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
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 ...
with the song "
Light a Candle" at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2002
The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song Everybody (Tanel Padar and Dave Benton song), "Everybody" by Tanel Pada ...
in
Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
.
Biography
Hadad was born Sarah Hudadatov () in
Afula
Afula () is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of .
Afula's ancient tell (settlement mound) suggests habit ...
,
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 ...
, to a family of
Mountain Jews
Mountain Jews are the Mizrahi Jews, Mizrahi Jewish subgroup of the eastern and northern Caucasus, mainly Azerbaijan, and various republics in the Russian Federation: Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Kabardino-Balkaria. M ...
. Her parents had made ''
aliyah
''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...
'' from
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...
in 1976. She is the youngest of eight children: she has four brothers and three sisters. In 1980, her family moved to
Hadera
Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...
. When she was 10 years old, she participated in a contest for young talent, where she performed on the piano. She also played the organ, guitar,
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
, and
darbuka
The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-shaped body. It is ...
.
In September 2021, she
came out of the closet and revealed her partner
Tamar Yahalomi, releasing the song "Ahava Kmo Shelanu" ("A Love Like Ours").
On September 21, 2017, Hadad gave birth to a baby girl named Noya. In May 2020 Sarit and Tamar had a second daughter together, Shira and in November 2022 they had a third girl, Adele Esther.
Career
Hadad comes from a musical family and was recognized as a child prodigy. She began performing at the age of eight. Apart from
classical piano, she taught herself to play the organ, guitar,
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
, and a Middle Eastern drum known as the darbuka. At the age of 15, she joined the Hadera Youth Band. When she was 16 she was discovered by Avi Gueta, who is still her manager.
Hadad's career as a pop singer has been successful, with many of her songs topping the Israeli charts. Israeli Television selected her to represent Israel in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2002
The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song Everybody (Tanel Padar and Dave Benton song), "Everybody" by Tanel Pada ...
. The song, ''
Nadlik Beyakhad Ner (Light A Candle)'' (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 ...
: נדליק ביחד נר), came in 12th place.
In 2004, she collaborated with
David D'Or to record the DVD ''Pets in Tunes''.
In December 2006, Hadad drew crowds in New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles with her "Sing with Sarit" tour. In July 2007,
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
revealed that she is a fan of Hadad, and enjoys listening to her music when dining at a
kosher restaurant near her home.
Hadad performs
Mizrahi music, sometimes employing Arabic lyrics. She does not perform on
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. ...
s or on the Shabbat, Jewish Sabbath.
She sings in English, Arabic, Georgian, Turkish, Greek and Hebrew. She was the first Israeli to perform (professionally) in Jordan.
In 2020 she did a duet with Neta Barzilai, winner of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
Hadad was a judge in the inaugural season of ''
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 ...
'' on Israeli television.
Awards and recognition
In 2010, Hadad was named Israel's Singer of the Decade by
Galgalatz and
Channel 24.
Discography
Albums
# Spark of Life – ניצוץ החיים – 1995
# Live in France – הופעה חיה בצרפת – 1996
# The Road I Chose – הדרך שבחרתי – 1997
# Singing in Arabic – שרה בערבית – 1997
# Law of Life – חוק החיים – 1998
# Like Cinderella – כמו סינדרלה – 1999
# Live at Heichal Hatarbut – ההופעה בהיכל התרבות – 1999
# Doing What I Want – לעשות מה שבא לי – 2000
# Sweet Illusions – אשליות מתוקות – 2001
# Girl of Love – ילדה של אהבה – 2002
# Only Love Will Bring Love – רק אהבה תביא אהבה – 2003
# Celebration – חגיגה – 2004
# Miss Music – 2005 – מיס מיוזיק
# Princess of Happiness (for children) – 2006 – נסיכה של שמחה
# The One Who Watches Over Me – 2007 – זה ששומר עליי
# The Beat Collection – 2008 – האוסף הקצבי
# The Smooth Collection – 2008 – האוסף השקט
# The Race of Life – 2009 – מרוץ החיים
# The Race of Life, Live at
Caesarea 2009 – 2010 – שרית חדד בקיסריה, מרוץ החיים 2009
# 20 – 2011
# Days of joy – Part One – 2013 – 'ימים של שמחה – חלק א
# Sarit Hadad – 2015 – שרית חדד
# Sara Sings – 2017 -שרה שרה
Greatest Hits album
*The Compilation – 2008 – האוסף
*The Best – 2012 – המיטב
Other
*Mega Mix-Like Cinderella – 1999 – מגה מיקס
*Once in a Lifetime (in
Bloomfield Stadium
Bloomfield Stadium () is a football stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, with a capacity of 29,400. It is the home stadium of Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The stadium also serves the Israel national football team for some select home matches ...
) 2014 - פעם בחיים הופעה (באצטדיון בלומפילד(
DVDs
*DVD – The Show (Like Cinderella)
*DVD – In the Temple (Doing What I Want)
*DVD – In Caesarea (Sweet Illusions)
*DVD – Child of Love (in
Caesarea)
*DVD – Only Love Will Bring Love (in Caesarea)
*DVD – Celebration (in Caesarea)
*DVD – All the Happy People (in Caesarea)
*DVD – Princess of Joy (For Kids)
*DVD – The Race of Life, Live at Caesarea 2009 (in Caesarea)
*DVD – Once in a Lifetime (in Bloomfield Stadium)
Charts
Album
See also
*
Mizrahi music
*
Music of Israel
The music of Israel is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions that have come together over the course of a century to create a distinctive musical culture. For almost 150 years, musicians have sought original stylistic elements ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadad, Sarit
1978 births
Living people
People from Hadera
People from Afula
Israeli people of Dagestani-Jewish descent
Israeli people of Mountain Jewish descent
Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Israeli Mizrahi Jews
Israeli women pop singers
Israeli lesbian musicians
Israeli LGBTQ singers
Lesbian singers
Lesbian Jews
Jewish Israeli singers
Jewish women singers
Eurovision Song Contest entrants
21st-century Israeli women singers
21st-century Israeli LGBTQ people
21st-century Israeli Jews
21st-century Mizrahi Jews