He was born and raised in Ramat Gan, Israel. But now Kobi Marimi is a man of the world. After winning Israel’s highly competitive talent show “The Next Star”, he’s representing the host nation at Eurovision 2019. We recently caught up with the towering singer to see how he’s coping after his huge win.
Your first audition on The Next Star was with Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams”. Why
did you choose that song?
I saw Beyonce live in Warsaw last June. It was such an amazing experience. Once I got home, I started listening to Beyonce’s old songs, those I didn’t get to hear live in Warsaw. “Sweet Dreams’ kept popping in my playlist and I started to play with it as I love doing with music. A month later the audition for “Rising Star” happened. In other words – I love Beyoncé.
Who or what motivated you to audition?
For years I have wanted to share my music but dreaded exposing myself. In a conversation I had with a good friend, I shared with her that I was feeling as if nothing was happening in my professional career although I was working really hard. She compared my situation to all her single friends complaining about not being in relationships while refusing to use dating apps. In other words: it is 2019, that’s how things work now, just be brave and do it. A day after I contacted the casting agent.
You immediately became a favourite after your audition. Did you sense that your life was going to change or that you could actually win the entire show?
Throughout the entire season, until the very last second, I didn’t think about winning the competition. All I wanted was to make good music and to touch peoples’ hearts. It might sound like a cliché, but I already won after the first audition. All I can say is dare to dream…
What was the hardest song for you to cover and why?
Fuego was the hardest to cover but at the same time I enjoyed it the most. The difficulty wasn’t physical; it was overcoming Eleni’s unforgettable performance. It’s a tricky thing to do in a competition, taking a new hit song and have your version to it. I wish I would know her thoughts about my cover.
You started the journey on Rising Star with no professional music experience, which is amazing. Will you work with vocal coaches at KAN or elsewhere now that you’ve won? (Not that you need help!!!)
I believe singers should know how to work and maintain their voice. I think it’s necessary to develop professionally. The decision to self teach was taken out of fear of being labeled musically, and being dictated to a specific way of singing. I will continue to work with music professionals as long as it helps me grow musically and I won’t feel caged as I love producing sounds which feel right for me, even if my mentor doesn’t approve.
All of Israel anticipate that you will SLAY on home soil. How are you coping with the stress?
That gives me a lot of strength and makes me very happy to have all of Israel believing in me. The only thing I can do is work hard, go on stage and do what we all came here to do — sing. Hopefully I will make everyone proud and bring respect to Israel.
What do you think about the comparisons to Freddie Mercury?
Freddie is a legend, a source of inspiration, a beautiful man and one of the greatest singers and performers of all times. I wish I could give a quarter of what Freddie gave to the world.
In 2015 and 2018, the host nation came last at Eurovision. Does that intimidate you?
All Eurovision fans know that there are no rules and everything can happen in this competition. Obviously I want to win, but the Eurovision is more than a competition, it’s a special evening that celebrates music where so many countries unite for the love of music. Is there anything better?
What genre do you hope to sing in at Eurovision?
You need to wait until the 10/3 to know. All I can say is that it’s a ballad.
Would you prefer to sing in Hebrew, English or a mixture of the two?
I feel comfortable singing in both languages. You will have to wait until 10/3.
Finally, do you have a message for all of your new fans on wiwibloggs?
As a massive Eurovision fan I want to thank you all for your support and love in all
countries’ representatives and me. I believe you all have a part in making Eurovision every year. I will see you all in May, in my home, Tel Aviv, Israel. It’s going to be so much fun. Don’t forget the sun protection!
Good luck to Kobi and thank you for the interview!
COMING SOON…ISRAEL. HOME
Very high expectations, im sure he will deliver big time………
I’m just curious if this interview was conducted entirely in English and whether Kobi’s answers are an accurate transcript of how he responded in English. The reason I’m asking this is because in an interview conducted a day or two after he won Rising Star, he was asked how fluent he is in English and he replied by saying it was ‘satisfactory’ or something along that line. I would have loved seeing a recording of a live video chat to get a sense of his verbal skills, but the fact that so far there hasn’t been a single interview where… Read more »
why do you even care?
I think his English is fine.
What’s your beef? Don’t you want your representative to be able to communicate directly with the foreign press and the fan blogs, especially in a year when Israel is the host country? hopefully he can handle it but so far there are no signs supporting that.
But, not all of Israel believe in him, I’m quite sure he won’t do so well
Anyway, you can see how happy he is and I’m happy for him!
Can you please leave kobi alone and bash some other Euro trash artist that you usually like??? Kobi is quality, not for you
Have you heard about expressing opinions and thoughts?
Clearly, you only read articles about Israel
When I don’t like something, I say it, it’s all accessable for you to read
So leave ME alone and stop attacking every person who’s not a fan of Kobi
There is no definition to good music, it’s a matter of taste and you don’t know how to respect others
Stay away from Eurovision or at least from me
Have a great day, dear
You don’t miss a chance to say how much you don’t like kobi…ok, we already understood…continue to other artist….and unlike what you said I read articles from all countries….and btw there is minimal definition of quality in music and it’s definitely not something you can understand cause it doesn’t look like you understand anything in quality….kobi is an excellent example
So, I don’t like the singer you like then that means I understand nothing in quality? Yea, totally makes sense I don’t miss a chance because I’m trying as hard as possible to comment on all articles here (which I can’t but I’m doing my best) so… Just expressing my opinion just as you don’t miss a chance to attack me and others 🙂 Again, I am commenting on other artists as well, positive and negative comments I’ve already said how hard for me it was to like Hatari’s song in the beginning, how I don’t like Conan’s entry and… Read more »
You are wrong….I like italy very much, also slovenia and Denmark are ok…I do think think that kobi is the most talented as performer and singer but I still didn’t hear his song…just like you didn’t and you already critisze him which is ridiculous. If his song will be bad I will not say it’s good because I am from Israel. I at least wait for the song…and yeah…again…I do think that he is the most talented artist this year and totally not because he is from israel
We all judge all artists as artists even before getting the song… We’re trying to figure out how well they would do
I don’t like Kobi’s style of music and obviously he will stay true to himself (which he should) so I know, from my experience, that he won’t do that well at Eurovision
Obviously, I’ll fully judge the entry during the rehearsals weeks before Eurovision as staging and live performances are important as well
Now stop trying to convince me, that’s my opinion
im far from trying to convince you, the results on the board will tell you how wrong you are dont worry
We shall see
Until then, leave me alone
If you will leave kobi alone I will(:
Why would I stop expressing my opinion?
Anyway, I’ll cut this discussion here, I’m not going to feed trolls
you troll against kobi, no one else….
Expressing opinions =/= trolling
Good Shabbath
If he didn’t think about winning he wouldn’t have been competing in a competition. I don’t like miss America answers.
It’s the end: Ukraine withdraws from Eurovision 2019
On another note Bilal Hassani is in Tel Aviv preparing his postcard’s dance :
https://twitter.com/ambfranceisrael/status/1100744519480496128?s=21
https://twitter.com/iambilalhassani/status/1100749271991762945?s=21
he is a wonderful, great singer,hope to hear a lot more of his music and fabulous,extraordinary voice.a great talent,we are blessed.
He does not come off really genuine to me, he was really disappointed when he got eliminated in the contest now he suddenly don’t care?
You can use his official youtube channel videos:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvpq_gyJE9n908NBaQ8SZWA/videos
here you embedded not his original playlist .
Better than Netta, that’s for sure!
you forgot to put also his “Fuego” cover in the article – it was out of this world!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bd03s8Oo9U
Thank you! For me much better than the original, tbh 🙂
His answer about Freddie Mercury was worded slightly differently from his answer to a similar question on live Israeli TV right after winning. There he said that Freddie was “really handsome” 😉
Kobi! You’re so talented, your voice is beautiful and you were my favirit since your first audition! One request: bring back the Yabba-Yabba!!! You stopped using it since you were eliminated, and it’s a shame. It is beautiful, it is unique, it catches the ear and it is reminiscent of a deep emotional jewish prayer.
YABBA-YABBA! Good luck and love to you!
good luck
“Don’t forget the sun protection!”….Good advice.
There is an commentator, David F, that told me what to do. I go to the site Giphy and when I pick the gif, I click on it, and it appears some options. The second is Copy Link. I click on it and then other options appear, and I copy the second one that says GIF Link. This is all.
Can’t wait for the song! He seems like a nice lad.