38 Facts About Harel Skaat

Harel Skaat sometimes known by the mononym Harel is an Israeli singer and songwriter.

Harel Skaat represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Milim".

Harel Skaat's professional breakthrough came when he was a contestant on the second season of Kochav Nolad, a reality competition television show similar in format to American Idol, and finished in second place.

Harel Skaat followed up the album with a concert tour, which surpassed 200 concert shows, a milestone in Israeli music.

Harel Skaat's singing and performing talents have been widely praised by critics and Israeli music industry professionals, but his albums have received only mixed reviews.

All of the songs on his official albums and EP have been sung in Hebrew, but Harel Skaat has occasionally sung in English and French in live concerts.

Harel Skaat was born on 8 August 1981, in Kfar Saba, Israel, to a family of Yemenite-Jewish and Iraqi-Jewish descent.

Harel Skaat attended Beit Zvi, a college specializing in the performing arts, where he was awarded two of the university's most prestigious scholarships for his performances in school-produced musicals, including the outstanding achievement scholarship and the Sano Scholarship.

Rafael Mirila won the competition, while Tayeb finished third and Harel Skaat finished in sixth place.

In 2005, during his second year of studies at Beit Zvi, Harel Skaat became a contestant on Kokhav Nolad after a friend signed him up without his knowledge.

At the finals, Harel Skaat sang the song "Hinenny Can" which was originally performed by Yehoram Gaon in the 1971 movie "Any Yerushalmy".

Harel Skaat won the "Singer of the Year" from the Children's Channel three times from 2005 to 2007 and in 2007,2008, and 2010 he was ranked number one out of Israel's Top 100 Stars by the youth magazine, Maariv Lanoar.

In 2005, Harel Skaat sang in front of an estimated 80,000 people at Rabin Square, Tel Aviv at the memorial rally for former prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin on the tenth anniversary of his assassination.

Harel Skaat continues to be a popular singer at holiday events, performing for example, in five different cities on Israel's Yom Ha'atzmaut 2010.

Harel Skaat has taken part in several Festigal children song festivals, which occur annually during the Hanukkah season.

At the 2004 Festigal, Harel Skaat competed in a song contest, playing the part of Peter Pan and sang the song "Lauf".

Harel Skaat again finished second to Moyal, who won the contest with the song "I Am Zorro" ; Ran Danker finished third.

In 2005, Harel Skaat performed in a musical play, He Who Dreamed, based on the last 10 years of the life of Yitzhak Rabin.

In early 2006, Harel Skaat was featured in a unique series of three-minute reality-based segments produced by Cellcom, which was made available for download to its customers, among the first content of this kind in Israel's history.

Harel Skaat was named "Male Singer of 2006" by both Reshet Gimmel and Galgalatz.

Harel Skaat co-wrote one song on the album, "Afilu Shesreifot".

In court, Harel Skaat denied that he had broken their contract, but Hed Artzi won a temporary injunction against Harel Skaat, which kept the singer from recording any new material.

Harel Skaat co-wrote four of the songs on the album, including two which were released as singles.

In December 2009, the Israel Broadcasting Authority selected Harel Skaat to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.

Ultimately, Harel Skaat sang the song in both the semi-finals and finals of Eurovision entirely in Hebrew, performing the altered version with the full orchestra accompaniment.

At Oslo, Harel Skaat explained to the press that "Milim" is about loss, such as in a breakup, but that for him, it has a deeper meaning.

Harel Skaat wanted me to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest for five years, and then he got to hear that I would take part in the national selection before he passed away.

In 2006, Skaat began a concert tour to promote his debut album, performing throughout Israel, including a concert at the Frederic R Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv.

In 2009 Harel Skaat began a second concert tour to promote the Dmuyot album.

Harel Skaat has frequently appeared at the Zappa nightclubs in Tel Aviv and Herzliya, which regularly features live music from both Israeli and international musicians.

Harel Skaat had been scheduled to perform at the opening ceremony of the XIX International Festival of Arts, "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" in Belarus on 9 July 2010, but his appearance was canceled by the organizers two days before the event.

In March 2011, Harel Skaat took part in a unique collaboration: singing three of his songs live in Sharon Levi's Barcelona Dance Company's tap dance show, "Fragments", which debuted in Paris.

Harel Skaat has been called a "convincing and captivating" performer and his singing has been described as "smooth, precise, very clean and very clear".

Harel Skaat was reportedly set to work on a new album, to be recorded in English, the first of his that would be targeted at an international audience.

Harel Skaat placed second on the poll for the male singer of the decade, while two of his songs, "Ve'at" and "Hineni Kan", placed fourth and 21st respectively on the poll for song of the decade.

Harel Skaat is married to Idan Roll, a model, a lawyer and Knesset member representing Yesh Atid.

In June 2010, Harel Skaat purchased an apartment at one of the Arlosoroff Towers, a pair of planned commercial and residential high rise buildings in Tel Aviv's Ayalon Triangle.

Harel Skaat has been actively involved with charities aimed at children with disabilities.