He has been a glass importer for 30 years, but Amir Kirel recently added another row on his resume for an occupation that has grown over time – the management of the biggest star in Israel, his daughter, Noa.
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Ahead of the Eurovision semi-finals set to take place on Tuesday, Amir Kirel shared during a podcast interview that he got the inspiration to manage his daughter's career from his friend Ze'ev, father of Israeli soccer player Eyal Berkovic.
"I manage Noa's career in the financial area, but on a daily basis, it's mostly Roberto Ben Shushan, who is her agent. Noa has a team. Professional decisions in the field of music – that's Noa's call," he said.
How involved are you?
"I'm only involved in dire matters that require fixing, only then do I get involved. I'm essentially Noa's voice in this whole system."
Has the time come in which she tells you, her parents, 'Give me space'?
"She has her space. No artist like Noa really has space. We, the parents, are on the support side. On the financial side, I really free her from these matters and let her do what she's good at and really loves. Of course, I explain a lot to her and teach her a lot. I don't let her deal with the technical side.
"Parents are a factor that manifests in a more psychological way at the beginning of the journey. Later on, they become a balancing factor. I am a friend of Ze'ev Berkovic and I was close to Eyal since he was 16, until he left us for the English league, and I saw the work that Ze'ev did and how it influenced Eyal to this day. Eyal Berkovic's father was my inspiration."
How much money did you invest in Noa until she succeeded?
"No more than 200,000 shekels. I'm talking about the beginning of the release of songs and clips, which was the physical expense, and after a few months she started making money and sustaining herself. There was never a crazy investment in Noa Kirel."
Amir Kirel claimed that his daughter's great desire to succeed has not always led her to the right places.
"Her desire caused her to put too much energy in the wrong places, and we stopped that. We explained and showed her that not everything she does is aligned with her purpose. We always maintained modesty and respect for her, despite her career starting with a provocative clip," he said.
He was referring to the second clip that Kirel released when she was 14, which stirred up a storm at the time.
Amir Kirel said that almost everything was planned, including the controversy that would erupt, and it all came from mastermind agent Roberto Ben Shushan's mind.
"Roberto guided me and spoke as if he could predict the future. He said that we would be starting with provocations. I think it was intentional on his part. And then came the song 'Yesh Bi Ahava,' which was on Galgalatz (Israeli radio station), and she began to be a crowd favorite. Roberto always said, 'Noa Kirel is like Mickey Mouse. There isn't anyone who doesn't love Mickey Mouse,'" he said.
The relationship between Noa Kirel and Ben Shushan began as a gamble for both sides: The young singer was completely anonymous back them, and her chances of success required starting from scratch, while Ben Shushan was one of the big names in the world of agents who was experiencing a decline at the time.
"Because everyone warned me about him and spoke poorly of him, he intrigued me," explained Amir Kirel. "I said, 'If they're talking about you, you must exist.' He knew how to take things in the right way and slowly adapted himself to us. We connected at the highest levels possible. Noa also says that Roberto is her second father."
Noa Kirel's career, as you may understand by now, was planned out precisely, according to her father. However, the one thing that came as a surprise to everyone was the Eurovision. Amir Kirel received the surprising phone call when his daughter Noa and agent Roberto were on a flight back to Israel. The devoted father answered the call and, even before hearing his daughter's decision, he made sure to secure an expert in Eurovision in Israel for her – just in case she said yes.
"I was waiting for Noa to land and during that time the next phone call was for Doron Medalie (Israeli songwriter). I knew that no matter what anyone says, without Medalie we aren't starting the process," he said.
You said yourself that you only intervene in technical matters, yet Noa was still in the air and you already called Doron Medalie?
"I didn't ask him to write a song. I knew that Doron Medalie is the number one Eurovision specialist in Israel and that he was experienced. I knew that I understood nothing and I also knew that Roberto hadn't dealt with Eurovision. I called to tell Roberto and he said to me, 'I know, wait a second and I'll get back to you.' Noa called me and said, 'Dad, you're not normal. I don't know if I want to do this, I've never been in a competition before.' She wasn't calm. At that time, Roberto informed the corporation that the answer was theoretically yes, and that he would get back to them with a final answer because he respects Noa. I understood that there is a chance that Doron Medalie will accompany us."
And how did you convince Noa?
"Roberto came to our house and explained to her what it's all about. The whole country knew that Noa Kirel was on her way to Eurovision – and she hadn't decided yet. Roberto managed to explain to her, he gave her his point of view on why it was a good call. She trusts him very much. He mainly told her that nothing dramatic will happen in life if she tries and he said to her: 'Let's go for the worst-case scenario. What will happen if not? Not much will happen.'"
How long did it take for her to make a final decision?
"Ten days. One of the considerations was that everyone already thought Noa would be in Eurovision, and suddenly she would say no. Regardless of where Noa ended up, everything was booked for six months ahead. We believe everything will continue to be fine."
Are you investing money in Eurovision?
"What we are doing is not called investing."
How much money did you lose because of Eurovision?
"Hundreds of thousands, but I don't call it a loss, because she will earn much more than she will lose. I think we are gaining points that can bring not just money."
Amir Kirel described the process of choosing the song as difficult. "There was lots of drama," he reveals.
"Five songs made it to the end, all of them were good. Forget about the best song – they chose the most suitable song with the most appropriate message, and with 'Unicorn' that word that was most fitting. There were excellent songs, one of which I can tell you will soon be released as a single by Noa. There was one song by a Syrian guy living in the United States with a producer I knew, it was the most tailored for Eurovision, but this song had less accurate messages. Not things that can be sung on an international scale. There were two committee meetings in which we couldn't make a decision, the songs were sent for improvements and we met again after a week, and then a decision was unanimously made on 'Unicorn.'"
Can Noa win Eurovision?
"Yes. If today you would take only professionals to judge, not related to the audience or anything – she definitely wins, I know it."
Is Noa the best in Eurovision professionally speaking?
"There is no doubt at all. Loreen, the Swedish candidate, is in her rightful place, but I don't know how big she is in the world and how young and ambitious and talented she is like Noa. The fact that she already won the Eurovision is great, the fact that Eurovision fans remember her from her first victory – also great."
Are you afraid of politics?
"It's natural and valid to be afraid of politics. We hope that Noa will use her personal charm and try to skirt around politics if possible. I don't know what to tell you. We're not counting on winning the Eurovision."