At a time when headlines from the Middle East are often dominated by politics and conflict, singer Nicole Raviv is telling a different story.
Her newly released single, Hayati—Arabic for “my life” (Chaim sheli in Hebrew)—is a vibrant, bilingual pop track that weaves together English and Arabic lyrics, Middle Eastern influences and contemporary pop sounds. Accompanied by a colorful music video filmed in the streets of Jaffa, and produced by some of Israel’s leading music producers, Ben Shopen and Doron Plascow, the song celebrates the cultural layers that have shaped Raviv’s own life and artistic identity.
For Raviv, the song is more than a catchy summer release. It is a reflection of a journey that spans countries, languages and traditions.
Born in Montreal, Canada, educated in New York and now living between Israel and the United States, Raviv grew up navigating multiple worlds. Her family roots trace back to Morocco and Romania, while her professional career has taken her across North America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Rather than choosing a single identity, she has made a career out of embracing them all.
“For a long time I wondered where I belonged,” Raviv said. “Especially in the music industry, where they want you to pick a genre and fit into one box.”
Growing up, she says, she often felt defined by where she happened to be.
“In Canada, I was the daughter of Israeli immigrants. In New York, I was the Canadian. But in Israel, I could just be me.”
Living in Israel, she says, changed the way she viewed herself as an artist.
“It gave me permission to embrace every part of who I am,” she said. “Eventually I realized my strength wasn't in choosing between worlds—it was in connecting them.”
That multicultural outlook has become a defining feature of her music. Raviv regularly performs in multiple languages and incorporates influences that range from Western pop to Eastern traditional sounds and instruments.
Her latest release may be her most ambitious expression of that philosophy to date.
The music video for Hayati, filmed entirely in Jaffa with an all-female cast and an Israeli production team, showcases colorful street scenes, local fashion, food and everyday moments that reflect the texture of life in one of Israel’s most culturally diverse cities.
“Arabic is part of my family's history and my Moroccan heritage,” Raviv said. “I remember my grandmother, who I’m named after, speaking sentences that were half Arabic and half Hebrew.”
For her, singing in Arabic became a way of honoring those roots while telling her own story through a contemporary sound.
“For a while I wondered whether people would understand a Jewish artist singing in Arabic,” she said. “Then I realized authenticity mattered more than trying to fit into expectations. Hayati is the song I could only write once I stopped worrying about that.”
Yet Hayati is not the first time Raviv has crossed linguistic boundaries through music.
Over the past several years, she has built a loyal online following through interpreting Jewish songs like Narrow Bridge, No Other Land, and a recent unique project: reimagining popular Israeli songs in English.
What began as a creative experiment has become one of her signatures. Raviv takes well-known Hebrew and Mizrahi pop hits—including songs by some of Israel’s biggest artists like Omer Adam, Noam Bettan and Eden Ben Zaken—and creates English-language versions that preserve their emotion and energy while making them accessible to international audiences.
For many listeners abroad, her covers have become an introduction to Israeli music.
“I wanted people outside Israel to experience the incredible music being made here,” she said. “It was amazing to see how many people connected with the songs once the language barrier was removed.”
The response surprised her.
Nicole Raviv
(Photo: Leia Jospe)
“Jews and non-Jews were writing to me asking me to put the covers on Spotify.”
The concept reflects Raviv’s broader artistic mission: translating not only words, but cultures.
In a global music industry increasingly defined by cross-cultural collaborations and multilingual hits, Raviv sees language not as a barrier but as an invitation.
Songs today regularly move between Spanish, English, Korean, French and Arabic audiences. Raviv believes Israeli artists deserve a place in that conversation as well.
“A few years ago I experienced a viral moment performing in Abu Dhabi alongside an Emirati artist,” she recalled. “That showed me something I’ll never forget: music has a way of bringing people into the same room, even when they come from different cultures, languages and backgrounds.”
That belief feels especially relevant in the current moment.
While much of the world’s attention remains focused on the region’s conflicts, Hayati offers a glimpse into another reality—one shaped by shared cultural influences, centuries of migration and the everyday human experiences that transcend politics.
The song’s title itself reflects that spirit. “Hayati” is a word recognized throughout much of the Arab world, carrying a simple meaning that resonates across borders: my life, my love.
For Raviv, the choice was intentional.
“While the song tells the story of a romantic summer love from a strong feminine perspective, to me it’s also about belonging,” she said.
She hopes listeners connect emotionally—even if they don't understand every lyric.
“I hope people hear the song and feel joy, warmth and connection,” she said. “Even if they don't understand every word, I hope they hear the Andalusian flamenco guitars and can't help but move.”
The early response, she says, has been encouraging.
“People are already telling me they can't get the Mediterranean vibe out of their heads.”
As Hayati reaches listeners around the world, Raviv hopes audiences will hear more than a song.
She hopes they hear a story.
A story about identity that refuses to fit neatly into a single box. About cultures that intersect rather than compete. And about music’s unique ability to connect people who may not share the same language, but can still recognize the same melody.
In a region often viewed through the lens of division, Nicole Raviv is betting that a song can remind people of something else: the richness that emerges when cultures meet.