Yardena Arazi

Yardena Arazi in concert, 2006

Yardena Arazi (Hebrew: ירדנה ארזי‎; b. September 25, 1951) is an Israeli singer and entertainer.

Biography

Yardena Arazi was born on Kibbutz Kabri and grew up in Haifa. Arazi is the daughter of Jewish immigrants from France and Germany. She joined the Beit Rothschild group at 16 and became its lead vocalist. She did her military service in the Nahal entertainment troupe. Arazi is married to engineer Nathan Tomer, with whom she has a daughter, Alona.

Musical and television career

In the 1970s, Yardena Arazi was a member of the female vocal trio Chocolate, Menta, Mastik along with Leah Lupatin and Rutie Holzman. The group represented Israel in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Emor Shalom ("Say Hello"), placing sixth. After the Eurovision, they began an international tour that included Brazil, Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium, released several singles in English, French and German and appeared in many TV shows all over Europe. Arazi left the band at 1978.

In 1979, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) asked Arazi to co-host the Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem with news anchor Daniel Peer. Her hosting got positive reviews across Europe and she participate TV shows at the Netherlands (with milk and honey) and Belgium (with Mike Burstyn). Aarazi was signed to a recording contract with record label Ariola Records and released mini-album with songs written by Bernd Meinunger. At that time she met Natan Tomer and decided to get back to Israel.

During the 1980s Arazi was one of the most successful singers in Israel, elected 5 times as top female singer of the year and as top female singer of the decade and released 10 gold and platinum albums. She kept performing around the world including Australia, Poland (with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta), Turkey, Los Angeles and Egypt.

All those years Arazi took part at the Eurovision local final contest, 3 times as a singer (1982, 1983, 1985) and as a co-host (1987). In 1988, she was selected by IBA to sing the Israeli entry and organized a special TV show in winch she present four news songs. Eventually, she went to Dublin with the song Ben Adam ("Human Being"), which came in seventh.

In 1989 Arazi recorded the album "Desert Fantasy" than included 10 Hebrew versions to Arabic song originally written and sang by Farid al-Atrash, Fairuz, Abdul Halim, Samira Said and others. The album released also in the US and Japan and was hugely successful all around the middle east.

Since 1997 Arazi is also a TV host. For 9 years she co-hosted the channel 2 morning magazine "Cafe Telad", and later on she hosted at channel 1 (Shir Hashishim), channel 2 (Malcot Hashabat), GLZ radio station etc.

At 2008 Arazi was elected as the most popular Israeli singer of all time at the 60th Independence Day.

See also

• List of Eurovision Song Contest presenters

External links

• MySpace Homepage
• Biography

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Shlomo Artzi with At Ve'Ani	Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976	Succeeded by Ilanit with Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim
Preceded by Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone	Eurovision Song Contest presenter (with Daniel Pe'er) 1979	Succeeded by Marlous Fluitsma
Preceded by Lazy Bums with Shir Habatlanim	Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988	Succeeded by Gili & Galit with Derekh Hamelekh