AFP — “My unique look is a crazy advantage,” Eurovision Song Contest winner Netta Barzilai says of her act, through which she struts and clucks in a multicolored kimono, hair in magenta-streaked buns.
The 25-year-old Israeli singer has no time for physique stereotypes.
“The way I carry myself inside my own body, when I play with it, how I choose to present it” is her solely concern, she advised Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
Her uptempo tune “Toy,” whose lyrics have been impressed by the #MeToo motion, additionally displays a spirit of independence and freedom with its chorus: “I am not your toy, you stupid boy.”
Her efficiency on the contest in Lisbon on Saturday night time was punctuated by trills, clucking sounds and chicken-like dance strikes.
Even earlier than the competition, the bodily presence she cultivated and the tone of her tune captivated not solely Israelis but additionally overseas viewers.
The tune’s official video on YouTube has been seen over 29 million occasions.
In current days newspapers had continuously up to date the rise and fall of bookmakers’ odds for the tune.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry even put the tune on its Arabic-language Facebook web page.
“Through this song, we’re trying to show the cultural diversity we have here and shatter stereotypes regarding Israel in Arab countries,” the ministry mentioned on its English-language web site.
Barzilai’s profession took off in February, when she landed first place on Israeli TV’s expertise present “Rising Star.”
Previously she was seen primarily at golf equipment and personal capabilities.
Teasing and ‘exile’
The fame and recognition that adopted her TV success led to her being chosen to sing at a state ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state, the place she introduced the home down.
She mentioned it was a type of validation after a childhood marked by teasing over her physique, the repeated failure of diets and bouts of bulimia.
She additionally skilled upheaval in her environment.
Born in Hod Hasharon, north of Tel Aviv, she moved together with her household at a very younger age to Nigeria, the place her father was employed by an Israeli development firm.
For 4 years she lived in West Africa earlier than returning to her homeland, the place she had to readjust to life.
She understood rapidly that singing was a means for her to overcome her traumas.
She joined the Rimon School of Music, some of the prestigious music faculties in Israel, after doing her obligatory army service within the navy’s musical troupe.
Single, she lives within the Mediterranean beachfront metropolis of Tel Aviv.
Her Lisbon Eurovision win is Israel’s fourth.
The final was in 1998, with “Diva” by transgender performer Dana International.