Ishay Ribo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ishay Ribo
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| Background information | |
| Native name |
ישי ריבו
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| Born | February 3, 1989 Marseille, France |
| Genres | Contemporary Jewish religious music, piyyut, nigun, pizmonim, folk, rock |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
| Associated acts | Omer Adam, Amir Benayoun, Shlomo Artzi, Idan Raichel, Gad Elbaz, Avraham Fried, Motty Steinmetz |
Ishay Ribo (born February 3, 1989) is a famous singer and songwriter from Israel. He is an Orthodox Jew from a Sephardic background. His music is loved by many different groups of people in Israel, including religious and non-religious fans. He has released five studio albums, and some of them have sold so many copies that they earned "gold" and "platinum" awards!
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Ishay Ribo was born on February 3, 1989, in Marseille, France. His parents were also born in France, but their families came from Morocco and Algeria. His father became more religious while they lived in France.
When Ishay was about eight years old, his family moved to Israel. This move is called aliyah. In Israel, his family became fully observant of Jewish traditions. They first lived in Kfar Adumim, where Ishay went to a religious elementary school. Later, he moved to a Haredi school in Jerusalem. He also studied in special religious schools called yeshivot.
Before joining the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Ishay started working on his first music album. He served in the IDF for two years. During the last six months of his service, he sang in the IDF Rabbinical Choir.
Ishay Ribo's Music Journey
Ishay Ribo started singing when he was eight years old. By age thirteen, he was already writing and recording his own songs at home. Four years later, after writing 100 songs, he learned to play the guitar. He did not have any formal music lessons.
Ishay and his friends formed a band called "Tachlis," which means "Goal." Their band played heavy metal rock music with religious lyrics.
In 2012, Ishay Ribo became the first religious singer to join the Idan Raichel Project. He performed a song called "Ohr Kazeh" ("A Light Like This") on Raichel's 2013 album. He also sang "Tochu Ratzuf Ahavah" at one of Raichel's concerts.
In 2014, he sang "Chadeish Sessoni" on an album called "Simchat Olam" ("Joy of the World"). This album featured songs written by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh. Ishay also appeared on the album Achakeh Lo ("I Will Await Him"), which included songs from the Holocaust.
In August 2019, Ishay performed "Nitzacht Iti HaKol" ("You Won Everything With Me") with Amir Benayoun at a concert in Sultan's Pool, Jerusalem. The music video for this song was watched over a million times in its first week! In December 2019, he performed "Al Ta'azvi Yadayim" (Don't Let Go) with Akiva Turgeman in Caesarea.
On September 3, 2023, Ishay Ribo made history by being the first Israeli artist to headline a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The concert was completely sold out! Other Israeli artists like Akiva and Amir Dadon joined him, along with American Hassidic artist Avraham Fried. Ishay Ribo returned to Madison Square Garden on September 15, 2024.
On November 14, 2023, Ishay Ribo was one of two Israeli singers who performed at the March for Israel rally in Washington, DC. This event brought together almost 300,000 people, making it the largest pro-Israel gathering ever.
Solo Albums and Hit Songs
In 2014, Ishay Ribo released his first album, Tocho Ratzuf Ahavah ("He Is Filled With Continuous Love"). One of the songs from this album, "Kol Dodi" ("The Voice of My Beloved"), won second place at the 2013 Israel Song Festival. The album was so popular that it received a gold award.
In October 2015, he released "Miksha Ahat Zahav" ("A Solid Piece of Gold"), the first song from his second album. He wrote this song to celebrate the birth of his second son. In 2016, his second album, Pachad Gevahim ("Fear of Heights"), also earned a gold award.
In February 2018, Ishay Ribo released his album Shetach Afor ("Gray Area"), which went platinum! A song from this album, "Lashuv HaBaita" ("Coming Home"), became his biggest hit in Israel. Its music video has been watched over 49 million times on YouTube. The song also has over 17 million streams on Spotify.
In 2018, he released "Nafshi" ("My Soul"), a duet with Hasidic singer Motty Steinmetz. They sang their parts using different Hebrew pronunciations. In January 2019, he released the song "HaLev Sheli" ("My Heart"). On September 3, 2019, he released "Seder Ha'avodah" ("Order of the Service"), a song about the Yom Kippur service in the Temple in Jerusalem. These three songs were part of his album Elul 5779, released in September 2019. This album includes special hymns called Selichot and songs related to Yom Kippur.
In March 2024, he released the song Porchim L'shuvam. His full fifth album, Sof Chama Lavo, was released in September 2024. This release celebrated the 10th anniversary of his first album.
Ishay Ribo performs concerts all over Israel. He sings for general audiences and also for gender-separated Haredi audiences. He often performs with other famous singers like Shlomo Artzi, Omer Adam, and Amir Dadon. He says that about 90 percent of his concert audiences come from the national-religious community. At his concerts, fans often sing along with him.
Writing Songs for Others
Ishay Ribo has also written songs for other artists. These include songs for Gad Elbaz, Avraham Fried, and Meidad Tasa. For example, he wrote "Rak Kan" ("Only Here") and "KeBatechilah" ("As In The Beginning") for Gad Elbaz.
Musical Style and Message
Ishay Ribo's songs are all about spirituality, faith, and God. He decided to focus on these topics when he was 14 years old. Even though his first goal was to sing for religious audiences, he has become very popular with non-religious people too.
Music critics say that even though religious songs are not always popular with secular audiences in Israel, Ishay's music is so good that it helps connect Orthodox and non-religious people.
Ishay Ribo once said:
My music has reached the broadest audience possible, from the most chasidic people who I would never have expected to listen to it, to complete atheists who write to me and say, "I don't believe in anything, but your songs awaken something in my soul".
Unlike some traditional Jewish music that uses verses from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), Ishay Ribo writes his own original lyrics. He gets ideas from many religious sources, like the writings of Rashi and the teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe. He mainly sings in Hebrew. Ishay describes his music as "rock/folk." People say he has a "mature" voice and a great stage presence.
Ishay Ribo says that singers Eviatar Banai and Amir Benayoun have influenced his music.
Awards and Special Recognition
Ishay Ribo has received many awards for his music:
- In 2012, he won an ACUM prize for encouraging creativity.
- For his first hit song, "Tocho Ratzuf Ahavah", he was named Singer of the Year, Discovery of the Year, and Song of the Year by Radio Galei Israel and Maariv newspaper.
- He also won Singer of the Year, Album of the Year (for Tocho Ratzuf Ahavah), and Song of the Year (for "Kol Dodi") from Radio Kol Chai.
- In 2024, he was voted Singer of the Year by the streaming platform 24Six.
In 2017, he performed at the torch-lighting ceremony for Israel's 69th Independence Day.
In 2019, he received the Israel Minister of Education's Uri Orbach Prize for Jewish Culture in music.
Also in 2019, Ishay Ribo won first place for having the Most Views on YouTube by an Orthodox Jewish Artist. This was his second year in a row winning this award. His official YouTube channel had 224 million views and 212,000 subscribers.
Personal Life
Ishay Ribo is married to Yael, and they have five children. They live in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Discography
Studio Albums
- 2014: Tocho Ratzuf Ahavah ("He Is Filled With Continuous Love")
- 2016: Pachad Gevahim ("Fear of Heights")
- 2017: "התשמע קולי - גלגלצ במחווה לאלבום "החלונות הגבוהים
- 2018: Shetach Afor ("Gray Area")
- 2019: Elul Taf Shin Ayin Tes ("Elul 5779")
- 2024: Sof Chama Lavo
See Also
- Music of Israel
