Shiri Maimon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shiri Maimon
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Maimon in 2022
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| Background information | |
| Native name |
שירי מימון
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| Also known as | Shiri Maymon |
| Born | 17 May 1981 Haifa, Israel |
| Origin | Israel |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress, television host |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Helicon |
Shiri Maimon (born May 17, 1981) is a famous Israeli singer, actress, and TV host. She became well-known after being the runner-up in the first season of the singing competition show Kokhav Nolad in 2003. Shiri represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, where she finished in fourth place.
In 2008, Shiri won the "Best Israeli Act" award at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards. She also performed at the event and was nominated for "Europe's Favorite Act." Later, in June 2013, Shiri became a judge on The X Factor Israel for its first season. She continued as a judge for two more seasons. In 2018, she moved to a different TV show called Rising Star Israel.
Shiri Maimon also performed on Broadway in 2018. She played the main role of Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. In February 2024, she recorded a live album of her greatest hits with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Contents
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Growing Up in Israel
Shiri Maimon was born in Haifa, Israel, and grew up in a neighborhood called Kiryat Haim. Her family has roots from Syria and Algeria. Her parents are Mazal and Natan Maimon. She has an older brother named Rami, an older sister named Livnat, and a younger brother named Asaf. In Hebrew, her first name, Shiri, can mean "sing" or "my song."
Shiri started performing at a young age. When she was ten, she sang at a children's festival called Festigal. At age 12, she joined a children's music group called "Tehila." She also presented shows on a local community TV channel. In high school, she was part of a band from a national youth organization.
After high school, Shiri joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a soldier. She sang with the Israeli Air Force Band. This is where she first met Tzvika Hadar, who later became the host of Kokhav Nolad.
In 2001, Shiri appeared in a music video for the band Teapacks. Before her big break, she worked for a year and a half as a singer, dancer, and bartender in a nightclub in Eilat. She briefly attended a performing arts school but left when she got accepted into Kokhav Nolad.
Becoming a Star on Kokhav Nolad
In 2003, Shiri Maimon auditioned for the first season of Kokhav Nolad, a new singing talent show. She passed the auditions and joined the show. In the semi-finals, she sang "Kshe’at Atzuva" and won first place, which meant she would compete in the final.
In the grand final, Shiri sang "Don Quixote" and finished in second place. She received more than 400,000 votes from viewers. The show became very popular in Israel. Many of the performances, including Shiri's, were played often on the radio. The finalists, including Shiri, became famous and were featured a lot in the news. This helped them start their careers in the Israeli music industry.
In December 2003, while working on her first album, Shiri also became a host on a popular youth TV show called EXIT. She was one of the main presenters until she left the show in October 2005.
In 2004, Shiri recorded a duet with Ran Danker. It was a Hebrew version of the song "La fuerza corazón" for the movie El Cid: The Legend. She also performed with singer Shlomi Shabat at one of his concerts. Their live duet was played on the radio and released on Shabat's albums.
In November 2004, Shiri released her first song, "Ad SheTavin Oti" ("Until You'll Understand Me"). It was a moderate success on the radio. In December 2004, she also performed in a children's musical theater show called Mamma Mia.
Eurovision and First Album Success
In 2005, Shiri Maimon was asked to join Kdam Eurovision, which is Israel's show to choose its Eurovision representative. She chose to compete with her song "HaSheket SheNish’ar" ("The Silence That Remains"). On March 2, Shiri won the competition by a lot, earning 116 out of 120 possible points. This made her Israel's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Shiri made a music video for her song, inspired by the movie The Bodyguard. There was some discussion about the video because it had many hidden advertisements. Shiri's team explained that they needed the ads for funding because the Israeli TV network didn't help pay for the video. The video eventually got special permission to be shown. There was also a legal issue where an artist claimed they owned parts of the song, but the court allowed the song to go to Eurovision.
For Eurovision, Shiri recorded an English version of the song called "Time To Say Goodbye." She decided to perform the song half in Hebrew and half in English on the Eurovision stage. Even though many people didn't expect her to do well, Shiri finished seventh in the semi-final on May 19, which meant she qualified for the final. In the final on May 21, she placed fourth, earning 154 points. The winner was Helena Paparizou from Greece.
Shiri's performance at Eurovision got a lot of attention in Israel. Her success was widely covered by the news, and her performance received great reviews. Her Eurovision broadcast had the highest ratings for a Eurovision show in Israel since 1998. Her song "HaSheket SheNish’ar" was named "The Song of the Year" by several radio stations in 2005. Shiri's success at Eurovision helped her become known as a serious singer, not just a reality show star.
In March 2005, Shiri was chosen to sing the Israeli national anthem before a FIFA World Cup qualification match against Ireland.
In July 2005, Shiri released her third song, "Ahava Ktana" ("A Little Love"), which was very successful on the radio. In August 2005, she performed at the final of the third season of Kokhav Nolad, singing a mix of her songs.
In September 2005, Shiri released her first album, also called Shiri Maimon. By February 2006, the album had sold over 20,000 copies and earned a gold record award.
Shiri won "Person of the Year in Music" and "The Singer of the Year" awards in 2005. In October 2005, she released her fourth song, "Kama Pe’amim" ("How Many Times"), which also did well. She also left her role as a TV presenter on EXIT that month.
In December 2005, Shiri participated in the Festigal again, this time as a guest star. She sang parts of the theme song and three songs from her album. In January 2006, she released her fifth song, "Le’an SheLo Telchi" ("Wherever You'll Go"), which was also successful.
In March 2006, Shiri appeared in a TV show called Yeladot Ra'ot ("Bad Girls") on the Israeli Music Channel. She played Maya Gold, a singer trying to balance her career and personal life. She also made a guest appearance at the Kdam Eurovision 2006 as the previous year's winner.
In May 2006, Shiri began starring in a musical version of an Israeli movie called "HaLehaka" ("The Band"). She played the role of Noa. The musical ran for about 200 shows until November 2007. In September 2006, a movie called No Exit was released, starring Shiri and other presenters from the EXIT TV show.
In June 2007, Shiri performed with The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in a concert honoring Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. She sang a mix of their songs and some of her own.
Her first song from her second album, "Yoter Tov Lisloach" ("Better to Forgive"), was released in December 2007 and was successful on the radio.
New Albums and MTV Awards
In January 2008, Shiri's second album, Rega Lifney She... ("Just Before ..."), was released. At the same time, she released her first international album, "Standing on My Own". The international album was later put aside.
In February 2008, Shiri released "KsheHalachta" ("When You Were Gone"), which became a popular song for memorial days. In March 2008, she released "Tohavi Ktzat Et Atzmekh" ("Love Yourself A Little"), which was not as successful.
In May 2008, Shiri started a new concert tour. In June 2008, she released "VeRatziti SheTed’i" ("And I Wanted You To Know"). The song's music video caused some discussion.
In September 2008, Shiri won "The Singer of the Year" from the Israeli Children Channel and a teen magazine. In October 2008, she won "Best Israeli Act" at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards. In November 2008, she was chosen as one of the top 5 favorite regional acts, making her a nominee for "Europe's Favorite Act". Shiri released a new song for the event, "Chelek Mimcha" ("Part of You") in Hebrew and "Now That You're Gone" in English. She performed the English version in Liverpool and finished in 3rd place for "Europe's Favourite Act."
In December 2008, Shiri participated in the Festigal for the third time as a competitor. She sang "Ashir Lecha" ("I'll Sing For You") and her song "Chelek Mimcha".
In 2009, Shiri was chosen to be part of the EMI's Global One project, where 35 artists from around the world recorded songs in their languages. Shiri recorded the Hebrew version of the song "Lately," called "Tamshich Lalechet" ("Keep Walking"). She also took part in the multi-language version of the song. In August 2009, Shiri worked with Israeli DJ Skazi on the song "Ani Erdof Otcha" ("I Will Haunt You").
Collaborations and New Music
In December 2009, Shiri Maimon announced she would be working with Israeli singer Shimon Buskila. They decided to create a new show tour together, featuring their songs and songs they both liked. In January 2010, they released a new song, "Geshem SheYavo" ("A Rain To Come"), to promote the tour. The tour started in March 2010 and ran for over 300 shows until mid-2012.
In March 2010, Shiri also collaborated with Israeli singer Matti Caspi on his song "Samba BeShnaim" ("Samba For Two"). She also became an ambassador for the Keren Hayesod organization, performing in South and Central America for their 90th anniversary. She sang her own songs, Hebrew songs like "Yerushalaim Shel Zahav" and "HaTikva", and Spanish songs.
On Israel's Independence Day in 2010, Shiri performed "Shir LaShalom" ("Song For Peace"), a well-known Israeli peace song.
In August 2010, for their 100th show, Shiri and Buskila released another song from their project, "Shir Tikva" ("Hope Song"), which was very popular. In March 2011, Shiri co-hosted the Kdam Eurovision 2011.
Also in March 2011, Shiri and Buskila released a live album called "HaMofa HaMeshutaf" ("The Joint Show"). The album went gold in September 2011 and platinum in January 2013, selling over 40,000 copies. They continued to release singles from their project, including "Ad Sof HaOlam" ("Until The end of the World") in April 2011 and "Yamim Meusharim" ("Happy Days") in August 2011.
In June 2011, the duo performed at the famous Roman Theatre of Caesarea to a large audience. They performed there several more times. In September 2011, they won "The collaboration of the Year" award from various radio stations.
In May 2012, Shiri and Buskila released their fifth song, "Kama Ahava" ("How Much Love"), with a music video showing their travels. This song marked the end of their main tour, which had over 300 shows.
In June 2012, Shiri released her first song from her new solo album, "Sheleg BaSharav" ("Snow in the Heatwave"), which was successful. In July 2012, she released "Mechaka SheTashuv" ("Waiting For You To Come Back"). Her new solo album, also called "Sheleg BaSharav", was released in August 2012. She released two more songs from the album, "BeSof Yom" ("In The End of a Day") in September and "LaIsha SheHayta" ("To The Woman Who Used To Be") in November.
In December 2012, Shiri participated in the Festigal for the fourth time as a competitor. She sang "Shara MeHaLev" ("Singing From The Heart") and a mix of her songs.
Recent Career Highlights
In February 2013, Shiri Maimon released "Kama at Yafa" ("How Beautiful You Are"), the fifth song from her solo album. In June 2013, Shiri and Shimon Buskila released another song, "Tamid Iti" ("Always With Me"), for a new tour they were doing.
In October 2013, Shiri became one of the four judges on the first season of The X Factor Israel. As a mentor, she guided the "Over 25s" category, and her contestant, Rose Fostanes, won the season.
In December 2013, Shiri performed in a children's musical theater show called "Aladdin VeYasmin" ("Aladdin And Jasmine"), playing the role of Jasmine.
In February 2014, Shiri worked with Israeli singer Muki on his song "Lir’ot Hafuch" ("Seeing Upside Down"). In March 2014, Shiri started a new concert tour that received great reviews. Her show was even named "The Best Israeli Show of the Year" by a culture magazine.
In August 2014, Shiri released a new song, "Mi Shafuy Mi Meshuga" ("Who Is Sane Who Is Crazy"), which was moderately successful. The song was composed by Shimon Buskila.
In January 2015, Shiri released "Zchuchiyot" ("Glass"), which was very popular and became the tenth most played song on Israeli radio that year.
In June 2015, Shiri continued as a judge for the second season of The X Factor Israel. She mentored the "Girls" category, and her contestant, Anna Timofei, came in third place. In July 2015, Shiri released another song, "Avir" ("Air"), which was also successful.
In September 2015, Shiri began starring in the Israeli version of the musical "Evita" at Israel's national theatre. She played the main role of Eva Perón. In late 2015, the show was named "The Best Theatre Play of the Year." Shiri performed in the musical about 200 times until it closed in March 2017. In October 2016, Shiri received the "Best Actress of the Year" award from Habima Theatre.
In January 2016, Shiri asked her fans on Facebook to help her choose which song to cover in her upcoming shows. They chose "Chandelier" by Sia, and Shiri's live performance of the song received excellent reviews.
In September 2018, Shiri Maimon joined the cast of the Broadway musical Chicago for a two-week run. The show also traveled to Israel for 16 performances.
In February 2024, she recorded a live album of her greatest hits at Heichal HaTarbut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The album included a Hebrew version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" as a tribute to her time in Evita.
Personal Life
Shiri Maimon married Yoni Rajuan, an event producer, in 2011. They have two sons. The family lives in Tel Mond, Israel. Shiri also has Portuguese citizenship because of her family's heritage.
Discography
- Shiri Maimon (2005)
- Rega Lifney She... (Just Before...) (2008)
- Standing on My Own (2008)
- Ha'mofa Ha'meshutaf (The Joint Show) (2011)
- Sheleg Ba'sharav (Snow in the Heat Wave) (2012)
- Ha'albomim Ha'roshonim (The First Albums) (2014)
- Transparent (שקופה) (2024)
- Live Album 2024 (אלבום הופעה חיה 2024) (2024)
See also
In Spanish: Shiri Maimon para niños
- Music of Israel
- Women of Israel
- Women in the Israel Defense Forces
- List of Israelis
- List of Jewish actors
- List of Jewish musicians
