Imri Ziv (, ; born 12 September 1991), known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

ously as Imri (stylised in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

), is an Israeli singer and voice actor. After winning ''

HaKokhav HaBa ''HaKokhav HaBa'' (; ) is an Israeli interactive reality singing competition, created by Keshet Media Group and broadcast on Channel 2 (from 2013 to 2017) and on Channel 12 (since 2017). It is the basis of the ''Rising Star'' franchise. The ...

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

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

with the song "

I Feel Alive "I Feel Alive" is a song performed by Israeli singer Imri Ziv. The song Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. It was written by Dolev Ram and Penn Hazut. The song was released as a digi ...

", finishing in 23rd place in the final.

Life and career

Life and education

Born in Hod HaSharon

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 September 1991, to a family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

( 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 Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

Austrian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Austria starts after the exodus of Jews from Judea under Roman occupation. There have been Jews in Austria since the 3rd century CE. Over the course of many centuries, the political status of the community rose and ...

, and

Ukrainian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the modern territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Important Jewish religious and cultural move ...

) 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 The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

. For university, he studied a degree in communication sciences at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

with an Argentinian accent, as his Spanish teacher was from Buenos Aires. In June 2023, Imri came out as gay.

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 (TV series), The Voice'' based on the reality singing competition launched in th ...

'', singing "" with 2 judges of four,

Sarit Hadad Sarit Hadad (, ; born September 20, 1978) is an Israeli singer. She was named by Channel 24 as the "best female singer of the 2000s" in October 2009. She represented Israel with the song " Light a Candle" at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in T ...

and

Rami Kleinstein Rami Kleinstein (; born 10 November 1962) is an Israeli singer and composer. Early and personal life Kleinstein was born in New York City to a family of Ashkenazi Jews in 1962. In 1968, they immigrated to Israel. After a year, the family moved ba ...

turning their chairs. Being part of Team Rami, he proceeded to the Battle Rounds singing "" 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 The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

entries, respectively with Nadav Guedj singing " Golden Boy" and Hovi Star singing "

Made of Stars "Made of Stars" is a song performed by Israeli singer Hovi Star. The song represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, and was written and produced by Doron Medalie. The song was released as a digital download on 30 March 2016 throu ...

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

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 ...

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 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album ...

of ''HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion'', the reality singing competition "The Next Star for Eurovision", being the Israeli format of '' Rising Star''. 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 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 duo Static & Ben-El Tavori. In the quarter-finals held on 30 and 31 January 2017, he performed "

Rude Boy Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other variations like ''rudeboy'' and ''rudebwoy'', being used t ...

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

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

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 by American hard rock band Aerosmith as the theme song for the 1998 science fiction disaster film '' Armageddon'', in which lead singer Steven Tyler's daughter Liv starred. It is one of four songs perfor ...

" 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, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

" by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of 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 (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

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) an ...

. His song, "

", 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 1991 births People from Hod HaSharon The Voice (franchise) contestants Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli gay musicians Israeli LGBTQ singers Gay Jews Gay singers 21st-century Israeli LGBTQ people Eurovision Song Contest entrants