by Hostess Brands and in Canada from Vachon Inc. under the name King Dons; in some U.S. markets, it was previously known as Big Wheels. With the exception of a brief p ...

''The UK X Factor'' (2013)

In 2013 he entered the tenth series of the United Kingdom version of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

''. In the room auditions of ''X Factor'', he sang

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

's "

I Knew You Were Trouble "I Knew You Were Trouble" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fourth studio album, '' Red'' (2012). She wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Instrumented by electric guitars and synthesiz ...

", got 4 yeses and reaching the Arena stage of live auditions, where he sang

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

song " Back for Good" mixed with

Cher Lloyd Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is an English singer. She participated on the The X Factor (UK series 7), seventh series of the television talent show ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor'' in 2010, where she finished in fourth place. F ...

's "

Want U Back "Want U Back" is a song by English singer Cher Lloyd from her debut studio album, ''Sticks and Stones (Cher Lloyd album), Sticks and Stones'' (2011). It was released as the third single from the album on 3 February 2012, and it was released as ...

" as back track. He got 3 yes votes from

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Scherzinger ( ; ; born June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She was a member of the girl group and dance ensemble the Pussycat Dolls between 2003 and 2010. With ...

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2 ...

and

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s an ...

, with

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...

from Take That being the only dissenting vote. Aharoni reached the bootcamp stage, where he sang " Drive By" alongside candidates Lee Lambert and Ryan Davies. All including Aharoni were sent home by their mentor

. He failed to make it to "judges' houses" (final 24) with Walsh claiming that he was just OK, but not sufficient to be included in his category. Following his elimination in the UK competition, it was announced later in 2013 that Chen will be hosting the Israeli version of '' The Xtra Factor'' (in Hebrew: מבזק האקס) on an Israeli channel.

''Crazy EP'' international English release (2013–2014)

On 14 October 2013 Chen released his first

English-language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

single "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

" for

Pre-order A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

. The song picked to No. 3 on the Israeli songs chart and officially released on 20 October 2013. The follow-up single from the EP was "Love Suicide" that topped the iTunes downloads chart for a full week.

''HaKokhav HaBa'' (2017-2018)

Aharoni is competing in the fifth season of the show '' HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion (meaning "The Next Star for Eurovision")'', in a bid to represent Israel in 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. The qualification show started in October 2017 and hosted by Assi Azar and Rotem Sela and a judging panel composed of Asaf Amdursky,

Keren Peles Keren Peles Toor (; born 11 March 1979) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician. Peles embarked her musical career in Israel in 2005 as a songwriter and later with her debut album ''If This Is Life (album), Im Ele Ha'Hayim'' (2006), and has ...

Harel Skaat Harel Skaat (; born 8 August 1981) sometimes known by the mononym Harel is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Milim" ("", "Words"). Skaat has been singing and performing in publi ...

( 2010 Israeli Eurovision entrant) and Static & Ben-El Tavori. All shows in the competition are broadcast on Channel 2 and

Keshet 12 Keshet 12 () is an Israeli free-to-air television channel owned by Keshet Media Group. It launched on 1 November 2017 as one of two replacements for the outgoing Channel 2. History Israel's Channel 2 was operated by the Second Authority for ...

as well as online via ''mako.co.il''. Chen Aharoni auditioned to episode 2 of the show broadcast on 31 October 2017 with an interpretation of the

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

song "

Wrecking Ball A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a Crane (machine), crane, that is used for Demolition, demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1940s and 1950s. Several wrecking companies claim to have inve ...

". He got approval of all four judges and an approval rating of 94% being the second highest approval rate among the 25 candidates with only Yafit Casay exceeding him with a 95% score. Aharoni moved to the promotion round as part of final 20 contestants. In Heat 2, broadcast on 7 and 8 January 2018, he sang "

Can't Feel My Face "Can't Feel My Face" is a song by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd from his second studio album, ''Beauty Behind the Madness'' (2015). The song was released on June 8, 2015, as the album's third single. It was written by Max Martin, Pe ...

" from

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

. He again got approval of all five judges and an approval rating of 80% advancing to Heat 5 broadcast on 22 January 2018 where he was coupled with Jonathan Mergui singing "

Locked Out of Heaven "Locked Out of Heaven" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars from his second studio album, ''Unorthodox Jukebox'' (2012). It was released as the lead single from the album on October 1, 2012. The song was written by Mars, Phil ...

" from

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

again getting approval from all four judges and a 92% score advancing to the quarter finals In the quarter finals on 4 and 7 February, he sang "Rokedet" getting approval of three of the four judges with Assaf Amdursky abstaining. However he got 71% approval advancing to the semi-final where he sang " Bang Bang" from

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind ...

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

and

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

on 8 and 11 February, with all four judges approving and a public vote of 86%, the second highest rate for the semi-final. Reaching the final alongside three other finalists Jonathan Mergui, Riki Ben Ari and Netta Barzilai on 13 February 2018, he sang his own hit "Neshima" getting approval of all four judges. But his public vote was 72%, the lowest of the finalists plus he got positive endorsement from only one judge (Ben El Tavori) and was eliminated. The final was won by

Netta Barzilai Netta Barzilai (, ; born 22 January 1993), also known mononymously as Netta, is an Israeli singer. After winning Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018#HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion, the fifth season of ''HaKokhav HaBa'', she earned the right ...

, who went on to represent Israel in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.

In popular culture

*He was chosen for an anti-drug youth public awareness campaign by . *For two seasons, he hosted "Ra'ash" (meaning noise in Hebrew), a TV show on the Israeli music channel

. *He also took part in the Israeli version of the reality series ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

'' (""). *Aharoni was picked as one of the Top 100 stars in Israel in the celebrity and lifestyle magazine ''Top 1'' (in Hebrew ראש1). He was also picked in the Top 20 in Israeli daily ''

'' listing.

Personal life

On 22 June 2011 Chen Aharoni finished his military service in the Israeli Army (IDF) after being drafted in August 2008. During his military service, he served in the Armored Corps as injuries coordinator and instructor at a medical complex in

Tel HaShomer Tel HaShomer (, ''lit.'' Hill of the Guardsman) or Kiryat Krinitzi is a neighborhood in Ramat Gan, Israel. It borders Kiryat Ono in the north, Yehud in the east, and Or Yehuda in the south. A major Israel Defense Forces base and the Sheba Medical ...

. He also took part in the annual festival of the

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) (in ) is an organization established in 1981 dedicated to the men and women serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), wounded veterans, and the families of fallen soldiers. Headquartered in New York ...

which is held in the Yarkon Park in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. He came out as

pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...

on the first day of 2019.

Discography

Albums

2010: ''Chen Aharoni'' ()

''Chen Aharoni'' is the debut self-titled album of Israeli singer Chen Aharoni released in 2010. A highly successful album for the participant in the Israeli reality show ''

'', five singles were released from the album concerned, one of them, namely "Neshima" a song with Esti Ginzburg making it to the top of the Israeli Singles Chart and another "Kol ma SheRatziti" making it to #2 in the same charts. ;Track list ;Bonus ;Singles from the album *2009: "Ba'Rekhov" ( – In the street) – by Sahar kHagai and Nitzan Kaykov (#7) *2010: "Neshima" (with Esti Ginzburg) ( – Breathing) – by Sahar Hagai and Nitzan Kaykov (#1) *2010: "Boi boi" ( – Come come) – by Sahar kHagai and Nitzan Kaykov *2010: "La'avor Et HaPakhad" ( – To get through the fear) – by Tom Rahav and Ran Haros (#15) *2010: "Kol Ma SheRatziti" ( – All I ever wanted) – by Chen Aharoni and Meital Patash-Cohen (#2)

2012: ''Nosea Rahok'' ()

''Nosea Rahok'' (, ) is the second studio album of Israeli singer Chen Aharoni released in October 2012.Frogi.co.il: תדהמה: חן אהרוני נוסע רחוק מכאן?
(in Hebrew) A successful album for the participant in the Israeli reality show ''

'', five singles were released from the album concerned, one of them, namely "Mami" reached the top of the Israeli Singles Chart. ;Track list Bonus ;Singles from the album Five of the tracks were released as singles, with peak positions in Israel in parentheses). *2011: "Holekh Le'Sham" (Holech Le'sham – Go there) *2011: "Mami" ( –Sweetie) (#1) *2011: "Nose'a Rakhoq" ( – Traveling far away) (#5) *2012: "Mashehu Khaser" ( – Something missing) *2012: "Khamesh Daqot" ( – Five minutes) (#7)

EPs

*2014: ''Crazy EP''

Singles

References

External links

*
Chen Aharoni
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Aharoni, Chen 1990 births Living people 21st-century Israeli male singers Israeli pop singers Kokhav Nolad contestants People from Holon The X Factor (British TV series) contestants Israeli pansexual people Israeli LGBTQ singers LGBTQ Jews Pansexual musicians 21st-century Israeli LGBTQ people