Eddie Butler is an
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i singer. He was born in
DimonaDimona is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arava valley in the Southern District of Israel. Its population at the end of 2007 was 33,600.-History:...
and is one of 11 brothers and sisters. His parents came to Israel from Chicago after long wanderings. They belong to the
Black Hebrew IsraeliteBlack Hebrew Israelites are groups of people mostly of Black African ancestry situated mainly in the United States who believe they are descendants of the ancient Israelites. Black Hebrews adhere in varying degrees to the religious beliefs and practices of mainstream Judaism...
community.
Eddie started performing at the age of eight. In the 90's he sang with wedding bands, and in 1992 worked as a backing singer for
Zehava BenZehava Ben is one of the most popular Israeli female vocalists in the Mizrahi music genre; the Middle Eastern-style of singing rising from Israel's Mizrahi Jewish population, dominating Israeli music in the 1990s and popular ever since.-Early life:...
at the Kdam-Eurovision.
In 1999 Eddie represented Israel at the
Eurovision Song ContestThe Eurovision Song Contest 1999 was the 44th Eurovision Song Contest, held on 29 May 1999 in Jerusalem, Israel after Dana International won the contest the previous year in the United Kingdom. The venue for the contest was the International Convention Center...
in
Jerusalem as part of the
EdenEden were an Israeli vocal group active between 1998 and 2001, consisting of Doren Oren, Rafael Dahan and brothers Gabriel and Eddie Butler. They are known primarily for their participation in the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest....
group which consisted of Eddie, Eddie's older brother Gabriel Butler, Rafael Dahan and Doron Oren. Their song Happy Birthday finished 5th with 93 points.
Eden broke up in 2001, and after the group's breakup, Butler launched a solo career. He has performed throughout
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
,
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 2002 he got the Special Audience Prize of the international music competition New Wave in
JūrmalaJūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...
,
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
.
Recently Eddie proposed to his wife Orly at the
Dudu TopazDudu Topaz was an Israeli TV personality, comedian, actor, screenwriter, playwright, author and radio and television host. In August 2009 he committed suicide during his arrest, after being criminally charged with conspiring violence against prominent media figures in Israel.In 2005, he was voted...
show on Channel 2. He performed for her his new song את החלום/At ha-halom (You Are the Dream) written for her during his long performance tours. He is now officially converting to
JudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
in order to be able to have an Orthodox wedding with Orly.
Eddie represented Israel at
Eurovision Song Contest 2006The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
in
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
with the song זה הזמן/Ze ha-zman (This Is The Time). The song is in both Hebrew and English, just like Eden's song in 1999. Israel's entry finished in second-to-last place, earning just 4 points awarded by
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
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