Omer Adam is an Israeli singer whose music fuses elements of eastern "Mizrahi" and Western pop instrumentation. In 2009, he participated in the seventh season of Kokhav Nolad, a popular Idol series show in Israel, but was disqualified because of his age at the time of application. Adam was recognised in 2019 as being the most popular Israeli recording artist.
As a result of his performances in week 6, initially the judges classified him as 3rd of 9 for his "Aba" performance, and 4th of 8 for his "At Vaani" performance. However a blogger revealed that Adam was just 15 years and 7 months when he applied, while the minimum age is 16. Adam withdrew from the competition mid-way through the season. Zvika Hadar, host of the show, responded by saying: "The important thing is that Omer realized his mistake, apologized and took the right decision. Our role is to provide equal admission to all contestants, we cannot compromise on this case. Many candidates who came for auditions were rejected because of their age." Adam's disqualification was announced officially on August 5, 2009, despite him being one of the favorites to reach the final.
Singing career
Adam enjoyed great popularity despite leaving Kokhav Nolad. He toured the country giving more than 150 performances in less than a year. In late 2009 he released his debut single, called "להיאבד ברוח". He followed it up in July 2010 with "חוזה בנשמה" which became the theme song for the television show "חתונת השנה" on Israel's Channel 2 station. In December 2010, he put out an album entitled נמס ממך, including the already released singles in addition to new songs including "נעתי בתוך מעגל", "בלילה קר", and "לא תדעי דמעה". He also included some remixed versions of his songs. In 2011, he released a second album "מאושרת". In March 2011 the first hit from the new album was released entitled "בניתי עלייך", followed by "קסם" as a duet with Itzik Kalla. In May 2011 came his hit "מליון נשיקות", with immense online success, followed by "קרוב אלייך". On June 15, 2011 he appeared in a live show attended by thousands in Caesarea Maritima, a venue on the Israeli coast, becoming the youngest artist to be featured as a main artist. On January 29, 2012, he released his third album ילד טוב ילד רע. The first single from the album was "אל תחפשי", followed by "Meusheret" and "Baniti Alayich". He also appeared on a reality television show הסוכנים on the HOT Israeli Entertainment channel. In June 2013, his song Tel Avivתל אביב, featuring Arisa, from his album "מוזיקה ושקט", was the official anthem of Tel Aviv Pride. In August 2015 he released his fourth album "I thank", which became very popular very soon after its release. Adam performed at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2017 Maccabiah Games on July 6, 2017. He had the biggest selling song in Israel in the 2017–18 period, measured between Rosh Hashana in successive years, with "Two Crazy People" ahead of their Eurovision 2018Winner performed by Netta Barzilai. Stav Beger was a key producer in both songs In 2019, Adam, considered the most popular recording artist in Israel, said that he turned down an offer to appear at that year's Eurovision contest since it would involve working on Shabbat. While Adam is not traditionally observant, he has made a point in his career of refusing to work on Shabbat.
