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Noa (whose real name is Achinoam Nini) is one of the most beloved artists in Israeli music, perhaps the only one who has truly managed to blend into a much broader musical discourse than that of her own home country.

Born in Tel Aviv on June 23, 1969, at the age of two she moved with her family to New York, where her father, a university professor, had a professional appointment. Her American adolescence, however, is not easy: at the age of 17, the artist falls into a deep identity crisis and decides to return to Israel to fulfill mandatory military service.

She made her debut as a singer in 1991 and earned recognition as a duo with guitarist Gil Dor. Their first album is “Achinoam Nini and Gil Dor Live.” Three years later, she debuted with a studio album titled “Noa,” which included her first big hit, “I Don’t Know.”

In 1996, she released her second album, “Calling,” which allowed her to be appreciated for the first time in Italy, where she performed at a concert with Antonello Venditti in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples. The following year, her relationship with Italy grew stronger when she was chosen by Roberto Benigni to sing “Beautiful That Way,” the main song of the soundtrack of the film “Life is Beautiful.”

Her career exploded definitively. In 2000, she collaborated with Pino Daniele on the song “The Desert in My Head,” from the album “Tell Me What’s Happening on Earth,” and those years were rich in successful releases, as well as important recognitions such as being named “Ambassador of Peace from the world of culture.”

In 2005, she participated in Live 8 at the Circus Maximus, and the following year she competed in Sanremo (together with Carlo Fava and the Solis String Quartet) with the song “A General Talk,” which won the Mia Martini Critics’ Award.

Another important moment in her career was her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009, together with compatriot Mira Awad. There, she sang “There Must Be Another Way” in English, Hebrew, and Arabic, and reached the 16th position.

In 2011, she released the album “Noapolis,” in which she reinterprets some classic Neapolitan songs.

Today, Noa continues to be one of the most representative Israeli artists in the world and fights for peace in her country, even at the cost of using negative words towards Prime Minister Netanyahu, who ‘ostracized’ her from Israel for some time.

The artist continues to voice the pacifist part of the Israeli community, opposing war and believing in the possibility of coexistence with Palestinians.