Shiri Maimon (or Maymon, ; born ) is an Israeli pop/R&B singer, TV show host and actress, who rose to fame as the runner-up in the TV show Kokhav Nolad. She represented her native Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, where she came 4th.
In 2008 Maimon won Best Israeli Act and performed in the MTV Europe Music Awards, where she was also nominated for Europe's Favorite Act. In June 2013 Maimon became one of the judges for the first season of The X Factor Israel. She continued her role for the second and third seasons. In 2018 it was revealed that Maimon would leave the show in favor of the rival network show, Rising Star Israel.
In 2018 Maimon started starring in the Broadway show Chicago in the role of Roxie Hart. As of 2023, she is yet to release another album.
Early life and career
1981–2002: Early life
Maimon was born in the city of Haifa, Israel; and raised in the neighborhood of Kiryat Haim. Her Israeli family is of both Mizrahi Jewish and Sephardi Jewish (Algerian-Jewish, Syrian-Jewish, and Greek-Jewish) descent. Her parents are Mazal and Natan Maimon, and she has an older brother named Rami, an older sister named Livnat, and a younger brother named Asaf. In Hebrew, her first name could mean either "sing" (in imperative mood) or "my song".
Maimon made her debut at the age of ten, when she performed at the Festigal as one of the Festival's children, and sang the song "BeChol Matzav" (In Any Way) by Si Heiman. At the age of 12, she joined a children's music band called "Tehila". Maimon was also a presenter on the community channel for several times. In high school, she was a member of the band of one of the national youth organizations (HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed) in her hometown.
After graduating high school, Maimon was enlisted as a soldier into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), where she sang with the Israeli Air Force Band (as well as first met director Tzvika Hadar, who later became the host of the reality show Kokhav Nolad).
In 2001, she was featured on a music video by the band Teapacks called "Ilu Hait" (If You Were). Later, she worked a year and a half as a singer, dancer, and bartender, at a nightclub in the southmost Israeli city of Eilat. She enrolled in Beit Zvi school of the Performing Arts, but left a short time after when she found out that she passed the auditions to the reality show Kokhav Nolad.
2003–2004: Breakthrough on Kokhav Nolad
In 2003 Maimon signed up for the auditions of the first season of the then-new singing talent show Kokhav Nolad (Tzvika Hadar, the host of the show and one of the judges during the auditions stage, removed himself from judging her audition due to their previous acquaintance). She passed the auditions and made it to the show team. In the head-to-head stage of the show, Maimon sang "Atuf BeRahamim" (Covered With Mercy) by Rita, and passed to the semi-finals. Maimon participated in the first semi-final, where she sang "Kshe’at Atzuva" (When You're Sad) by Amir Benayoun, and won the first place, which secured her participation in the final. In the big final, that took place at the music festival at the Nitzanim Beach, Maimon sang "Don Quixote" from the Maganuna album by Dana International and finished in the second place, receiving more than 400,000 votes.
The show gained much popularity among the Israeli audience, and many of the performances of the show, including Maimon's, were played intensively on the radio. The three finalists, Maimon included, gained publicity and a massive coverage in the press, which resulted in their breakthrough the mainstream Israeli music industry.
In December 2003, while working on her debut album, Maimon joined one of the most popular daily youth TV program in Israel, EXIT as a host. She was one of the main presenters cast, until her resigning from the show in October 2005.
In 2004, Maimon recorded a duet with Ran Danker, "Kama Koakh Yesh LeLev Shavur" (How Much Power Does a Broken Heart Have; the Hebrew version of "La fuerza corazón") as part of the soundtrack of the Hebrew version of the movie El Cid: The Legend.
In the same year, Maimon collaborated with Shlomi Shabat, when they performed together on one of his shows in Caesarea, singing one of his songs as a duet, "Bechol Makom" (Anywhere). The live performance was played on the radio, and was released on several of Shabat's CDs and DVDs.
In November 2004 Maimon released her first single, "Ad SheTavin Oti" (Until You'll Understand Me), while working on her debut album. The single gained average success in the radio charts.
In December 2004 she participated in the original Israeli children's musical theatre Mamma Mia.