Ofra Haza Pop singer Date of Birth: 19.11.1957 Country: Israel

Biography of Ofra Haza

Ofra Haza was a pop singer from Israel. From the age of 12, she performed in the theater group HATVIKA under the direction of Bezalel Azoni. Over the 7 years she dedicated to the group, Haza even won a Grammy for her outstanding performances. However, it was time for her to join the army, and she couldn't avoid it. As you may have heard, Israel is a country that values democracy, and its women have achieved a lot in the fight for equality. They serve in the army for 2 years alongside men and can even hold high-ranking positions. But I always had one question: should honor be given? And if so, to whom? If only to officers, like us, it doesn't seem fair. Well, you understand me... Haza didn't become a general, but she easily became a top-class pop singer. Immediately after recording her debut album "Shirei Moledet A," one of Haza's songs was chosen to represent her country at the Eurovision Song Contest, where it achieved an honorable 2nd place. In the same year, 1986, her name gained recognition in the West when a dance mix of her song "Galbi" was released on vinyl. In 1987, Ofra Haza further solidified her position abroad. It all started small. Coldcut asked her to lend some samples from the B-side of her most successful song, "Im Nin’ Alu," specifically for a remix by the famous rappers ERIC B. & RAKIM, titled "Paid In Full." Haza agreed and thus paved the way for the release of her first international single, "Im Nin’ Alu." This ethnic chant remained at the top of the charts in more than ten European countries for a long time and foreshadowed the re-release of many of the singer's early works in the double album "The Golden Album" (1987) in the West. As it turned out, the enigmatic Haza had already recorded seven albums in her homeland by that time and decided to gather the best of them, rewriting them in French and English. The release schedule of the singer's new albums was truly impressive. It is enough to say that before the beginning of the 90s, she recorded three albums: "Shaday" (1988), "Fifty Gates Of Wisdom" (1989), and "Desert Wind" (1989), where she alternated Yemenite motifs, some very old (16th century), with modernly arranged songs in English, blending Western disco with the truly Eastern flavor of her beautiful voice. For these hard work, Ofra Haza earned numerous awards and titles as the best singer in the ethnic music category and even toured Europe a couple of times. Her new album, "Kirya," was released only in 1991. This time, Haza's popularity allowed her to invite Western stars such as Iggy Pop, WAS (NOT WAS), and SISTERS OF MERCY to record the album. In general, it turned out to be a highly anticipated album from a singer of her caliber. Over the past 5 years, Ofra Haza was invited to Oslo for the Nobel Prize ceremony for the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. She sang alongside Paula Abdul on her single "My Love Is For Real," appeared in several Israeli films, and contributed to their soundtracks. At the end of 1997, the singer recorded her long-awaited album "Ofra Haza" with the new European producer Frank Peterson and a new drum and bass sound. The universal language of international communication in Ofra's voice was complemented by an unimaginable synthesis of modern sound experiments and traditional ethnic melodies of Eastern peoples.