Dana International

Dana International (Hebrew: דנה אינטרנשיונל; is the stage name of Sharon Cohen, born Yaron Cohen in Tel Aviv, Israel on February 2, 1972) is an Israeli transsexual pop singer, who won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Diva". She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums. She has worked closely with other Israeli artists, including DJ Offer Nissim. As well as her original material, Dana International is known for her cover versions of older hits. In 2005, She had made an appearance as a guest presenter and performer at The 50th Anniversary Eurovision Concert in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her song "Diva", winner of the 1998 contest, was nominated as one of the fourteen greatest Eurovision songs.

Check out her home page




1998: Diva and mainstream spotlight
Dana was chosen to represent Israel in the Eurovision song contest with Diva, a song written by Tzvika Pick. The Orthodox and religious people were opposed to her selection and tried to void her participation in Eurovision. However, in may 1998, Dana performed Diva at the Eurovision contest and took Europe by storm, winning the contest with 174 points. She became a true international superstar, being interviewed by CNN, BBC, Sky News and MTV among others. Dana's own words "the message of reconciliation" which changed Israel's and the outlook of some religious people were; "My victory proves God is on my side. I want to send my critics a message of forgiveness and say to them: try to accept me and the kind of life I lead. I am what I am and this does not mean I don't believe in God and I am not really part of the Jewish Nation.".
Dana released Diva as a single in Europe and it became a hit, reaching number 11 in the UK charts and the top ten in Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands, selling more than 400,000 copies worldwide.


2007: Return to music
After a few years away from show business, together with the relaunch of her official website, a first single of the upcoming album was released in March 2007: Hakol ze letova (It's all for the best). The second single to be released from the album, Love Boy, became the most played song on Israeli radio in a decade.[1] The full album, also titled Hakol ze letova, was released on August 15, 2007. At muhana was the third single and Seret Hodi ("Indian Movie", feat. Idan Yaniv) the fourth to be released from the album, which became a bestseller in many online stores. On February 26, 2008 Dana gained an additional achievement when the song "Keilu Kan" written and composed by her and performed by Boaz Mauda, was chosen on Kdam Eurovision to represent Israel at Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia.


andrea nicole baker