Israeli pop sensation Noa Kirel making a splash with first English hit
‘Please Don’t Suck’ racks up more than 3 million views in first two days on YouTube; catchy, upbeat song hailed as ‘instantly memorable’

Israeli pop sensation Noa Kirel is ready to make it big on the international stage, releasing her first English-language song “Please Don’t Suck.”
Apparently, it doesn’t.
The video, the first she has released since signing a mega-deal with Atlantic Records last year, has racked up over 3 million views on YouTube since its release on Wednesday.
Variety Magazine, which interviewed the 20-year-old star who is still doing her compulsory military service in the Israel Defense Forces, called Kirel “Israel’s own Ariana Grande.”
Variety says the song, an upbeat number making fun of a string of disappointing men that opens with the melody from the 1950’s “Mr. Sandman,” is “instantly memorable”
“After a long journey and hard work, I’m so excited it’s finally happening. I imagined this moment so many times, I patiently waited for it to arrive,” Kirel said, announcing the song’s release.
“My first global release, and the best start of the journey ahead of me. I promise you, you ain’t ready,” she said.
Kirel signed up with Atlantic last year, in what Hebrew media described as the largest and most comprehensive deal ever signed by an Israeli artist.
The agreement was some two years in the works and covers management, public relations, marketing, strategy and production worth millions of dollars.
Atlantic represents leading contemporary artists including Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Coldplay, David Guetta, Jack Harlow and Ed Sheeran, and in the past hosted legendary musicians including Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and Led Zeppelin.
Kirel said she also has a film in the works with Picturestart.
“It’s a movie that tells my story in a different way, with a lot of action and music and dancing and new songs. A little like ‘The Bodyguard’ but more fun. I’m so excited about this one,” she told Variety.
Kirel became a viral hit on YouTube in 2015 and has gone on to star in Israeli movies and television series.
Kirel joined the IDF in February 2020 and serves in the orchestra corps, which performs in parades, official military and state ceremonies, graduation courses and to entertain troops.
The IDF has had to establish special guidelines in dealing with the star, including forbidding fellow soldiers from taking selfies with her or photographing her on the base.

Kirel told Variety it was important for her to serve.
“It was really important for me to join since [there’s] nothing I can do as a normal kid, so the army is a good thing for me because you’re equal with everybody else. It’s been an amazing experience. And I’m performing to soldiers with my songs and making [sic] and I get to serve my country during this crazy time in my career,” she said.