Rotem Shefy ( he, רותם שפי; born 1984), also known by her stage name Shefita ( he, שֵׁפִיטָה), is an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

singer and voice actress. As Shefita, Shefy portrays an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

diva, who has risen to fame by producing cover versions to famous

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

songs like

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

's " Karma Police" and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

's "

Lithium Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid el ...

". Her cover renditions have an Arabic musical influence. Shefita was a contestant on Israel's '' Rising Star'' television show, in its 6th season, and competed to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. She came in at 3rd place in show's season final which aired on February 12, 2019.

Early life

Rotem Shefy was born in

Karmiel Karmiel ( he, כַּרְמִיאֵל) is a city in northern Israel. Established in 1964 as a development town, Karmiel is located in the Beit HaKerem Valley which divides upper and lower Galilee. The city is located south of the Acre-Safed road, f ...

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

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, her father is 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 ...

descent and her mother is of

Mizrahi Jewish Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...

( Yemenite-Jewish) descent. In highschool, she majored in theatre and film. In 2002, she joined the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

and served as lead singer in an Israel Air Force Ensemble until 2004. After her army service, Shefy studied at Rimon Music School and majored in voice and composition. Shefy studied voice-acting at NLS studios and provided her voice to shows such as ''Kid and Cat'' and ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' and to films such as ''

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ''Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'' is a children's book written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett. It was first published in 1978 by Atheneum Books, followed by a 1982 trade paperback edition from sister company Aladdin Paperb ...

'', ''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American Animation, animated musical film, musical fantasy film, fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The List of Walt Disney Anima ...

'' and '' Arthur and the Invisibles''. In 2011, Shefy began to perform with a band and her original material.

Music career

Her stage persona, Shefita, incorporates many characteristics of a diva; She wears heavy makeup, wears stylish evening gowns and jewelry and walks with a stylish cane. She was supposedly born in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and claims from time to time that

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

was her lover who made her vow to sing a cover version to one of his songs before dying in her arms. In April 2013, she released a cover version of

's " Karma Police". In July 2015, she released a cover version of

's "

". In August of the same year, she released a cover version of

Naomi Shemer Naomi Shemer ( he, נעמי שמר; July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was a leading Israeli musician and songwriter, hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry." Her song " Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"), written in 1967 ...

's "Aleph Bet". In November 2016, she was selected by Tel Aviv municipality to perform the theme song and official video clip to the annual

pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

events in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. She would go on to perform a cover of

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

's "

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

". That same month, she covered " You Oughta Know" by

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

, who responded on her

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account saying it was "beautiful". In January 2017, she appeared in an Israeli commercial for

hummus Hummus (, ; ar, حُمُّص, 'chickpeas'; full Arabic name: ''ḥummuṣ bi-ṭ-ṭaḥīna'' ar, حمص بالطحينة, 'chickpeas with tahini'), also spelled hommus or houmous, is a Middle Eastern dip, spread, or savory dish made fr ...

. In late 2018, she began her participation on the sixth season of '' Rising Star'' and secured her place in the show's final which aired on February 12, 2019. She finished in 3rd place, with her performances bringing a lot of comments on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, with some accusing her of

cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...

. In January 2019, Shefita got an impersonation on the popular Israeli show '' Eretz Nehederet''. After her participation in ''Rising Star'', she has collaborated with more mainstream Israeli artists, especially Mizrahi musicians. In February 2019, she took part in the production of the debut album ''He-Storia'' by Israeli band HaHertzelim. In October 2020, she participated in the ''Tzav HaSha'a'' project, and performed a cover version of the song "Ma Chashuv haYom" ("What's Important Today") together with Moti Taka. In March 2021, she released a duet with Maor Edri named "Chalik" ("Enough"). In July 2021, she released "Enta" ("You", in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

), a bilingual cover in Arabic and English of the original song by Balqees Ahmed Fathi."הכל מושלם": ככה שפיטה עוברת את ההריון שלה
Ma'ariv

Personal life

Shefita is in a long-term relationship with the musician Dekel Dvir, the drummer of the band

Lola Marsh Lola Marsh ( he, לולה מארש) is an Israeli indie pop band from Tel Aviv. The band was formed as a duo in 2013 by Gil Landau (guitars, keyboards) and Yael Shoshana Cohen (vocals), and was quickly signed by the indie label Anova Music. The ...

, who also collaborated with her in the musical production of her songs. The couple lives in Tel Aviv. Her parents are divorced, and she has a younger brother named Omer.אהלן אהלן: המשפחה של שפיטה נחשפת
Mako In June 2021, Shefita announced she is expecting her first child.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Israeli voice actresses Israeli rock singers Israeli pop singers 1984 births Living people Jewish Israeli musicians Jewish women singers Women rock singers Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli Mizrahi Jews 21st-century Israeli women singers People from Karmiel