The thirtieth artist in our Who Is series for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is Noa Kirel from Israel.
Noa Kirel was born Noya Kirel on April 10 2001 in Ra’anana in central Israel. After a surviving a serious kidney illness at three months old, the local rabbi suggested changing her name to Noa (“movement” in Hebrew) and jokingly predicted that she would become a dancer one day.
Noa first came to public attention while appearing on Pushers in 2015, a documentary series about parents supporting their children acheiving success in different areas. Later that year, she released her debut single “Medabrim”, which was success. This was followed by “Killer”, which garnered criticism for its racy video and Noa’s young age at the time. Between then and 2016, she released more successful singles including “Yesh Bi Ahava”, “Hazi Meshuga” and “Ten Li Siman”. In 2016, she won Singer of the Year at the Israeli Kids’ Choice Awards.
In 2017, Noa starred in “Lipstar” on the kidZ channel and in the teen movie “Almost Famous”. She released several promotional singles during the year, including “Lirkod”, “Kimeat Meforsemet”, “Wow”, “Mi Yiten Li Et Ha’Koach”. Later that year, she won Best Israeli Artist at the MTV Europe Music Awards. She has gone on to win the same award every year since.
In 2018, Noa starred in the television series Kfula, where she played herself and Kitty Popper, a blogger who writes about everything that happens to her famous alter-ego. The success of the show led to a sold-out concert in Tel Aviv and a feature length film. The same year, she appeared as a judge on Israel’s Got Talent and took part in Festigal, an annual children’s song show.
In 2020, Noa was drafted into the Israeli Defence Forces for her mandatory army service. During that time, she signed a contract with the Amercian record label Atlantic Records. In 2021, she released her first international single “Please Don’t Suck”. This was followed by two more international singles; “Bad Little Thing” and “Thought About That”. She performed “Bad Little Thing” during the opening of Miss Universe 2021, which was held in Eilat in southern Israel.
Noa was chosen to represent Israel at Eurovision 2023 after being selected by a special committee consisting of members of the board of IPBC, IPBC music editors and external members. The song was later revealed during a special broadcast called HaShir Shelanu L’Eurovizion.
The song that Noa will perform in Liverpool is called “Unicorn”. It was written and composed by Doron Medalie, May Sfadia, Yinon Yahel and Noa herself. Yinon co-wrote “Golden Boy”, the Israeli entry for Eurovision 2015. Doron also co-wrote “Golden Boy”, alongside “Made of Stars” (Israel 2016), “Feker libi” (Israel 2020) and “Toy”, the winning entry of Eurovision 2018.
Noa will perform in the second half of the first semi-final on May 9.
Image Source: Eran Levi
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
Israel debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973, and was represented by Ilanit who finished in 4th place with the song “Ey Sham”. Their first victory came in 1978 with Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Israel won again the following year with Gali Atari & Milk and Honey. Israel’s third victory came in 1998 when Dana International performed “Diva” in Birmingham, beating Malta to victory in a tense voting sequence. Israel struggled in the contest during the early-2010s, failing to qualify for the final from 2011-2014. However, since 2015 Israel has seen its fortunes turned around, qualifying every year except 2022. In 2018 Netta won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Toy”. The song has gone on to be one of the most viewed Eurovision entries of all time on YouTube.
