Israeli-born singer places third in France’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’

Stephane Legar, often known as the Israeli singer with Togolese parents, earned third place on France’s version of “Dancing with the Stars.”

Legar competed with his dancing partner, Calisson Goasdoué, against actor Billy Crawford and French singer Carla Lazari in the finale of the reality show’s 12th season.

The 24-year-old singer and model is a well-known entity in the Israeli entertainment industry, collaborating with fellow pop singers Noa Kirel, Static and Ben El, Itay Levi and others since first emerging on the Israeli scene.

The French-speaking Legar, known in Israel simply as Stephane, is currently living in France, where he has a record deal with Warner Music France.

He returns to Israel periodically, including for a recent October 30 appearance in the local version of Master Chef VIP.

As the son of Togolese parents who work in the Nigerian embassy in Israel, fluent in French, Togolese, English, Hebrew and Spanish, Legar is clearly exploring his international boundaries, after being born and raised in Israel.

Pop singer Stephane Legare appeared in Keshet’s Master Chef VIP on October 30, 2022 (Courtesy Keshet)

Legar became an Israeli citizen only recently after serving in the army, and while he was raised and educated in Israel, he didn’t know about his parents’ struggles with his own threatened deportation for many years.

In a popular song released last year titled “Nice to Meet Me,” Legar sings:

“It’s me, the goy [non-Jew], the different one, the international Black guy,” he sings. “I’m from Togo, I’m from Congo, extremely not from here, but if I accomplish something it’s an Israeli accomplishment?”

Amy Spiro contributed to this report.