‘Zot Ani,’ K-pop-style single in Hebrew, becomes global hit
Former Eurovision 2020 contender Ella-Lee Lahav releases her first single and scores big
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Seventeen-year-old singer Ella-Lee Lahav didn’t become Israel’s contender for Eurovision 2020, but her first single, “Zot Ani,” (“This is Me”), a K-pop-style song in Hebrew, has garnered well over two million views on YouTube, and is ranking high on the Apple UK playlist.
Produced by Johnny Goldstein, the song features Lahav with the dyed orange hair, slick choreography, pop-sound and lyrics of the musical genre that first originated in South Korea.
K-pop is considered an unusual musical choice for a debut single, particularly given that the singer is Israeli and the lyrics are in Hebrew.
I’m not looking for lovey-dovey
I don’t want you here
I don’t want your lovey-dovey so…I want, I want, yes a phenomenal one
That I will take him with me to the valley and we will see the valley
He won’t tell me “what do I think”, won’t tell me “what’s up”
Because I’m a girl of nature, don’t take me to the barI want someone who listens to me
And who will do everything that only I want
The type that doesn’t care what they say
A little crazy oneHey, that’s me
If you don’t know
Psycho is the thing
Hey, that’s me
So deal with it
If you are not in this
I don’t want you here
“Zot Ani” came out on June 2, Lahav’s 17th birthday, and she wrote on Instagram that the recent year has been a whirlwind that she never quite anticipated, particularly after she lost “Kochav Nolad,” the Israeli reality show that chooses the country’s contender for Eurovision.
“People knew me, loved me, appreciated me and what I was doing,” wrote Lahav. “It gave me strength, it gave me confidence, and most importantly, it let me be who I am today. If they’d asked me a year back if I thought I’d put out a song, I’d laugh at them.”
