Miri concludes: "It took me 20 years to say about myself that I am a musician"

The offer she received to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest ("I refused because I was scared"), Omar Adam's cockade storm ("If anything, it's a sexier song than anti-Russians") and the Asi Ezer affair and the harassment ("You have to be careful about beheading"): Miri Mesika arrived for an interview and a song at the Walla !.

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Nir Yahav

13/01/2022

Thursday, 13 January 2022, 21:29 Updated: 21:36

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Miri Mesika's songs have been part of the Israeli soundtrack for almost twenty years.

She is now returning 15 years to one of the most important stations of her career - her second album "Peace to the Faith" - in two special performances that will take place on January 20 (New Zappa Tel Aviv) and February 12 (Zappa in Ein Hefer) as part of the Zappa Golsater Sound-System Festival On the occasion of the show, Mesika came to the Walla! Studio for a special interview (watch it below) and also for the performance of two hits from the album - "Mami" and "Come Back" (watch the performance later in the article).

More on Walla!

"X Factor" contestant: "Because of my voice I was abused as a child, thrown in the trash, beaten. For years I did not take a rudder"

To the full article

The full interview with Miri Mesika

Interview with Miri Mesika at the Walla Studio (Still Photography: Reuven Castro, Director: Nitai Barry, Sound: Ilan Levy, Lighting: Yossi Adiges, Production: Hagit Barak and Shai Werker, Editing: Yardena Abodi-Fox)

Miri, this album was very successful and released a lot of hits. You came to it after the insane success of the debut album. Weren't you afraid to fail the second album test?

"I do not remember being afraid. I remember it was like inertia. Things just came to me and what came and I loved - we recorded. Everything was organic, I was not afraid at all. I was not afraid not to succeed on the first album. I had a lot of faith. I wish I was accurate today. Like then. I knew what I had and said to myself that I was not dependent on the radio. I thought I would just show up and convince the audience through my feet, and that from show to show they would know my songs. "I was very busy, I was also in the theater and the cinema, so it was like it was a defense mechanism."

"Eric does not allow me to find out, he claims that art is for everyone and that everyone will interpret it as he wants. I have been singing this song for 15 years and then you realize how well it is written, like a monologue. I always come to the same point to cry. I always I sang it from somewhere else to someone else, once I was the girl, once I was the mother. I came to music through the game, so I see in every song a monologue. "They put him in once a day and despite that he came in first place. I remember what a feeling of victory I felt then."

"Today I can say about myself that I am a musician," Mesika adds.

"Today I opened up. Once upon a time I really had no idea in music, only in telling a story. It took me twenty years to stop saying I was not a musician."

"Now you're back" - Miri concludes at Walla Studio:

Now you're back - Miri Mesika at Walla Studio (Director: Nitai Barry, Sound: Ilan Levy, Lighting: Yossi Adiges, Production: Hagit Barak and Shai Warker, Stills: Reuven Castro, Editing: Yardena Abodi-Fox)

"I performed this week in the theater in front of a half-empty hall because everyone is in isolation. If it lasts for a long time, you have to think about how to compensate the people in the cultural world for it. It is very difficult to live like this."

We meet at the height of the fifth wave, the omicron wave.

Half the country is sick and half the country is queuing.

Is this period stressing you financially, personally, healthily?

"Because I'm disconnected from everything, I'm not stressed out financially. Not because I'm inferior and I have money but because that's my character. I came from a not rich home and I never had economic or existential anxiety. It's something you are born with. I settle for little. Even if I have nothing tomorrow, then I'll work somewhere else, I'm eating an egg. It's okay, it's delicious to me and I do not need restaurants.

"But there is something disturbing in the current situation, because last time there was a closure and people received compensation. But now there is no closure but a lot of shows are canceled. Here, now I have a show canceled in Dimona. I said 'what fun' but my team is less happy because it's their money, This is their bread. And the thing is that the performances are not canceled because there is teaching but because people are in isolation and do not come. I performed this week in the theater in front of a half-empty hall because everyone is in isolation. So".

"I was not afraid of the corona because I am a healthy person. If I had a health background, I would be very, very worried. What I had was mostly difficult was the isolation. I have no problem having a fever, but let someone lay a hand on me, that I can hug my daughters. It drove me crazy. "

"Mami" - Miri concludes at Walla Studio

Mami, Miri Mesika at Walla Studio (Director: Nitai Barry, Sound: Ilan Levy, Lighting: Yossi Adiges, Stills: Reuven Castro, Production: Hagit Barak and Shai Werker, Editing: Yardena Abodi-Fox)

"I was offered to come to the Eurovision without even a competition, just to come, but I refused because I was afraid. I was afraid of it because I am not built for competitions. I knew that winning a competition did not depend only on me."

Very soon, you will select the Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest "X Factor for the Eurovision Song Contest". Do you feel the weight of responsibility?

"Yes, and also about the song. In the end, beyond the singer, it is always the song. It is very difficult to choose songs regardless of the Eurovision Song Contest, so surely one that they will fall in love with in three minutes."

"Magic and virtuosity. I mean, no matter what, the singer will withstand the pressure. It has to be someone with experience, who can contain this thing, because there can be someone who sings amazing in the studio but doesn't have enough experience and then in the show itself he crashes. "Mentally to appear in the Eurovision Song Contest. It represents the country. I refused it several times because I was afraid. I was offered to come without even competition, just to come."

"I was afraid of it because I'm not built for competitions. I knew that winning a competition was not just up to me. I'm a freak of control. If something's under my control, I win, but I knew it depended on so many factors: song, production, three minutes. "Scared me, today I'm better because I'm more professional, but I would have died if I had gone. Rita, for example, the greatest singer in Israel, did a Eurovision and crashed there. So if she crashed, then what can I say."

"First of all, the Eurovision makes it very relevant. It's actually a long pre-Eurovision in which singers are also found. Like Rita who was discovered in the pre-Eurovision. She did not win but it was a platform for her. So as a pre-Eurovision there is justification for that. "One of the reasons I'm always going to be a judge is because I want to sing on TV. You used to put out a song and you could appear on a lot of TV shows. Today if you're not a judge or a guest on a show like that, you have no platform."

It is very difficult to choose songs regardless of Eurovision Mesika (Photo: Reuven Castro)

"Before things get clear and there is a sentence, that the media is not in a hurry to decapitate. Find out first, reach the end of the matter, and then post 'this is what it was' but until that happened, I would not want to be in his place, until my name was cleared, I would feel wronged. By the way, Nahari is also convinced that he has been wronged

A week ago, actor Yehuda Nahari revealed that he was sexually harassed by Asi Ezer during a professional meeting at Ezer's home. Asi of course received a big hug from his famous friends. As someone who has worked with Asi in the past, do you think it would have happened if a woman had made such claims?

"I do not know. Usually most of the harassed are women, they are more vulnerable, there are more men in positions of power, so it is not possible to treat it the same. I think one should be very careful. I myself sin in it sometimes. I read something about Gal Ohovsky while I Thinking things, and then I went into details, and I said 'wow, that's not what I thought'. It's very easy to delete very quickly a human being. .

"There are a million subtleties. There are some who have told her that she is terribly beautiful, that she looks good after losing weight, and I no longer know what it is. I have very clear boundaries but I am strong. So I would be happy if people were educated not just to complain about anything, Blessed and brave, but also not to be afraid in the situation and just get out of it. If you can not get out of it, I will be the first to hurt myself. But sometimes there is a gray area that can get out of. In short, I just say ".

"Yeah, well. Wait a minute, find out first, get to the end of it, and then post 'this is what it was' but until that happened, I would not want to be in his place, until my name was cleared up, I would feel wronged. By the way, I'm sure that too. "Nahari in his perception is convinced that he too has been wronged. There is a lot of gray space here and they are all victims of this thing."

"I listened to the song. For me, if someone is offended by me, I first apologize. I know Omar and he is a very good person. Not that it clears him of responsibility of course. I heard the song and it sounds more sexist to me than a song against Russians. If there is any doubt that something It was said with humor, I will take this doubt. If there is any doubt that someone did not intend to harm me, I will forgive him and I will take this doubt. I will tell him 'I was hurt by you, do not do it again' but I will let him enjoy the doubt. Doubtful because it's like filling Omar Adam's songs. "

"I would just say 'whoever it hurt - I'm so sorry. I did not mean to hurt anyone. I thought it was funny, I'm sorry if it hurt anyone.' All this political correctness is a world that needs to understand the limit of sensitivity towards the other, understand humor, Satan's. Otherwise we'll be here America, everyone will be terribly polite to each other and then they'll shoot everyone in some school. Eric Berman also has the song 'My Last Sweets' which when you listen to it today it sounds very difficult. But the text does not stand on its own. "He came with Eric. Art is a place where you also show your alter-ego, that's fine."

More on Walla!

"Suddenly Asi Ezer pulled out the organ. 'Doesn't that excite you?', He asked. 'Try, what do you care?'"

To the full article

"That the media will not decapitate."

Mesika (Photo: Reuven Castro)

"I want to win the 'Song of the Year', that the songs will win every parade, that will be beyond all the parades, that will remain for years. The title 'Singer of the Year' is nonsense."

It's been about ten years since you won the title of "Singer of the Year". In the meantime, of course, a new generation of singers is taking over the stage. With a hand on heart, the loss of degrees frustrates you?

"No. You said 'conquer the stages,' so I conquer the stages. So why would it be frustrating? When I won Singer of the Year, it's very pleasant at that moment, but it's a competition of soldiers, of young people. People my age do not vote for Singer of the Year, you're over Of course, I'm happy to win every competition, but as long as I have an audience and I perform in front of it, that's enough for me. "It's nonsense. Usually this year's song is not because it's a crazy hit but it defines something in that year. It's usually songs that stay. 'There' and 'Come Back' are left."

"I do not know. I do not think I would have imagined that I would be a judge on such a famous reality show. I did not know that I would participate in a movie. I knew I would do theater, but you could really say that all my dreams came true."

"The dreams of then at least. I never dreamed of international success, it did not interest me. The combination of 'The X Factor', music, participation in a play about Alterman in the theater, creating a remix with Ofer Nissim - it really fulfilled all my dreams."

I did not dream of international success because it did not interest me.

Mesika (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Miri Mesika will perform as part of the Zappa Goodstar Sound System Festival in a show to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of "Peace for Faith" on January 20 (New Zappa Tel Aviv, Guest: Arik Berman) and February 12 (Zappa in Ein Hefer, Guest: Spy).

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