In the immortal words of Britney Spears, everyone wants a piece of Eden Golan. New York Mayor Eric Adams met Golan as they together opened the Israeli parade in New York and he declared June 4, 2024, Eden Golan Day in New York.
The great interest in Golan stretches to big LA music producers, European businesspeople and Rishon LeZion where she had difficulty making her way through the mall last week, and had to swiftly turn back. “We literally couldn’t get out of there,” says her personal manager Rachel Bracha, “You can’t walk down the street with her anymore.”
It's a rarity in the annals of the Israeli entertainment industry. Suddenly, out of almost nowhere, an unknown artist becomes one of the country’s top stars – in the heart of the mainstream consensus. It happened to Ninet following her 2003 Rising Star win at Nitzanim and it happened to Shlomo Artzi with Pitom Achshav, Pitom Hayom at the 1970 Israel Song Festival. And it’s happening to Eden Golan following Eurovision in Malmo last May. Their breakthroughs incidentally all came at around the age of 20. For Eden Golan, it’s truly a hurricane.
In her case, it hasn’t been just a professional success – reaching fifth place in Eurovision, taking the country around her by the story and primarily the hostile atmosphere and the bullying from other delegations during the war. Eden Golan has become an Israeli hero before she even has an album or a show ready. She actually only has one song that the general public knows.
But she knows that the onward road will be much harder. The bar is sky high, as are expectations. And all eyes are on her. One thing’s for sure: Eden wants, and means, to become an international pop artist, and naturally at the highest level. Think Ariana Grande, think Dua Lipa (without her views…).
Golan’s first single will be out soon, in English, along with a video, still on an independent label. Her team describe the single as “exhilarating progressive pop.” Penned by three American songwriters, with the creative collaboration of LA-based Stav Beger, who also had a hand in Hurricane.
If Golan’s first album goes according to plan, it’ll be released in the coming year under a big American label. Advanced-stage negotiations are currently in progress with several big companies including in Europe, but Golan and her team are looking to America. The first box office show will come in accordance with progress overseas. Eden will then move to LA.
A beehive of activity surrounds Golan, run by Amit Shine, 45, co-founder of Israeli music label, Session 42, and Golan’s manager and the structure’s top man. Golan’s inner circle currently employs 11 people in Israel and the US, including Stav Geber in Hollywood who will serve as the first album’s executive producer.
Shine’s partners at Session 42, high-tech entrepreneurs and musicians/producers Stav Beger and Oudi Antebi, as well as Tal Forer and Yinon Yahel, told Shine about her and was quick to sign her. “Yinon told me he’d found someone amazing. “Since Rising Star, we’ve been with her every step of the way,” says Shine.
Even before Eurovision in Malmo was over, Shine received inquiries from foreign companies. “There’s a stage in an artist’s career where Eden should be, but she’s not there,” he says. “It’s the stage when you approach important people in the industry and you need to say, ‘Here, this is Eden Golan. She’s a great singer. She was in Eurovision and she won Israel’s biggest reality show’. But we don’t need that. Eden’s already at the stage where you mention her name to big companies overseas and people know who she is. It’s unusual in the industry. The other side knows what she’s been through and that’s the biggest thing about the phenomenon called Eden Golan. I have no words to describe what’s been going on around her since Eurovision.”
They’re also having meetings with big companies in the US. “Name Dropping were here,” says Shine. “But for us, all doors are still open for Eden. I meet everyone. I listen to everyone. The goal is to sign with the most suitable company, and in Eden’s case, I think the biggest aren’t necessarily so appropriate. Two things are important: A label that can deal with pop and a label that Eden is right for in terms of their artist roster. You need the label to truly believe in her, not the person who’ll give me the most amount of money and prestige, but rather patience and confidence all the way.”
“Her talent is the at the highest levels there are,” says Stav Beger, talking from LA. ”She can be an international star. There’s obviously a long way to go, and it won’t be easy and competition is stiff, but in terms of what she has, she’s definitely so there, and so there of everyone I’ve met in Israel since I’ve been making music. She’s really a star. We now need to make the right music and be ready to make the journey, and know that this is the process.”
But the Golan equation involves the war and rising antisemitism overseas that could discourage overseas companies from signing Israelis right now. “One of the first questions I ask in any meeting is whether they understand what it means to work with a Jewish Israeli artist at this time. We’ve been met with a rather chilly attitude over this. They’re all polite and talk nicely, but if you’re a Jewish Israeli, you can quite easily read between the lines. We had a conversation with a big company and someone just said, ‘You know, our job is to sign artists, but sometimes there are forces greater than us preventing us from signing the artist.’ As a Jewish Israeli, it was over for me.”
Golan is involved in every aspect of the process she is a creative artist
Golan and her team don’t want to wait for a contract with an American company before releasing a new single. And if nothing’s signed soon, the single, on which as mentioned three American writers are already working, will be released independently on the Session 42 label.
”Later on, we want the debut album to be released under a new contract. The creative collaboration is very important to us” says Shine. “Eden is a creative artist. She’s involved in writing and composing. We don’t write over her head and we don’t write for her. She’s involved in the creative process and all levels. The first single will be a Progressive Pop song, that’s in production right now. We do things in a very careful and thought-out way, because the bar is very high after what happened with Hurricane. I hope the song will be released in the next few weeks.
The album’s first single’s musical emphasis will correspond with what worked well for Golan in Eurovision. “Right now, we don’t mean to ignore Hurricane, the Israeli audience or what’s going on in Israel” says Beger. It can’t be disconnected. At least the upcoming single will give more weight to the situation she’s coming from and, at the end of the day, she represented Israel. It won’t touch on the Eurovision experience but rather the wounded Israeli heart. It’s not a ballad and it’s not clubbing song. It's a moving song that touches your heart.”
If we get down to nuances, what kind of sound are you looking for?
“For this, we need to do some more searching with Eden. She’s at the beginning of her musical path, so we need to take a journey, but without it taking too long. She spent two weeks in LA doing a lot of sessions. She recorded a few songs and she’ll come again. We want to create around a hundred songs and, along the way, find the sound that’s right for her. Maybe an American distribution company will join us for the first single.”
Yoav Tsafir, director at Eurovision and Rising Star chief, thinks the Dua Lipa model, for example, could be suitable for Golan. ”We obviously don’t like her views, but you need to see where she’s from – Albania, a country smaller than ours – to understand how far Eden can go. In terms of ability, Eden falls short of neither Lipa nor Ariana Grande. I was at one of Ariana’s shows. I’m telling you, Eden’s just as good. Her singing and dancing are both amazing. She works hard. She has the right personality and now it’s a matter of songs and luck. She should be looking at Hollywood, releasing singles in English for the international market and thinking big. As soon as you sign with an American company, they bring in the best writers for you. And Eden’s no sucker either when it comes to writing.”
Will she be singing in Hebrew?
“I see her in international pop - less in Hebrew at the moment. More Ariana Grand really, not Celine Dion, although she did mention her at Eurovision. Eden needs to reach a young audience that loves pop. She has the right personality and the right education that few Israelis have, but a lot of their parents from Russia and former Soviet countries do, i.e. grit and striving for excellence and never missing the smallest thing.”
Israeli artists can always take solace in our market if making it out there takes time. Eden doesn’t have that privilege right now.
“True. She needs to go online and for an international career, but also think about what to do with the fact that everyone in Israel really loves her. I think that, in the end, we’ll be proud of her like we are of Gal Gadot. I think she’ll get that far.”
Her first box office show will only happen when she has a few well-known songs under her belt. Since Eurovision, there’s been endless demand for her shows in the private market for company events, etc. As a creative artist, she decided, despite high demand, not to put on a long, lucrative show of cover songs. You’re on stage for 20-30 minutes, half of which is original songs (she also has original songs from before Hurricane) and the second half is made up of songs identified with her” says Shine. “People want to enjoy her performance and see her live, and right now we think that’s what’ would be the right thing. The ratio will change over time until we get to the point of more original songs.”
Golan’s prices for pre-ordered performances range from tens of thousands of shekels to over 100,000 shekels, depending on the length of the performance, audience size and further components such as distance and security. Golan’s team say that much of the demand is from outside Israel, with offers for the coming months from organizations in the US, Canada and Europe.
Next stage in her carrier may require a move to L.A.
Jewish organizations such as the Federation in New York and an international organization putting on a show in Washington, asked for her as a headline act. Demand is coming in for little jaunts to private parties, events, weddings, bat and bar mitzvahs, etc. “As Eden is a creator by nature, and she has a burning fire within her to release her own material, I want to think of another three singles being out and dropping an album before we put on a full box office show,” says Shine.
But the next stage will also include moving to Los Angeles. “At some point in the beginning, she needs to live there. An artist starting out has to build up a clique around themselves, get to know the right people. It’s not just about the music and being online, but also about basic processes that you need to make happen, and that’s mainly being there, going to parties, having drinks here and there, integrating. There’ll obviously always be one of our people there with her. But the goal is to always be around Israel, around the Israeli audience and understand that she’s come from here, and she’ll be coming back to Israel in the end, and to nurture the connection with the Israeli audience” says Shine.
Forecast for 2025?
“We’re aiming for Eden to have well-oiled systems in both Israel and the United States – that we’ll have built up a community for her, people who follow her and will buy box office tickets. People who’ll wait for new music or online content she creates.”
“There’s one issue that no one in Golan’s team ever says no to – the hostages in Gaza. “When we get a message from someone connected to a hostage one way or another, you can’t just keep scrolling or think twice about it,” says Shine. “Your heart is torn. You can’t be everywhere, but when it comes to the hostages, we try and respond to every request even if it’s overseas, and she can send a video. This, by the way, is Eden’s personal request.”
The day after Eurovision, Golan and her team were flooded with offers. Inquiries from the biggest media outlets overseas, mega-companies in Israel and overseas, Israeli and international organizations, large foundations, and Jewish communities across the globe wanting to shower money on Golan’s shows – before there even such a show ready.
All this is alongside the challenging demands posed by the war, hasbara, and visiting soldiers in the field. It sometimes happens all on its own. This week, for example, the international Rubik's Cube Exhibition was launched, not really the closest thing to the singer. “Eden saw a tribute they made to her at the exhibition – her likeness made up completely of Rubik’s cubes.”
Golan’s team talk of endless tributes, requests and offers she received hours after Eurovision. Hundreds of inquiries came in the following morning, for example from people who had made special rings for her and wanted her to come to a ceremony to accept them.
Requests to appear at an event at some big city or organization in Europe. Sometimes, it’s just to come to show up, without even singing. Golan received a letter of apology from the Jewish community in Greece regarding the behavior of the Greek singer Marina Satti toward her at the press conference at Eurovision. Her team told me about a Swedish businessman who, as a token of apology for his behavior toward Golan at Eurovision, started fundraising and mentioned that he wanted to give the money to a kibbutz in the south to open a big supermarket named Eden. There’ve been a vast amount of tributes to Eden with people suggesting some really crazy stuff” says media advisor Gali Raviv, who has worked closely with Golan from the start of the Eurovision project, and is presently a spokesperson for the Israel Competition Authority.
“The frenzy around her was that of a winner from the very start, even for foreign journalists. Leaving the press area with her was nuts – she was ambushed. The Shin Bet guys told me I’d have to give them a warning next time, as they weren’t expecting anything like this from reporters. From the very beginning, I felt she was an ambassador and, after Eurovision, she really got lots of invitations to represent Israel all over the world. People felt her pride representing the country.”
Raviv spent weeks with Golan before Eurovision preparing her for the media. She’s worked with a long list of talent, from Rising Star’s early days, so she has a database for comparison. “Eden is one of the sharpest and most focused talents I’ve met,” says Raviv. “She is extremely self-disciplined, she understands very quickly and she’s very goal-oriented.”
We did lots of simulations with the nastiest questions
If something’s not clear to her, she’ll ask and want to understand. She won’t answer something she’s not sure about. We knew we were on our way to something bigger and more challenging than usual for Eurovision, and Amit requested a close escort, also because of rising international media interest. Our strategy from the start has been that we believed that Eden would represent the country with dignity. We realized the hasbara challenges and decided we wanted to be there too, and not run away from it. We could have decided that she wouldn’t be giving interviews to the foreign press, but that said we’d carefully choose the media outlets. On the other hand, we wouldn’t be afraid to answer difficult questions.”
Golan went through weeks of media training. “We did lots of simulations with the nastiest questions possible and contentions about the country, mainly focusing on her voice intonation, combining her sensitivity and refined manner. We wanted her to come across as respectable, but not afraid to answer - and without getting into political opinions too much.”
They hadn’t prepared for the provocative question from the Polish reporter: "Have you ever considered that your presence poses a risk to other participants and the public?"
“They wouldn’t let me into the room for the first press conference after the semi-final. I texted Eden telling her that she could answer any question they asked her very well. We weren’t expecting the Polish question, as it was so strange. But Eden went with her courage, despite not having to answer.”
Being able to come back from a crisis is important in career management. As Yoav Zafir recently told us, Golan and the Israeli delegation were shaken by the first boos in the Malmo auditorium. “We did mental work and the moment she made the switch, that was it, she just couldn’t see them,” says Raviv. “She didn’t let the cold shoulder she received from the other delegations get to her. It was difficult as the atmosphere was very hostile. Overseas had always been her goal. Our little Eurovision team had an understanding that we had to dance between Eden’s role representing the country, and that she would carry on to an international career afterwards. It all came together in the end, and I think that’s just the opening shot for her. She should be a singer by international standards. She should be singing in English, the language in which she feels most comfortable. Maybe over time, however, she’ll sing in Hebrew and the audience will embrace her.”
3 View gallery
Eden Golan appears for the families of hostages' event in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Moti Kimchi)
Kan Corporation spokesperson Gali Avni-Orenshtein, who has been serving as Eurovision delegation spokesperson for five years, escorted Golan for the two weeks in Malmo. “I think she’s something special. Eden has all the right ingredients for ensured success. She’s amazingly industrious and is willing to work 24/7 to get exactly what she’s aiming for. Although she’s young, she’s very coherent and can convey a sharp, unambiguous message. She’s emotionally strong and no amount of booing will stand in her way. Quite the reverse. Having accompanied five Kan Eurovision delegations and working with artists representing us, I can say that Eden isn’t blind-sighted by anything – neither the glittery limelight, the love from the audience, nor the nasty things shouted at her this Eurovision. She’ll make it big.”
Other than her parents, Olga and Eddie, the person closest to Eden is her manager since Rising Star, Rachel Bracha. She worked with dozens of artists and she knows a thing or two about this world from home, thanks to her father, Shlomi Bracha. “Listen, I’ve been through a lot of characters,” says Bracha. “I’ve never worked with anyone like her. She’s very attentive, very considerate, and abnormally industrious. She learns extremely fast. Her deep learning is crazy. She’s also very humble and talented.”
“Even before Eurovision, she took all the interest in her and admiration to a healthy place. It’s always scary when a singer bursts onto the scene so suddenly. I was with someone who burst onto the scene at a magnitude no less than Eden, who didn’t know how to take it, and he didn’t go anywhere. This isn’t happening with Eden. She’s not blind sighted and she understands the situation. People are already showing up at her house regularly to meet her. You can’t walk down the street with her. People want to meet her, and give her drawings, books and pictures. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’ve been with artists greatly loved in Israel.”
A selfie with Golan has become a status symbol and if you can meet her, you can put it out online, so why not? “I get messages from lots of famous people in Israel every day,” says Golan’s personal PR man Amit Humtzani since Rising Star. Usually, they just want to get close to Eden. You also get romantic offers. People write to me saying ‘Get me a date with Eden. I want to talk to her.’
Names?
“Famous names you wouldn’t believe. We’re sometimes left shocked. These are famous people in our industry who want to be close to Eden because they understand her power. Artists’ agents write to me asking to arrange a meeting with Eden. People realize that she’s it right now. Its reverberations are insane. Eden is in the A-listers’ slot, which usually takes people years to reach. You can’t sit with her at a table for more than half an hour before some kind of commotion erupts. She attracts attention anyway with her hair, nails and general appearance.”
In an interview, I asked her about dealing with the fame, but sometimes you see more looking on from the side. Is she really not blind-sighted by all this?
“Look, at the beginning, with all the requests to meet her, Eden was totally shocked. Now, we laugh about it. She’s chill about it. She understands that crazy things are going on in her life and she even enjoys it because she’s a work fiend. Since Eurovision, we’ve been getting dozens of commercial offers, like going to no end of events and exhibitions – for payment. But Eden understands where she is. She understands that people want to get close to her for their own interests, which is sometimes fake, and that’s why we’re here, to protect her center. I’m not ashamed to say that, along with my PR role, I’m busy protecting her.”
Are you still getting inquiries from the international media?
“From all over the world. Even from Arab reporters wanting to interview her, expressing support after Eurovision. We’ve had requests for interviews from dozens of countries and international media outlets including CNN and Rolling Stone, but we don’t want to use up stuff in the international media at the moment and we’re very confident about what Eden will release.”
Eurovision boosted Golan’s price in the commercial market with a host of offers for campaigns and marketing moves. She received offers from fashion companies, two credit companies, a cell phone company, cosmetic companies and a food company. After negotiations, she was signed as a presenter for Fox and Natural Formula. The two contracts are estimated to a value of at least 600,000 shekels each. “These two campaigns were finalized as they related to her music, and they’re easy to do with her wild schedule across the globe,” says Omri Yaari, the agent managing Eden’s Golan strategy in terms of brands in Israel and the commercial aspects, who works with big names like Anna Zak, Yael Shelbia, Maya Kay and Eden Fines. We’re getting a lot of offers on digital as she’s exploded on her social channels” he says. “We’re also getting offers from TV series and movies. She’s a great actress. It’s just that people don’t know that side of her yet. Eden is simply overloaded. Unfortunately, it’s just not technically possible to get to most of the offers or respond to them right now.”