Dana International
Encyclopedia
Sharon Cohen professionally known as Dana International (Hebrew
: דנה אינטרנשיונל, born Yaron Cohen, February 2, 1972) is an Israeli pop
singer of Yemenite Jewish
ancestry. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation album
s, positioning herself as one of Israel's most successful musical acts ever. She is most famous for having won the Eurovision Song Contest 1998
in Birmingham
with the song "Diva
".
Born biologically male, Dana discovered that she was a transsexual at an early age, coming out
when she was 13. Undergoing sex reassignment surgery
in 1993, it was that year that she released her first album, Danna International
, upon which she based her stage name. Consolidating her initial commercial success with the albums Umpatampa
(1994) and Maganuna
(1996), in 1998 she was selected to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Diva"; subsequently winning the international competition, Dana came to public attention throughout Europe. She would come back to Eurovision in 2011, but lost out in the semi-finals.
Following this up with the albums Free
(1999), Yoter VeYoter (2001), HaHalom HaEfshari (2002) and Hakol Ze Letova
(2008), in 2011 she once more represented Israel in Eurovision, this time with the song "Ding Dong
", although failed to make it into the final. That same year she also became a judge on the Israeli television music talent contest Kokhav Nolad
.
Dana International has been credited with being one of the world's best known transsexuals. In 2005, a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to list those perceived as the 200 Greatest Israelis saw Dana voted the 47th-greatest Israeli of all time.
to a Jewish family of Yemen
ite and Romania
n descent. In an interview, she said her grandfather originated from Transylvania
(Romania
). Her paternal grandparents lived in Petah Tikva
. She was the youngest of three children, and was named after an uncle who had been killed during a terrorist attack.
Though born biologically male, she identified as a female from a very young age. She wanted to become a singer since the age of eight, when she watched legendary Israeli singer Ofra Haza
perform her song "Chai" in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest
. Although the family was quite poor, her mother worked to pay for her music lessons, and she claims that her childhood was happy. She came out
as transsexual at the age of 13.
The first tragedy in Dana International's life was the death of her best friend Daniel, who died in a car accident. She asserts that Daniel had prophesied that she would someday have a successful singing career, and claims that Daniel's prediction is what pushed her to become the singer she wanted to be. The stage name she adopted, Dana or Danna, is the feminine version of Daniel's abbreviated name, Dan or Danny.
parodying many famous female singers. During one of her performances, she was discovered by Offer Nissim
, a well-known Israeli DJ, who produced her debut single "Saida Sultana" ("My Name is Not Saida"), a satirical version of Whitney Houston
's song "My Name Is Not Susan
". The song received considerable exposure and helped launch her career as a professional singer.
In 1993, International flew to London for male-to-female sex reassignment surgery
and legally changed her name to Sharon Cohen. Returning home with her new name, that same year Cohen released her first album, entitled Danna International
in Israel. Soon after, the album was also released in several other countries including Greece, Jordan
, and Egypt
. Sharon's stage name
Dana International comes from the title track of the album, and was originally spelled with two n:s. Danna International soon became a gold record in Israel.
-influenced album Umpatampa
, which built on the success of her debut and provided further hit singles. The album went platinum in Israel and has sold more than 50,000 copies to date. Because of her popularity and the success of this album, she won the award for Best Female Artist of the Year in Israel.
. She entered the Eurovision qualifying contest in Israel with a song entitled "Layla Tov, Eropa" ("Good Night Europe") which finished second in the pre-selections, but became another hit single.
In late 1995, Dana released an E.P. called E.P. Tampa
with three new songs and four remixes and special versions of her earlier songs.
. Although this album was less successful than her previous efforts, it still reached gold record sales in Israel and included the hits "Don Quixote," "Waving," and the club smash "Cinque Milla." In 1997, Dana collaborated with the Israeli artist Eran Zur on his album Ata Havera Sheli, and together they sang the duet "Shir Kdam-Shnati (Sex Acher)" ("Pre-Bed Song (A Different Kind of Sex)") which became a huge hit.
in Birmingham
with the song "Diva
". Orthodox Jews
and others with conservative views were opposed to her appointment and attempted to void her participation in the contest. However, in May 1998, Dana performed "Diva" at the Eurovision final and won the contest with 172 points. She became an international superstar, and was interviewed by CNN
, BBC
, Sky News
, and MTV
among others mostly focusing on her life as a transsexual person before winning the contest. Dana's own words "the message of reconciliation" were; "My victory proves God
is on my side. I want to send my critics a message of forgiveness and say to them: try to accept me and the kind of life I lead. I am what I am and this does not mean I don't believe in God, and I am part of the Jewish Nation."
Dana released "Diva" as a single in Europe and it became a hit, reaching number 11 in the UK charts and the top ten in Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
cover, but it was not the hit that "Diva" had been. In May 1999, Dana again participated in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Jerusalem. Dana was a part of the interval act and sang the Stevie Wonder
song "Free". She also presented the award to the winners of the contest but accidentally managed to steal their thunder. Whilst she was carrying the heavy trophy, one of the composers of the winning Swedish entry by mistake stepped on the long trail of her dress and she fell over on stage – in front of a television audience estimated be to one billion or more, arguably making it one of the most memorable moments in the 50-year-long history of the contest.
She released her next album Free
in Europe in 1999, which enjoyed moderate success. A few months later Cohen moved back to Israel and started to work on different projects. Israeli and Japanese editions of Free were released in 2000. That same year, an Israeli documentary film was made about Cohen called Lady D.
In 2001, after a break, Cohen released her seventh album Yoter Ve Yoter
(More and More). The album put her career in Israel back on track and provided two hits called "I Won" and "After All", which eventually both went gold.
, after "Diva" was selected as one of fourteen songs considered to be the best Eurovision songs. The song did however not make it into the final top five, but Dana got the chance to perform both "Diva" and an old Eurovision favourite of hers; Baccara
's 1978 entry "Parlez-Vous Francais?
". She also recorded the song "Lola" (sung in French), to which she released a video. This video can be found on the CD Hakol Ze Letova, released in 2007 as a bonus CD-rom video.
In 2005, Dana was voted the 47th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
. The following album, also titled Hakol Ze Letova, was released on August 15, 2007. "At Muhana" was the third single and "Seret Hodi" (feat. Idan Yaniv
) the fourth to be released from the album, which became a bestseller in many online stores. The next single released from the album was "Yom Huledet".
On February 26, 2008, Dana gained an additional achievement when the song "Ke'ilu Kan" written and composed by her and performed by Boaz Mauda, was chosen on Kdam Eurovision to represent Israel at Eurovision Song Contest 2008
in Belgrade
, Serbia
. It came 5th in the semi-final and gained 9th place in the final rank.
Currently, Dana International is in the studio putting the finishing touches on her next album. Dana has also recorded a song called "Mifrats Ha Ahava" ("The Love Bay") for an Israeli version of the TV-show "Paradise Hotel". She recently collaborated with the Ukrainian duo NeAngely (Not Angels). They recorded the song "I Need Your Love" together and released a video. In 2009 Dana starred in a mock reality show called Dana Kama/Nama for cellphone provider Cellcom
Dana campaigned for Kadima
chairwoman Tzipi Livni
shortly before 2009 legislative elections in Israel
. At a women's political rally in Jerusalem Dana performed a bouncy disco song right beside Livni onstage. Dana announced, "I now formally invite you to the diva sisterhood."
In April 2009 Dana performed in the opening concert of Tel Aviv-Yafo Centennial Year. She performed the song "Lo nirdemet Tel Aviv" (Tel Aviv doesn't fall asleep) in front of 250,000 people.
.
On May 18, 2009, Dana International shut down her current website in hopes of launching her new website promoting her new album.
Also in 2009, Dana International joined the 7th season of "Kokhav Nolad
" (the Israeli version of American Idol
) as a judge and joined the 8th one as well in 2010.
Dana made a guest appearance, as herself, in an episode of the second series of UK sitcom Beautiful People
, which was set around her Eurovision appearance. She is currently working on her next studio album, which is due to be released later in 2011.
Early in February, it was announced by IBA that Dana was preparing for a comeback in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
in Germany with the self-penned song Ding Dong
and would compete in the Israeli National Final for 2011. On March 8 Dana International won the final and represented Israel at Eurovision for a second time. However, she did not make it into the final.
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
: דנה אינטרנשיונל, born Yaron Cohen, February 2, 1972) is an Israeli pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer of Yemenite Jewish
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
ancestry. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s, positioning herself as one of Israel's most successful musical acts ever. She is most famous for having won the Eurovision Song Contest 1998
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
with the song "Diva
Diva (song)
"Diva" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 performed in Hebrew by Dana International representing Israel. The music was composed by Tzvika Pick, and the lyrics by Yoav Ginai. It totalled 172 points in the polling.The song became the last entry entirely in a language other than...
".
Born biologically male, Dana discovered that she was a transsexual at an early age, coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
when she was 13. Undergoing sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
in 1993, it was that year that she released her first album, Danna International
Danna International (Offer Nissim Presents)
Danna International is the first album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1993. In her early days it was common to see her first name spelt "Danna". The album's catalogue number is IMP Dance 1993 - IMP 2004, although quite a few copies of the album misprint the catalogue number as...
, upon which she based her stage name. Consolidating her initial commercial success with the albums Umpatampa
Umpatampa
Umpatampa is the second studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released on the IMP Dance label in 1994 with the catalogue number is IMP 2012-2. There are four slightly different editions of this album, all confusingly with the same catalogue number...
(1994) and Maganuna
Maganuna
Maganuna is the third studio album to by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1996 on the Helicon/Big Foot label, with the catalogue number HL 8143. There are three editions of the Maganuna album:...
(1996), in 1998 she was selected to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Diva"; subsequently winning the international competition, Dana came to public attention throughout Europe. She would come back to Eurovision in 2011, but lost out in the semi-finals.
Following this up with the albums Free
Free (Dana International album)
Free is the fifth studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1999, the year after she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Diva"; it includes an alternative version of the track...
(1999), Yoter VeYoter (2001), HaHalom HaEfshari (2002) and Hakol Ze Letova
Hakol Ze Letova
Hakol Ze Letova is the eighth and latest studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released on August 15, 2007, by Hed Arzi label with the catalogue number 64726.-Album information:...
(2008), in 2011 she once more represented Israel in Eurovision, this time with the song "Ding Dong
Ding Dong (Dana International song)
"Ding Dong" is a pop song written and performed by Israeli singer Dana International. It won the Israeli Kdam Eurovision on March 8, 2011, represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany...
", although failed to make it into the final. That same year she also became a judge on the Israeli television music talent contest Kokhav Nolad
Kokhav Nolad
Kokhav Nolad is an Israeli reality television show searching for talented new vocalists based on the British Pop Idol and American Idol model. Since its debut on Israeli Channel 2 in 2003, Kokhav Nolad has achieved great popularity and turned out many new musical stars...
.
Dana International has been credited with being one of the world's best known transsexuals. In 2005, a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to list those perceived as the 200 Greatest Israelis saw Dana voted the 47th-greatest Israeli of all time.
Early life
Sharon Cohen was born Yaron Cohen in Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
to a Jewish family of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
ite and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n descent. In an interview, she said her grandfather originated from Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
(Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
). Her paternal grandparents lived in Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
. She was the youngest of three children, and was named after an uncle who had been killed during a terrorist attack.
Though born biologically male, she identified as a female from a very young age. She wanted to become a singer since the age of eight, when she watched legendary Israeli singer Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza was an Israeli singer of Yemeni origin, an actress and international recording artist....
perform her song "Chai" in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. Although the family was quite poor, her mother worked to pay for her music lessons, and she claims that her childhood was happy. She came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as transsexual at the age of 13.
The first tragedy in Dana International's life was the death of her best friend Daniel, who died in a car accident. She asserts that Daniel had prophesied that she would someday have a successful singing career, and claims that Daniel's prediction is what pushed her to become the singer she wanted to be. The stage name she adopted, Dana or Danna, is the feminine version of Daniel's abbreviated name, Dan or Danny.
1990–93: Dana International
At 18 years of age, International (still legally male) earned a living as Israel's first drag queenDrag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
parodying many famous female singers. During one of her performances, she was discovered by Offer Nissim
Offer Nissim
Offer Nissim is a popular Israeli DJ and producer. He was born in 1964 in Tel Aviv, Israel.Nissim produces house music in mostly tribal, hard and progressive styles, including exclusive tracks featuring female vocalists and Meital De Razon...
, a well-known Israeli DJ, who produced her debut single "Saida Sultana" ("My Name is Not Saida"), a satirical version of Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
's song "My Name Is Not Susan
My Name Is Not Susan
"My Name Is Not Susan" was the fourth single released from Whitney Houston's third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight. The song was produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface and written by Eric Foster White...
". The song received considerable exposure and helped launch her career as a professional singer.
In 1993, International flew to London for male-to-female sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery
Sex reassignment surgery is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble...
and legally changed her name to Sharon Cohen. Returning home with her new name, that same year Cohen released her first album, entitled Danna International
Danna International (Offer Nissim Presents)
Danna International is the first album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1993. In her early days it was common to see her first name spelt "Danna". The album's catalogue number is IMP Dance 1993 - IMP 2004, although quite a few copies of the album misprint the catalogue number as...
in Israel. Soon after, the album was also released in several other countries including Greece, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Sharon's stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Dana International comes from the title track of the album, and was originally spelled with two n:s. Danna International soon became a gold record in Israel.
1994: Umpatampa and Best Female Artist
In 1994 Dana released her second, TranceTrance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
-influenced album Umpatampa
Umpatampa
Umpatampa is the second studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released on the IMP Dance label in 1994 with the catalogue number is IMP 2012-2. There are four slightly different editions of this album, all confusingly with the same catalogue number...
, which built on the success of her debut and provided further hit singles. The album went platinum in Israel and has sold more than 50,000 copies to date. Because of her popularity and the success of this album, she won the award for Best Female Artist of the Year in Israel.
1995: Eurovision song contest
In 1995, Dana attempted to fulfill her childhood dream of performing in the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. She entered the Eurovision qualifying contest in Israel with a song entitled "Layla Tov, Eropa" ("Good Night Europe") which finished second in the pre-selections, but became another hit single.
In late 1995, Dana released an E.P. called E.P. Tampa
E.P.Tampa (Offer Nissim Featuring)
E.P. Tampa is the third studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released on the IMP Dance label in 1995. The album is considered to be more of a mini-album as it has just seven tracks. E.P...
with three new songs and four remixes and special versions of her earlier songs.
1996–97: Consolidating popularity
In 1996, Dana released her third album, MaganunaMaganuna
Maganuna is the third studio album to by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1996 on the Helicon/Big Foot label, with the catalogue number HL 8143. There are three editions of the Maganuna album:...
. Although this album was less successful than her previous efforts, it still reached gold record sales in Israel and included the hits "Don Quixote," "Waving," and the club smash "Cinque Milla." In 1997, Dana collaborated with the Israeli artist Eran Zur on his album Ata Havera Sheli, and together they sang the duet "Shir Kdam-Shnati (Sex Acher)" ("Pre-Bed Song (A Different Kind of Sex)") which became a huge hit.
1998: Diva and mainstream spotlight
Dana was chosen to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998Eurovision Song Contest 1998
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
with the song "Diva
Diva (song)
"Diva" was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 performed in Hebrew by Dana International representing Israel. The music was composed by Tzvika Pick, and the lyrics by Yoav Ginai. It totalled 172 points in the polling.The song became the last entry entirely in a language other than...
". Orthodox Jews
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
and others with conservative views were opposed to her appointment and attempted to void her participation in the contest. However, in May 1998, Dana performed "Diva" at the Eurovision final and won the contest with 172 points. She became an international superstar, and was interviewed by CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
, and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
among others mostly focusing on her life as a transsexual person before winning the contest. Dana's own words "the message of reconciliation" were; "My victory proves God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
is on my side. I want to send my critics a message of forgiveness and say to them: try to accept me and the kind of life I lead. I am what I am and this does not mean I don't believe in God, and I am part of the Jewish Nation."
Dana released "Diva" as a single in Europe and it became a hit, reaching number 11 in the UK charts and the top ten in Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
1999–2001: Stage falling, Streisand cover and new albums
In 1999, Dana released Woman In Love, a Barbra StreisandBarbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
cover, but it was not the hit that "Diva" had been. In May 1999, Dana again participated in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Jerusalem. Dana was a part of the interval act and sang the Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
song "Free". She also presented the award to the winners of the contest but accidentally managed to steal their thunder. Whilst she was carrying the heavy trophy, one of the composers of the winning Swedish entry by mistake stepped on the long trail of her dress and she fell over on stage – in front of a television audience estimated be to one billion or more, arguably making it one of the most memorable moments in the 50-year-long history of the contest.
She released her next album Free
Free (Dana International album)
Free is the fifth studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1999, the year after she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Diva"; it includes an alternative version of the track...
in Europe in 1999, which enjoyed moderate success. A few months later Cohen moved back to Israel and started to work on different projects. Israeli and Japanese editions of Free were released in 2000. That same year, an Israeli documentary film was made about Cohen called Lady D.
In 2001, after a break, Cohen released her seventh album Yoter Ve Yoter
Yoter Ve Yoter
Yoter Ve Yoter is the sixth studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 2001 on the NMC Music label with the catalogue number NMC 20569 2....
(More and More). The album put her career in Israel back on track and provided two hits called "I Won" and "After All", which eventually both went gold.
2002–06: Fading from the scene and Sony incident
Dana was about to sign with major Sony/BMG for an international recording contract, but something went wrong in negotiations. These were disagreements that led to Sony canceling the deal before it was completed. In 2002, she released another album, HaHalom HaEfshari (The Possible Dream), which was a minor chart success. In 2003, she released an exclusive 8 CD box set, containing all singles from The Possible Dream and also a new house version of the hit single "Cinque Milla", titled A.lo.ra.lo.la. A few years later, in 2005, Dana participated in the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision song contest, held in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, after "Diva" was selected as one of fourteen songs considered to be the best Eurovision songs. The song did however not make it into the final top five, but Dana got the chance to perform both "Diva" and an old Eurovision favourite of hers; Baccara
Baccara
Baccara was a female vocal duo formed in 1977 by Spanish artists Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola . The pair rapidly achieved international success with their debut single "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie", which reached number one across much of Europe...
's 1978 entry "Parlez-Vous Francais?
Parlez-Vous Français?
"Parlez-vous français?" was the Luxembourgish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in French by Spanish disco duo Baccara...
". She also recorded the song "Lola" (sung in French), to which she released a video. This video can be found on the CD Hakol Ze Letova, released in 2007 as a bonus CD-rom video.
In 2005, Dana was voted the 47th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.
2007–today: Return to music and Eurovision comeback
After a few years away from show business, together with the relaunch of her official website, a first single of the upcoming album was released in March 2007: "Hakol Ze Letova" ("It's All For the Best"). The second single to be released from the album, "Love Boy", became the most played song on Israeli radio in a decade. It also gained a respectable place on the airplay of the Greek radio station FLY FM 89,7FLY FM 89,7
FLY FM 89,7 is a radio station based in Laconia, Greece.It launched in October 1991 with the motto It happens now - u hear it on FLY FM 89,7!...
. The following album, also titled Hakol Ze Letova, was released on August 15, 2007. "At Muhana" was the third single and "Seret Hodi" (feat. Idan Yaniv
Idan Yaniv
Idan Yaniv is an Israeli singer born in Tel Aviv to Bukharan Jewish parents. He has successfully recorded two albums with many popular singles from both albums. His debut single was "Hoshev Aleya" and it was a hit that generated a lot of attention in Israel and in other Jewish communities in the...
) the fourth to be released from the album, which became a bestseller in many online stores. The next single released from the album was "Yom Huledet".
On February 26, 2008, Dana gained an additional achievement when the song "Ke'ilu Kan" written and composed by her and performed by Boaz Mauda, was chosen on Kdam Eurovision to represent Israel at Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Eurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...
in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. It came 5th in the semi-final and gained 9th place in the final rank.
Currently, Dana International is in the studio putting the finishing touches on her next album. Dana has also recorded a song called "Mifrats Ha Ahava" ("The Love Bay") for an Israeli version of the TV-show "Paradise Hotel". She recently collaborated with the Ukrainian duo NeAngely (Not Angels). They recorded the song "I Need Your Love" together and released a video. In 2009 Dana starred in a mock reality show called Dana Kama/Nama for cellphone provider Cellcom
Cellcom (Israel)
Cellcom is a major Israeli telecommunications company. Founded in 1994, most of the company's business is centered around wireless service...
Dana campaigned for Kadima
Kadima
Kadima is a centrist and liberal political party in Israel. It was established on 24 November 2005 by moderates from Likud largely to support the issue of Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, and was soon joined by like-minded Labor politicians...
chairwoman Tzipi Livni
Tzipi Livni
Tzipporah Malkah "Tzipi" Livni is an Israeli lawyer and politician. She is the current Israeli Opposition Leader and leader of Kadima, the largest party in the Knesset. Raised an ardent nationalist, Livni has become one of her nation's leading voices for the two-state solution. In Israel she has...
shortly before 2009 legislative elections in Israel
Israeli legislative election, 2009
Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government...
. At a women's political rally in Jerusalem Dana performed a bouncy disco song right beside Livni onstage. Dana announced, "I now formally invite you to the diva sisterhood."
In April 2009 Dana performed in the opening concert of Tel Aviv-Yafo Centennial Year. She performed the song "Lo nirdemet Tel Aviv" (Tel Aviv doesn't fall asleep) in front of 250,000 people.
.
On May 18, 2009, Dana International shut down her current website in hopes of launching her new website promoting her new album.
Also in 2009, Dana International joined the 7th season of "Kokhav Nolad
Kokhav Nolad
Kokhav Nolad is an Israeli reality television show searching for talented new vocalists based on the British Pop Idol and American Idol model. Since its debut on Israeli Channel 2 in 2003, Kokhav Nolad has achieved great popularity and turned out many new musical stars...
" (the Israeli version of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
) as a judge and joined the 8th one as well in 2010.
Dana made a guest appearance, as herself, in an episode of the second series of UK sitcom Beautiful People
Beautiful People (UK TV series)
Beautiful People is a British comedy drama television series based on the memoirs of Barneys creative director Simon Doonan. The series takes place in Reading, Berkshire in 1997, where thirteen-year-old Simon Doonan and his best friend Kylie dream of escaping their dreary suburban surroundings and...
, which was set around her Eurovision appearance. She is currently working on her next studio album, which is due to be released later in 2011.
Early in February, it was announced by IBA that Dana was preparing for a comeback in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
Eurovision Song Contest 2011
The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th annual Eurovision Song Contest and was won by Eldar & Nigar performing "Running Scared" for Azerbaijan. The event took place in the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany, following Germany's win in the previous year...
in Germany with the self-penned song Ding Dong
Ding Dong (Dana International song)
"Ding Dong" is a pop song written and performed by Israeli singer Dana International. It won the Israeli Kdam Eurovision on March 8, 2011, represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany...
and would compete in the Israeli National Final for 2011. On March 8 Dana International won the final and represented Israel at Eurovision for a second time. However, she did not make it into the final.
Discography
- 1993 Danna International (Offer Nissim Presents)Danna International (Offer Nissim Presents)Danna International is the first album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1993. In her early days it was common to see her first name spelt "Danna". The album's catalogue number is IMP Dance 1993 - IMP 2004, although quite a few copies of the album misprint the catalogue number as...
, IMP Dance - 1994 UmpatampaUmpatampaUmpatampa is the second studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released on the IMP Dance label in 1994 with the catalogue number is IMP 2012-2. There are four slightly different editions of this album, all confusingly with the same catalogue number...
, IMP Dance - 1995 E.P.Tampa (Offer Nissim Featuring)E.P.Tampa (Offer Nissim Featuring)E.P. Tampa is the third studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released on the IMP Dance label in 1995. The album is considered to be more of a mini-album as it has just seven tracks. E.P...
, IMP Dance - 1996 MaganunaMaganunaMaganuna is the third studio album to by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1996 on the Helicon/Big Foot label, with the catalogue number HL 8143. There are three editions of the Maganuna album:...
(Crazy), Helicon/Big Foot - 1998 Diva - The HitsDiva - The HitsDiva – The Hits is a greatest hits album by Israeli singer Dana International, released on the IMP Dance label in 1998 with the catalogue number IMP 2048...
, IMP Dance - 1998 Dana International The AlbumDana International The AlbumDana International – The Album is a compilation album of recordings by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1998.This is basically a compilation album of early recordings by Dana International with a few new tracks for international release...
, Helicon/Big Foot/PolyGram - 1999 FreeFree (Dana International album)Free is the fifth studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1999, the year after she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Diva"; it includes an alternative version of the track...
, (European edition), CNR Music - 2000 FreeFree (Dana International album)Free is the fifth studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1999, the year after she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Diva"; it includes an alternative version of the track...
, (Israeli edition), NMC - 2000 FreeFree (Dana International album)Free is the fifth studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 1999, the year after she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Diva"; it includes an alternative version of the track...
, (Japanese edition), NXCA - 2001 Yoter Ve YoterYoter Ve YoterYoter Ve Yoter is the sixth studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released in 2001 on the NMC Music label with the catalogue number NMC 20569 2....
(More and more), NMC - 2002 HaHalom HaEfshari (The possible dream), IMP Dance
- 2003 The CDs collection, IMP Dance
- 2007 Hakol Ze LetovaHakol Ze LetovaHakol Ze Letova is the eighth and latest studio album by Israeli singer Dana International, released on August 15, 2007, by Hed Arzi label with the catalogue number 64726.-Album information:...
(It's all for the best), Hed Arzi Ltd. - 2011 Ding DongDing Dong (Dana International song)"Ding Dong" is a pop song written and performed by Israeli singer Dana International. It won the Israeli Kdam Eurovision on March 8, 2011, represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany...