Noam Bettan

Bettan was born in Ra'anana, Israel, to a French Jewish family of Algerian descent who immigrated to Israel from Grenoble, France.^[2] His parents are Ofer and Corinne,^[3] and he has two older brothers.^[4][5][6] He is fluent in Hebrew, French and English.^[6]

Bettan began his music career after completing his compulsory military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In 2018, he came in third place on Israel's televised music program Aviv or Eyal.^[6] Three years later, he began work on his debut album. From this album, titled Me'al HaMayim, he released several successful singles: "Ahavot leYom Ehad", "Ba'ir Sheli" and "KO".^[7]

Further single releases from the album in 2022–2023 included "Buba," which reached No. 3 on Israel's Galgalatz radio charts.^[8][9] In 2023, he also released "Sakin BaLev" and "Lahzor HaBaita."

In 2024, Bettan participated in tribute projects and released the single "Pokeach Einayim," based on a poem by an Israeli soldier, Yaron Oree Shay, who was killed in the October 7 attacks.^[6] In 2025, he released the singles "Madame" and "Sheva Dakot Be-Gan Eden."

In January 2026, Bettan won the 12th season of the TV music competition Rising Star (HaKokhav HaBa), thus becoming Israel's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.^[10][11] His song for the event, "Michelle", was released on 5 March. Yuval Raphael, Israel's Eurovision contestant from the previous year, was a co-writer.^{[12][13][14][15]} Speaking ahead of the contest about representing Israel amidst controversy over his country's participation due to the Gaza war, Bettan said, "It's entering the lion's den," adding, "But I can say that seeing those few Israeli flags in the audience — you look at that, and you know that you have a whole nation behind you, and you're their voice. It’s truly a privilege."^[5] His performance in the semi-final was marked by some booing and disruption, in which two people were removed from the hall. Bettan was supported by some fellow participants, including Boy George, representing San Marino,^[16] and the Bulgarian singer Dara, who won the contest.^[17] Bettan ultimately finished in second place in the final, coming in third place in the public vote and eighth in the jury ranking.^[18] Following the contest, Bettan was received by President Isaac Herzog.^[19]