Who is Zohar Raziel? Israeli singer invited for 'American Idol' audition after stunning 'Next Star' performance
Joining the list of many aspiring singers who've dreamt of making it big in the world of music is Israel's Zohar Raziel. This Middle Eastern singer managed to catch the eye of 'American Idol' which is considered one of the biggest shows on television that's been thriving for the past 19 years since its inception in 2002. Zohar was quick to lap up this opportunity and after auditioning, she announced the same to her followers on Instagram.
"THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT IS OUT!! A few months ago I was offered to audition for @americanidol and I said.... what the hell why not🤙🏼🔥So........To find out if I left with a big fat GOLDEN TICKET to Hollywood- you’ll have to tune in February 14th on @abcnetwork," she wrote in the caption of her post that she shared at the start of the new year. Like her post suggests, audiences will have to wait till the show goes on air to find out if she became the recipient of the precious golden ticket but until then, continue reading below for some scoop on her.
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'American Idol' is not the first global reality show for her
This talented artist's music abilities have allowed her to stand out and to be sought out. In 2017, she was a part of the show called 'The Next Star' filmed for Eurovision, along with some of the best singers from across the globe. Zohar was sought out and asked to come audition at an event where Israel's representative for 'The Next Star' was about to be chosen. This was held in Lisbon, Portugal and along with Zohar, there were 5,000 other hopefuls who battled it out at the auditions. Only 120 of them made it through the many rounds and ended up in front of the judges.
Zohar was 16 years old back then. On the show, she described herself as a "rebel", the odd one out in her otherwise super religious family. Her religious-only-girls school education too didn't stop her from dancing or in this case, singing to her own melody.
Zohar Raziel was initially rejected by the judges
Zohar took to the stage and attempted to wow the judges with her original composition 'Empty Heart'. However, three out of four judges said "No" to her in the very first minute because she sounded out of tune. Usually, people tend to lose their sense of confidence in such situations but Zohar decided that she wanted to turn the rejection on its head and that's exactly what she did.
After being given a second chance to impress the judges once again, she performed a cover of Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black' and made the judges eat their words. She turned the 52% score that she received for the first audition to an almost 100% with Winehouse's song and left everyone stunned. You can watch the performance here.
Did Zohar Raziel win the audition?
Unfortunately, Zohar was not selected to represent Israel in 'The Next Star' even after belting some seriously unbelievable notes but it did give her the recognition, and 'American Idol' reaching out to her to come audition, is proof of the same.
Has Zohar Raziel released any songs of her own?
Just last month Zohar released an original song called 'Clothes On' which is available to stream on all platforms. Her Instagram has a video of her singing the love ballad and she's been receiving a lot of love from fans for the same in the comment section. You can also find her on TikTok and her handle is @hotddamnitszoey.
Catch 'American Idol' Season 4 premiere on February 14, 2021, at 8 pm ET on ABC.