Yael Naim ( he, יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "

New Soul "New Soul" is a song by the French-Israeli R&B/soul singer Yael Naïm, from her self-titled second album. The song gained popularity in the United States following its use by Apple in an advertisement for their MacBook Air laptop. In the song ...

" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song peaked at No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2013, the French government made her a knight of the .

Life and career

Yael Naim was born in Paris, France to Maghrebi Jewish immigrants from Tunisia. At the age of four, she moved with her family to Ramat HaSharon, Israel, where she spent the rest of her childhood. She served in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

as a soloist in the Israeli Air Force Orchestra. She began her singing career with a part in the musical ' and her first solo album, ''

In a Man's Womb ''In a Man's Womb'' is the debut album released by French-Israeli singer-songwriter Yael Naïm Yael Naim ( he, יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hi ...

'' (recorded in Los Angeles with Kamil Rustam), was released in 2001. She also sang the song "You Disappear" by Bruno Coulais for the film '' Harrison's Flowers''. In her early work, she was credited simply as Yael. She also performed a duet with Din Din Aviv titled "Mashmauyot". Her version of the

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

song " Toxic" also garnered significant attention. Naim joined with percussionist and, over a period of two years, they arranged and recorded thirteen of Naim's songs in a studio in her apartment in Paris. These were released as her second album, '' Yael Naim'', on 22 October 2007, on the label. The songs are in French, English, and Hebrew and received critical acclaim. The album entered the French album chart at No. 11 the week after its release. Her style has been described as having a touch of folk and a touch of jazz, with mysterious and evocative words sung with a delicate and intentionally husky voice. In January 2008, Apple featured her song "

" in its debut commercial for the MacBook Air laptop.

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...

himself picked the song for the launch of the laptop line.''Hey, Let's Write a Song Called "Steve Jobs Is Dreamy"''
100 And Single, Idolator. Accessed 12 February 2008Farber, Jim

''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'', 11 March 2008. Owing to high U.S. digital sales, the song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the chart week of 16 February 2008, at No. 9, becoming Naim's first U.S. top ten single, and making her the first Israeli solo artist to ever have a top ten hit in the United States. "New Soul" moved up to No. 7 the following week. The song was also featured on the soundtrack of the movies '' The House Bunny'' and '' Wild Target''. Her third album was released in November 2010. The first single from this new record was "Go to the River". In 2016, she won her second Female Artist of the Year award at , the French equivalent of the Grammys.A French-Israeli Singer Takes an Unlikely Path to Success
'' The New York Times''. 16 March 2016 She previously won the award in 2011.French-Israeli Singer Claims Top Award in Paris
Haaretz. 3 March 2011

Personal life

She is married to , a Martiniquais musician, with whom she has two children.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

* 2001 – "You Disappear" * 2001 – "Do I Do" * 2001 – "Avril" * 2007 – " Toxic" (SPAIN Peak #35) * 2008 – "Too Long" * 2009 – "Far Far" * 2010 – "Go to the River" * 2010 – "The Only One" * 2011 – "Come Home" * 2015 – "Dream in My Head" (FRANCE Peak: #77) * 2015 – "Coward" (FRANCE Peak: #123)

Awards and nominations

Television

Naim's voice was used in a Season 21 episode of '' The Simpsons'', entitled "

The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 457th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March ...

". She voiced Dorit, the niece of an Israeli tour guide named Jakob (voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen).Older and Wiser, Singer Yael Naim Still Feels Like a New Soul
Haaretz. 20 April 2015 Her single "Come Home" was in an episode of Season 7 of '' Grey's Anatomy'' and in episode 6 of the

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

series '' Switched at Birth''. Also, her cover of Irene Cara's "

Flashdance (What a Feeling) "Flashdance... What a Feeling" is a song from the 1983 film '' Flashdance'' with music by Giorgio Moroder and lyrics by Keith Forsey and the song's performer, Irene Cara. Moroder had been asked to score the film, and Cara and Forsey wrote most o ...

" was used in the promotion video of '' The Voice UK'' in 2014.

Philanthropy

On 27 November 2015, she participated together with Nolwenn Leroy and Camélia Jordana at the national memorial day for the victims of the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

singing the song "" from

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial blogYael Naim's 'New Soul' Review on Daily Music GuideOfficial biography
(French) *

(Hebrew)
Yael Naim at NPR Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naim, Yael 1978 births Living people Actresses from Paris Atlantic Records artists English-language singers from France English-language singers from Israel French emigrants to Israel 20th-century French Sephardi Jews French people of Tunisian-Jewish descent French voice actresses 21st-century Israeli women singers Israeli voice actresses Israeli pop singers Jewish folk singers Musicians from Paris People from Ramat HaSharon Ukulele players 21st-century French women singers