Linet Mor Menashe (, , born 5 March 1975) is an Israeli-born Turkish-Jewish singer, best known for her performances of

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

music. She is well known in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

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 ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, mostly thanks to her grasp over multiple languages (specifically

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

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 ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

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 ...

, and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Biography

Linet was born and raised in

. Her family had immigrated from Spain in the 15th century to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, like most

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

, following the 1492

Alhambra decree The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Decreto de la Alhambra'', ''Edicto de Granada'') was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdi ...

, which exiled all Jews from

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

. Her mother, Leyla Özgecan (also known as Leya Bonana, ), was a

Turkish classical music Ottoman music () or Turkish classical music (, or more recently ) is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally features a solo singer wi ...

singer from

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

. Her father, Shmuel Menashe, was a resident of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Both of her parents are

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. She has two sisters. On 18 March 2022, Linet's mother, Leyla Özgecan, died. Despite reports that she had served in the Israeli Army for 3 months, Linet stated in 2021 that she never served in the military, after which she became a resident in

. Linet currently resides at

Ataşehir Ataşehir is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 423,127 (2022). It is located at the junction of the Otoyol 2, O-2 and Otoyol 4, O-4 motorways on the Anato ...

Career

Linet started her career singing together with her mother in events when she was as young as 5, and released her first single at the age of 16. In 1993, she participated in the

Kdam Eurovision Israel has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 47 times since making its debut in . The current Israeli participating broadcaster in the contest is the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan). Israel has won the contest f ...

for winning a chance to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993 with the song "Aniana" () but was placed tenth. She released her first album in Turkey in 1995. Linet met

Orhan Gencebay Orhan Gencebay (born 4 August 1944) is a Turkish people, Turkish musician, bağlama virtuoso, composer, singer, arranger, record producer, music producer, music director, and actor. Gencebay was born in the coastal town of Samsun on 4 August 194 ...

when she was 17 years old and released an album consisting of Gencebay's songs. She earned two gold certifications with this album. Linet returned to live in Israel between 1999 and 2006, where apart from recording albums in Hebrew, she opened a candy store. Besides Turkish and Hebrew, she has recorded songs in Arabic, Greek, Spanish, and English as well. After an absence of two years in the Turkish music scene, she returned with a completely new look, performing as a guest at the '' İbo Show''. Linet had been mentioned among the candidates to participate in the 2021 season of ''

The X Factor Israel ''The X Factor Israel'' () is the Israeli version of the British television music competition ''The X Factor'', created by Simon Cowell. The show started airing fall of 2013 on Reshet. Judges and hosts The first three seasons were hosted by Isra ...

'', which selects the Israeli representative to the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

held in Italy. She was eliminated in the

quarterfinals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. In August 2021, Linet performed together with the Jerusalem Orchestra East&West at the Arabesque Festival held in the city of

Akko Acre ( ), known in Hebrew as Akko (, ) and in Arabic as Akka (, ), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies a strategic location, sitting in a natural harbour at the extremity of Haifa Bay on ...

, and also recorded ''Yalnız değilsin''/''חומות חימר'' ("You are not alone"/"Walls of Clay"), a song dedicated to women facing oppression around the world. The song was recorded in Arabic, Hebrew and Turkish.

Discography

Albums

''* Flags indicate the country in which the album was primarily released. # ''Birlikte Söyleyelim / '' # ''Para Para / '' # ''Hayatın Çiçeği, Anne / '' # ''Et Libi Koveş / '' # ''Linet'' (1995) # ''Linet'in Müzik Kutusu'' (1997) # ''Ölümsüz Aşk'' (1999) # '' / Different Woman'' (2003) # ''Layla'' (2004) # ''Paylaşmak İstiyorum'' (2009) # ''Kalbimin Sahibi Sen'' (2011) # ''Yorum Farkı'' (2012) # ''Yorum Farkı II'' (2015) # ''Bilir misin?'' (2018)

EPs

# '' / Yalnız Güneş'' (2023)

Singles

# ''Yatsın Yanıma'' (2020) # '' / Yalnız Değilsin'' (2021) # ''Ne Ağladım'' (2022) # '' / Mutlu Sonlar'' (2022) # '' / Kendine İyi Davran'' (2022) # '' / İki Çocuk'' (2023) # '' / Beni Seyredin'' (2023) # ''Al Gece Yarılarımı Benden'' (2024)

Music videos

* Çocuksun Sen Daha * Çaresizim * Şeytan Diyor Ki * Ölümsüz Aşk Bu * Kim Özler * O Kim Oluyor * Aşk Ordusu * Aslan Gibiyim * Sözümden Dönmem * Sürünüyorum * Şu Saniye * Adını Sen Koy * Resim * İncir * Geçer * Aman Aman * Kandıra Kandıra * Hikâye * İhtimal * Yatsın Yanıma * Ne Ağladım

Awards

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Living people 1975 births Turkish Jews Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent 21st-century Turkish women singers 21st-century Israeli women singers The X Factor contestants