Eurovision star Neta on her new single “I Love My Nails” and why she ended up in “Nail Art Prison”

In the United States, located outside the official Eurovision Song Contest, some people met Israeli singer-songwriter Neta just by watching Will Ferrell and Rachel Macadams’ luxury film. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of the Fire Saga. In the 2020 film, Neta, who won the 2018 International Song Contest with her song “Toy,” appeared on stage at the castle party, along with other Eurovision de facto winners. He steals the moment, gets out of the car, and sings the Black Eyed Peas song “I Gotta Feeling,” which is an instantly riveting mix of flirtation and disappointment.

Neta, 29, known for her fun lyrics, wacky pop personality and over-the-top fashion, kicked off 2022 with the release of her new single “I Love My Nails” (S-Curve/Hollywood Records). Outwardly, the song sounds like nail art, but the Tel Aviv singer calls it a celebration of his own love.

“Something happened this year. My heart breaks as the most common way when people reject other people. I can’t even hate her because I don’t like her because not everyone is supposed to love you. I became so little of a very, very confident girl. So I thought ‘I love my nails’ is a good way of saying ‘I love my head,’” said Neta, who grew up in Nigeria and Israel and was born Netta Barzilai.

“There’s something very, very therapeutic about showing up, even in the smallest of things, like getting your nails done,” she continues. Doing nails, doing long nails takes time and dedication. And I love her every second.”

Neta, known for her work with a loop device (a portable machine that records your voice and lets you turn it back on), spoke further. hollywood reporter On how the music business started, why he was put in a “nail art prison” and how he grew up for four years in Nigeria and then returned to Israel.

It will be on display at Chicago Pride (June 18) and New York Pride (June 25-26), Philadelphia on June 22 and Washington on June 23.

What kind of nail art are you doing right now?

That sounds like a terrible truth. I made a music video like a week ago and I needed a lot of nail art. [for it] And the machines you use to clean your nail polish, they really damage the nail if you use them too much. So now I spend my time in jail. I exaggerated.

Who are the celebrities whose nail game you admire or follow?

Rosalía always has the craziest artworks on her fingers. He’s wearing something that looks like glass drops. And I liked the interview where someone I think is Elena [DeGeneres] He asked Cardi B, “So your nails, how do you deal with them?” And he said, “I know what you’re thinking. If I can wipe my ass then I can do it. Your nails are always amazing.”

Do you have a nail artist?

I love nail artists. I love the creation process. My nail artist is a really nice person named Ben Meyer. And he really took the song so seriously that he painted the lyrics on his arm.

You start the music video for “I Love My Nails” by using your nails to make sounds. How did this happen?

I play with my nails. They will make a great sound. When I started, I realized that this sound was being made and I was looking. And the minute I uploaded the video, people were blown away by what Dolly Parton did 40 years ago. He lent his voice in the song “Nine to Five”. you will never be the first [to do something]It doesn’t matter what you do.

How much do you remember the song?

I hate to tell myself, but it’s been as long as I can remember. I grew up in Nigeria [for four years] That celebrated all the cultures of the students who went there. It was an international school. In class I had a girl from Japan and two boys from Nigeria and a girl from Australia and a girl from Mexico. They all had a focus, so none of them had a focus. And they taught us a lot about where people and their music come from. My mom used to take us every week to see African gospel and it became my musical bed growing up. And when I came back to Israel, I was seven years old, I was in first grade, and a 40-year-old kid in the class told me I was a fat, skinny kid with an accent.

How difficult was it for you?

When kids pick up a tag, it sticks and is difficult to remove. My mother was very distraught as a mother, seeing her children come home from school crying and thinking about how to make me happy. And a good tip for parents is to take your child out of school to places that make him strong and feel good. And my mother sent me to a team. When I came back from there, it was the first smile my mother had when we got back from Nigeria.

What happened when he grew up?

My brother played drums and is one of the most successful drummers in Israel today. I learned bitbox from him. So when I finished high school, I joined the army because we all had to go home to serve in Israel. I was in an army band and we were singers on navy warships. It was the best acting school because soldiers are usually sent away. So you really have to fight for good care. It was challenging, humiliating and surprising. After that, I moved to Tel Aviv and started working at a bar where I sell tickets to current shows there. And there was this open mic stand. Nobody sang. Then I drank beer like you and I got up and sang for three minutes with a lot of improvisation. And the public liked it. The next week they asked me to come and I started doing this drinking thing and going on stage and doing some kind of cabaret, so I don’t understand what I’m doing. I was 21 years old. I ate potatoes from the people’s table. I sang to them I caught a trap and walked to the bar. People heard what was happening in this bar. And the line was half a block long. I didn’t earn a living, but I had time in my life.

What happened after working at the bar?

my music director [Avshalom Ariel] I discovered. He was looking for singers for the play he wrote. There was a character in the play who was a singer and he had to be very, very aggressive. Find and find and find my drunk video of someone yelling at a guy to run away from a bar. I was, I was really screaming. He said, “Okay.” And he started training me and working with me.

So in 2017, you auditioned for the show. hakojav beans, which selects Israel to participate in Eurovision. How it was?

I was so scared because I was so quirky all my life and I never thought people in the mainstream would understand what I was doing, especially when it came to luping. [machine]. It’s like a toy. And when I got to the audition, I brought six headphones because I wanted everyone to understand what I was doing. And when I got into the looper and sang the audition song, everyone looked at me, very, very surprised. The director even said: Well, you can win Eurovision. You really can win Eurovision. And I have to think about how to do this look.’ And I learned to play guitar like a guitar. It exploded on television. To work. And I don’t usually think or believe that good things can happen to me and it happened and it was one of the happiest moments.

How did the Eurovision single “Toy” come about?

I had a song written by someone who is the biggest hitmaker here in Israel. He wrote “Toy” with a very talented producer. And as a songwriter, I didn’t want the song written for me. So I wrote “Bassa Sababa”, which was my second single. We present the two compromised songs and [they chose] ‘Toy’. And when the song came out, I realized I was part of something bigger than myself. And I realized that I’m doing what I’m doing and being left with it is shocking. And I don’t know if it’s another song. Back then it was a campaign, a campaign for power. It wasn’t my dream, but it was more than I imagined.

What are some ways to stay afloat during a creative pandemic?

I created through the screen, I acted through the screen, I met my fans through the screen. It was very depressing, but a lot of things happened. I started a YouTube series called Net OfficeThat every week I would sit in my office with my looping devices and get suggestions from my fans to improvise and maybe [do] The covers they want me to be in. And it turned into a mini-album of covers, called Net Office.

How would you describe yourself as an artist?

Where would you put me? What genre? In what space? I’m half drag queen, half Powerpuff Girl and half Jacob Collier.