‘Next Star’ From Israel Joins ‘American Idol’ — Who Is Zohar Raziel?
Instagram/ Zohar Raziel Reading Time: 3 minutes
Zohar Raziel is an American Idol hopeful looking to take the competition by storm. The singer from Israel announced that she auditioned for the upcoming season set to air on February 14. Keep reading to find out a little more about this talented artist.
Zohar Raziel Competed On Another Talent Show Before ‘American Idol’
In 2017, Zohar was among a group of elite singers from all over the globe who competed on The Next Star For Eurovision 2018. This was a competition to choose Israel’s representative for Eurovision 2018 which took place in Lisbon, Portugal. There were over 5,000 people who auditioned, and Zohar was one of 120 who made it in front of the judges.
Zohar attended an all-girls school that focused on religion but she was described as a “rebel” during her appearance on the show. Though she was born in America, her family moved back to Israel when she was 10 years old. For this competition, she sang her original song called “Empty Heart” while playing the piano. The judges were pretty hard on her and gave her a score of 52%.
SEE ALSO: FANS REACT TO CLAUDIA CONWAY’S AUDITION VIDEO IN ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ PREMIERE TEASER
But they knew she had more to give and allowed her to perform a second song. She blew everyone away with a cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black.” The judges were very impressed and gave her a higher score. Though Zohar did not win the competition, it became clear that she has a serious future in the music industry. Plus, her prior talent competition show experience could benefit her coming onto this season of American Idol. She revealed on Instagram that the producers reached out to her to audition and there was no way she was going to let the opportunity slip by.
She Has Been Sharing Her Musical Journey On Social Media
Zohar just released her first original live song in January. The song is called “Clothes On” and it is available on all streaming platforms. She posted a video singing the romantic ballad on YouTube and fans fell in love with her unique voice.
“Clothes On” was produced and directed by Guy Hazam who Zohar credited for helping her overcome writer’s block. In the same post, she mentioned falling in love with someone who helped her “find the words I was so desperate for months to just write down.”
Along with posting popular song covers on Instagram, Zohar also avidly posts content on TikTok. You can follow her on both Instagram and TikTik @hotdamnitszoey. Her cover of Loren Allred’s song “Never Enough” even earned Zohar an Instagram like from Loren Allred herself! According to her Instagram bio, her friends call her Zoey.
All Of The Scoop Ahead Of Zohar Raziel’s ‘American Idol’ Audition
This season of American Idol is truly going to be different than any other. Check out the What’s Hot Video down below to learn more about what’s in store for Zohar and the other contestants this season.
SEE ALSO: KATY PERRY SHARES WHAT MAKES THIS SEASON OF ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ DIFFERENT
Be sure to check out the premiere of American Idol on February 14 at 8 pm on ABC. Zohar will not be featured on the premiere episode but will appear in an episode somewhere down the line. You can also find a list of some other contestants competing on Season 19 here.
