Shlomo Artzi

Shlomo Artzi (Hebrew: שלמה ארצי‎) is an Israeli folk rock singer-songwriter and composer. He was born on November 26, 1949 in Moshav Alonei Abba. In the course of his career, he has sold over 1.5 million albums, making him one of Israel's most successful male singers.

Artzi's parents were Holocaust survivors and their memories deeply influenced him and his sister Naava Semel, a playwright. His father, Yitzhak Artzi was a member of the Knesset. When Artzi was 8 years old, his family moved to northern Tel Aviv. Artzi's schoolmates thought he would become an actor, not a musician, as he was known for his acting skills at primary school. However, at the age of 12 he started playing the guitar and singing in a boy scouts group and at friends' parties. At age 16, he began writing and composing songs.

In 1996 he released an album called Shnayim (Two), which has sold 160,000 copies (4x platinum). The most notable songs in this CD were the title track, sung with Israeli singer Rita, "Menagev Lach Et Hadmaot" (Wiping Your Tears) and "Ze Ma Shenish'ar" (That's All That Is Left). Containing his best love songs, Artzi released Ahavtihem (I Have Loved Them) four years later. His album Tzima'on (Thirst), which was released in 2002, sold 150,000 and is one of Israel's bestsellers.
At the end of 2006 Shlomo Artzi announced his new album Shfuim, to be released in the spring of 2007. A new single from this album, "HaAmiti", became available during the first days of January, 2007.
In 2007, the most anticipated album in the Israel's music industry was Artzi's next album "Shfuim" (Sane). The album came out in July, with an already hit single "HaAmiti" (The Real) and the new hit single "Island" (Iceland). Featuring a collaboration with the Israeli rapper Mook E. of Shabak Samech fame, the album became a hit selling over 150,000 copies and another hit single "Nitzmadnu" (We Got Closer).