Netta

Israeli pop vocalist Netta Barzilai, known professionally as Netta, stands out as a dynamic performer whose soulful, dance-oriented sound brought her widespread recognition after she claimed victory at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with the track “Toy.” She first surfaced in 2017 during her run on the televised competition HaKokhav HaBa, where she sought Israel’s Eurovision slot and quickly drew attention through her big, resonant voice paired with an electronic, loop-based approach. The single “Toy” reached the top of both the Israeli charts and Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart, which in turn opened the door for her 2020 EP Goody Bag. After issuing the covers collection The Best of Netta’s Office, Vol. 1, she took on her first role as a judge during season four of The X Factor Israel.

Netta was born in Hod HaSharon, Israel, in 1993 and spent her early years in the Tel Aviv area before living for several years in Nigeria while her father oversaw a construction project. During her teenage years she developed a passion for music, and following high school she fulfilled her required military service as a singer in the Israeli Navy Band. It was in that setting that she first encountered the electronic looper instrument after viewing a clip of New Zealand singer Kimbra demonstrating the device. By the time she completed her Navy tenure, Netta had become skilled enough on the looper to build songs live in front of an audience. After her discharge in 2016, she devoted a year to studying electronic music at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. She simultaneously held a daytime job as a kindergarten teacher and performed regularly at Tel Aviv’s Bar Giora Club, where she hosted the weekly blues night. She also helped establish the improvisation-based vocal trio the Experiment and toured across Israel.

In 2017 Netta tried out for season five of the interactive singing contest HaKokhav HaBa, the program that selects Israel’s Eurovision representative. Though she was eliminated in the early stages after failing to secure enough votes, the judges reinstated her, and she ultimately triumphed with a mash-up of Kesha’s “Tik Tok” and PSY’s “Gangnam Style.” That win earned her the chance to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, staged in Lisbon, Portugal. Netta unveiled her Eurovision entry, the Doron Medalie- and Stav Beger-produced “Toy,” in March 2018. Featuring her looped vocals and distinctive rhythmic “chicken sounds,” the song became a popular novelty hit, topping the Israeli chart and registering as the most viewed video on the Eurovision YouTube channel. On May 12, 2018, “Toy” was declared the Eurovision winner, marking Israel’s fourth contest victory. In the ensuing months the track maintained momentum, reaching number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in August 2018.

During the following year Netta added further Israeli number-one singles with “Bassa Sabada,” “Ricki Lake,” and “Cuckoo.” These tracks, along with “Toy,” appeared on her debut EP, Goody Bag, released in June 2020. That same year she also put out the covers EP The Best of Netta’s Office, Vol. 1, applying her distinctive approach to songs by Aqua, Bob Dylan, Flo Rida, and additional artists. In 2021 she made her first appearance as a judge on The X Factor Israel.