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Gil Doron Reichstadt Ofarim (born 13 August 1982) is a German singer, songwriter, and actor, also known as the lead singer of the bands Zoo Army and Acht.


Early life

Ofarim is the first child of Israeli musician Abi Ofarim (1937–2018) and his third wife Sandra. He has a younger brother, Tal, a musician, who was born in 1984. Gil speaks German,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
and English. He sings in English and German.


Music career

Ofarim's showbiz career took off in May 1997 when he was spotted in a Munich underground station by a talent scout for ''Bravo'' magazine and was asked to do a pictorial story spread. The article generated thousands of letters from fans and he landed a recording contract with BMG. His first single "Round 'n' Round (It Goes)" was released in November 1997 and became a top 40 hit in Germany. Ofarim' debut album '' Here I Am'' was released to international success in May 1998.


2003–2007: ''On My Own''

After several other successful singles, Ofarim became increasingly disenchanted with being a teen idol. His 2003 album ''On My Own'', released on Neotone Records, showcased his move in a different musical direction, taking his work further into the
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
and
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
genres. While the album failed to chart, it produced the single "The Reason" and led to a stint as
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
's opening act on the German leg of their Bounce Tour. In 2004, Ofarim ventured into acting when he co-starred in the
ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...
coming-of-age film ''Endlich Sex!'' alongside Jasmin Schwiers. In it, he played musician Christoph, the love interest of lead role Saskia. The film was broadcast to moderate ratings but was largely panned by critics. Ofarim performed several songs in ''Endlich Sex!'', including "In Your Eyes" which was released by Neotone as a single in March 2004. Starting in 2005, Ofarim became the lead singer of the rock band Zoo Army, also consisting of his brother Tal, Roland Söns and Dominik Scholz. They released their first single "I'm Alive" and their debut album ''507'' in the first half of 2006. The same year, he had a supporting role in the RTL two-part television drama film ', a fictionalized ensemble story depicting the events surrounding the North Sea flood of 1962. Starring a roster of bankable television actors such as Jan Josef Liefers and Götz George, the film earned largely favorable reviews and strong ratings. Also in 2016, Ofarim played the lead role in the American
b movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
''Strip Mind'', which opened in Germany on 3 January 2007. The psychological thriller was largely panned by critics who criticized its casting, pacing and the "horrible" synchronization. The following year,
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
consulted him to record "So nah," the German version of Jon McLaughlin's " So Close" from the
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...
'' Enchanted'' (2007) as well as "Mehr als du seh’n kannst," a re-written version of Rufus Wainwright's "Another Believer," for the animated science fiction comedy film ''
Meet the Robinsons ''Meet the Robinsons'' is a 2007 American animated science-fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the 1990 children's book ''A Day with Wilbur Robinson'' by William Jo ...
'' (2007).


2008–present: Band career and ''Alles auf Hoffnung''

In 2008, Ofarim had a guest role in an episode of the children's television series '' Ein Fall für B.A.R.Z.''. The same year, he formed another rock band, Acht, along with Oswin Ottl, Petros Kontos, and Andy Lind. Their debut album, ''Stell dir vor'', entirely recorded in German and released in 2010, reflected a new domestic-marketing approach. The quartet supported American singer
Alex Band Alex Band (born June 8, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the vocalist for the Los Angeles-based rock music, rock band The Calling (band), the Calling. He performed their hit song "Wherever You Wil ...
throughout his European concert tour. Also in 2020, Ofarim had appeared as a guest in the ZDF crime television series '' Ein starkes Team''. In October 2012, Ofarim was a contestant on the second season of ''
The Voice of Germany ''The Voice of Germany'' is a German reality television, reality talent show created by John de Mol, based on the concept ''The Voice of Holland'' and its The Voice (franchise), international series. It began airing on ProSieben and Sat.1 on 24 ...
''. Coached by singer Xavier Naidoo, he was eliminated in the season's quarter final. His live performances of The Goo Goo Dolls's " Iris" (1998) and
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's " Man in the Mirror" both entered the German Singles Chart and marked his first chart entries in a decade. In 2013, Ofarim had a recurring role as Mick in the mystery series ''Armans Geheimnis'', produced by and broadcast on
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
. In 2017, he took part in the German TV series '' Let's Dance'' and became winner with his dance partner Ekaterina Leonova. On 1 August 2019, he was revealed to be the Grasshopper on The Masked Singer where he was placed as runner-up.


Personal life

In 2007, a newly identified species of moth from the ''Amata'' genus and found in
Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( / ALA-LC: ('Mountain of the Sheikh', ), , ) is a mountain, mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the Lebanon–Syria border, border between Syria and Lebanon a ...
in the
Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
was named '' Amata gil'' after him. On 15 December 2014, Gil married his longtime girlfriend Verena Brock. On 6 March 2015 the couple welcomed their first child, a son Leonard (Leo) Dean Ofarim. On 30 January 2017 the couple welcomed their second child, a daughter Anouk Marie Ofarim. The couple separated, giving Gil full custody of the children. However the exact date and year of this is still not exact. Gil Ofarim has kindly asked that all press and media leave him and Verena Brock alone during this difficult time.


Star of David libel case

In October 2021, Ofarim attracted international attention through a video he posted on
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
and titled “Antisemitismus in Deutschland 2021” (Antisemitism in Germany 2021), in which he spoke about experiencing pain and embarrassment from antisemitic treatment while checking in at the Leipzig Westin hotel. Ofarim said that he was told to put away his
Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...
pendant A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the Latin word ...
by a manager, otherwise they would not check him in. His Instagram video was shared widely, also by the American Jewish Congress, which then started an online petition calling the hotel owner, Marriott, to apologize and educate its employees about antisemitism. On October 5, about 600 people congregated in front of the hotel to protest antisemitism. Later, the statements by Ofarim were contradicted by two hotel employees and three guests, and according to
closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
recordings, Ofarim did not wear a visible neck chain during the time in question. Confronted with the footage, Ofarim then explained that the exclamation came from behind, and that it was not about the star or the chain, but “about something far bigger.” as he told he was recognized as he appeared in television. Ofarim claimed the hotel did not release the whole footage. Five witnesses furthermore mentioned during a police investigation that Ofarim had used swearwords against the hotel while in the lobby, threatening staff to "post an Instagram video that will go viral". Ofarim did not respond to an inquiry made by ''
Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...
'' investigating whether Ofarim blackmailed the employee. In March 2022, the German Public Prosecutor's Office discontinued proceedings against the hotel employee and brought charges against Ofarim for
libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
and false suspicion. On November 28, 2023, on the 6th day of the trial, Ofarim confessed that he had made up the two year lasting allegations against the hotel employee and apologized to the hotel manager, who accepted Ofarim's apology. The proceedings against Ofarim were discontinued on the condition that he pay an amount of 5,000 euros (a total of 10,000 euros) each to the Jewish Community of Leipzig and the memorial and educational center - House of the Wannsee Conference. The court justified the discontinuation of the proceedings by explaining that the hotel manager had been vindicated more effectively by Ofarim's apology than would have been possible through a verdict.


Discography


Studio albums


Singles

* "Round 'n' Round (It Goes)" (1997) * "Never Giving Up Now" (1998) * "If You Only Knew" (featuring
the Moffatts The Moffatts are a Canadian pop/rock Country music, country band composed of brothers Scott Moffatt, Scott, Clint, Bob and Dave Moffatt. Scott was born on March 30, 1983, in Whitehorse, Yukon, and multiple birth, triplets Bob, Clint and Dave wer ...
)
(1998) * "Here I Am" (1998) * " Let the Music Heal Your Soul" (with various artists) (1998) * "Talk to You" (1998) * "Calling" (1998) (featuring Karylle) * "Walking Down the Line" (1999) * "Out of My Bed (Still in My Head)" (1999) * "It's Your Love" (2000) * "The Reason" (2003) * "She" (2003, not released) * "In Your Eyes" (2004) * "I'm Alive" (Zoo Army) (2006) * "Still" (Acht) (2010)


References


External links


Official website

Official Zoo Army website

Official Acht website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ofarim, Gil 1982 births Living people Singers from Munich German people of Israeli descent German pop singers 20th-century German Jews Jewish singers Jewish songwriters German male singer-songwriters German singer-songwriters 21st-century German male singers Hoaxes in Germany