Eyal Golan
Eyal Golan (; born Eyal Bitton on 12 April 1971) is an Israeli singer who sings in the Mizrahi music pop fusion genre, and considered one of the most successful singers in Israel. Golan reported the highest income of all singers in Israel in 2011. Early life. Eyal Bitton was born in Rehovot, Israel, to a family of both Sephardic Jewish (Moroccan-Jewish) and Mizrahi Jewish (Yemenite-Jewish) descent. His parents are Daniel "Dani" Bitton and Ronit (nee Jamil) and grew up in the neighborhood of Kfar Marmorek in his hometown. When he was 4 his parents divorced and  he resided with his mother's family. Music career. Golan started performing in nightclubs at the age of 20. His first album, "Lehisha ba'Laila" (in Hebrew לחישה בלילה meaning Whisper in the Night) was released in 1995. In 1996, he put out another album, called "BeHofa'a Haya" (in Hebrew בהופעה חיה, "live show") being a live concert which included songs from famous Israeli singers such as Shlomo Artzi. In 1996, Ze'ev Nehama and Tamir Kliski, members of the band "Ethnix", were searching for a Mizrahi singer for producing a music album. The two saw Golan in a concert in the  Chava Club in Petah Tikva, and decided to feature Golan's vocals the album. Their collaboration lasted until 2000 resulting in three hugely successful albums: "Bila'adayikh" (in Hebrew בלעדייך meaning Without You) in 1997, "Chayal shel Ahavah" (in Hebrew חייל של אהבה meaning Soldier of Love) in 1998 and "Histakli Eilay" (in Hebrew הסתכלי אלי meaning Look at me) in 1999 before they parted in 2000. Meanwhile Eyal Golan continued solo with ever-increasing success. He was managed for a long time by record producer Ishai Ben Zur, who was responsible for the success of many of Eyal's albums . However, because of financial disputes, they stopped working together. In 2008, Golan put out the album "Hoze Otah Muli" (in Hebrew הוזה אותך מולי meaning Imagining you facing me) and in two months sold over 145,000 albums. Based on the immense success of the album he toured in Israel including important shows at the Caesarea Amphitheater in 2008 and 2009. He also toured internationally, remaining very popular in all countries of the Jewish Diaspora and with world music enthusiasts. Except for his debut album, all of Golan's studio albums have become platinum albums. On 9 July 2018, singing competition , Aviv or Eyal, aired on Keshet 12. Golan, along with Aviv Geffen choose or reject competitors. If the competitor is chosen by both Geffen and Golan, the competitor chooses which famous singer will be his/her mentor. Television: "Eyal Golan Is Calling You". On 20 February 2011, Eyal Golan introduced a new reality show on Israeli Music 24 called "Eyal Golan Is Calling You" (in Hebrew אייל גולן קורא לך) where he is searching for the next Mizrahi music singer together with Yosi Ganj, Adi Leon and Yaron Elan. On 12 April 2011, and in the first season finale in  Haoman 17 club, Moran Mazor won the contest. The show was renewed for a second season, and the winner in the finale broadcast on 25 March 2012, was the Arab-Israeli singer Nasreen Qadri. Awards. In 1997, he was awarded the "Performer of the Year" award by Israeli Channel 2. Personal life. Golan has been a semi-professional football player, having played with various lower-league teams. On 12 September 2002, Golan married the Miss Israel of 2001 Ilanit Levi. The couple's son Liam was born in 2003, and their daughter Alin was born in 2006. In October 2008  the couple divorced. In 2010 he moved to Tel Aviv, Israel. In 2012, Golan began dating Soviet Ukraine-born Israeli model Ruslana Rodina, but never tied the knot. The couple gave birth to a son, Yan, in 2014. Eyal and Ruslana broke up in April 2017. In December 2018, Golan started dating Israeli model and Big Brother Israel participant Daniel Greenberg. In March 2020 the couple announced they are expecting a baby, fourth child for Golan and first for Greenberg. Their wedding took place on the 12th of March 2020, after being rescheduled due to Covid-19 restrictions. Golan and Greenberg  welcomed a baby girl on the 29th of August 2020 named Miel (Honey in French). In September 2021 the couple’s first son, named Ron, was born. The couple divorced on December 28, 2021 Statutory rape allegations. In November 2013, Golan was arrested as part of a group of men suspected of having sex with underage girls. Golan denied the charges, but admitted that his father, Danny Biton, had brought girls to his home to have sex with him. Although the charges against Golan were later dropped for lack of evidence, the allegations caused Golan's songs to receive less  radio airplay and for performances to be cancelled. In December 2018, Golan was recognized by the Knesset, but many MKs and women's groups expressed anger that he would be honored. Protesters interrupted the event, but were removed by security before Golan performed a duet with MK Nava Boker, the chairwoman of the Knesset Caucus for Hebrew Music. Tax Evasion. In 2014 Golan pleaded guilty of evading 2.6 million NIS worth of taxes. He was sentenced to 4 months of community service and ordered to pay a fine of 75,000 NIS.