Imri Ziv ( he, אימרי זיו; born 12 September 1991), also known as IMRI, is an Israeli singer and voice actor. After winning ''

HaKokhav HaBa ''HaKokhav HaBa'' ( he, הַכּוֹכָב הַבָּא, translated as "The Next Star"; formerly ''HaKokhav HaBa LaErovizion'', ''Rising Star to the Eurovision'') is an Israeli interactive reality singing competition, which was first broadcast ...

'', he represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

with the song " I Feel Alive" placing in the 23rd place in the finals.

Life and career

Life and education

Born in

Hod HaSharon Hod HaSharon ( he, הוֹד הַשָּׁרוֹן, lit. "Splendor of the Sharon plain") is a city in the Central District of Israel. The city is located approximately east of the Mediterranean coastline, south of Kfar Saba, southeast of Raanana ...

, in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to a family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

( Romanian-Jewish,

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

, Austrian-Jewish, and

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

) descent. Ziv studied at Ilan Ramon High School. While doing his obligatory military service, he practiced in a musical band of the Education and Youth Corps Unit of the Israel Defense Forces. For university, he studied a degree in communication sciences at the

Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya Reichman University ( he, אוניברסיטת רייכמן) is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the IDC Herzliya private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...

. Imri says that since he was a child he has had a talent for easily learning languages. He speaks fluent

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

with an Argentinian accent, as his Spanish teacher was from Buenos Aires.

2012–2016: ''The Voice Israel'' and early career

In 2012, he auditioned for the inaugural edition of the television talent show ''

The Voice Israel ''The Voice Israel'' (Hebrew: ''The Voice ישראל'') is the Israeli version of ''The Voice of Holland''. It is part of the international syndication '' The Voice'' based on the reality singing competition launched in the Netherlands, created ...

'', singing "אהובתי" with 2 judges of four, Sarit Hadad and Rami Kleinstein turning their chairs. Being part of Team Rami, he proceeded to the Battle Rounds singing "פרפרים" and was eliminated by mentor Kleinstein who opted for advancing teammate rival Orit Shalom. Ziv performed as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

in Israel's Eurovision Song Contest

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

and 2016 entries, respectively with

Nadav Guedj Nadav Guedj ( he, נדב גדג'; born 2 November 1998) is an Israeli singer and actor who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. He is the winner of season two of ''HaKokhav HaBa'' (Israel's ''Rising Star''). Guedj was born in P ...

singing " Golden Boy" and

Hovi Star Hovav Sekulets ( he, חובב סקולץ; born 19 November 1986), known by his stage name Hovi Star ( he, חובי סטאר), is an Israeli singer. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song " Made of Stars" by Doron ...

singing " Made of Stars" with both qualifying to the finals. In 2016, he performed voice over in

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 ...

for the 3D animated film ''

Trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

''.

2017–present: ''HaKokhav HaBa'' and Eurovision Song Contest 2017

He participated in season 4 of ''HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion'', the reality singing competition "The Next Star for Eurovision", being the Israeli format of ''

Rising Star Rising Star or Rising Stars may refer to: People and characters * Rising Star, a pseudonym of the DJ Armin van Buuren * Aurvandil, the Rising Star, or Morning Star; in Germanic mythology Books * ''Rising Stars'' (comic), a comic book series by J ...

''. In the auditions on 2 and 3 January 2017, he performed " The Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga, obtained 93% of the public vote and the approval of all judges Keren Peles,

Harel Skaat Harel Skaat ( he, הראל סקעת, born 8 August 1981) sometimes known by the mononym Harel is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Milim" ("מילים", "Words"). Skaat h ...

( 2010 Israeli Eurovision entrant) and duo Static & Ben-El Tavori. In the quarter-finals held on 30 and 31 January 2017, he performed "

Rude Boy Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi, and rudy are slang terms that originated in 1960s Jamaican street culture, and that are still used today. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other ...

"
Video: Imri Ziv performs Rude Boy
on YouTube) by

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...

earning 72% and approval from three judges and in the semi-final "

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith as the official theme song for the 1998 sci-fi disaster film '' Armageddon'', in which lead singer Steven Tyler's daughter Liv starred. It is one of four so ...

" by Aerosmith earning 95% and approval of all judges and qualifying for the finals. In the final on 13 February 2017, he first performed "

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * Halo (franchise), ...

" by Beyoncé winning 78% of the public's votes and approval of all four judges. He followed it up with an interpretation of " Because of You" by

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of '' American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her de ...

winning the contest with 74% approval rating. The finalist Diana Golbi finished runner-up with 67% and Julieta was third with 58%. After winning ''HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion'', Ziv represented Israel at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and ...

. His song, " I Feel Alive", written by Dolev Ram and Penn Hazut was released on 9 March 2017, placing third in the second semi-final and 23rd in the final

Discography

Singles

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziv, Imri 21st-century Israeli male singers Israeli pop singers Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Israel Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2017 1991 births People from Hod HaSharon The Voice (franchise) contestants Israeli Ashkenazi Jews