Liel Kolet
Liel Kolet (Hebrew name ליאל קולט) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and award-winning peace advocate.
Born July 11, 1989 on Kibbutz Kinneret, Liel’s stellar music career began early. At the age of 11, Liel won a national talent contest with a performance of “Leorech Hayam”, before going on to represent and win for Israel in the European talent contest Bravo Bravissimo. Not even two years later, at the age of 13, Liel would go on to release her first studio album, Daughter of the Kinneret.
At 14, Liel would perform at the 80th birthday celebration of then Israeli president Shimon Peres. The event proved to be Liel’s first venture onto the international scene, and her “Imagine” duet with US President Bill Clinton, accompanied by a choir of 80 Jewish and Muslim children, brought her wide acclaim.
In 2004, Liel joined German producer Jack White on the creation of her second studio and first internationally released album, Simply Me. Liel would perform on several German TV shows, such as Verstehen Sie Spass? and Ein Herz für Kinder, and eventually win the German Radio Award for her global peace advocacy efforts.
In 2006, Liel performed at an aid concert in Berlin, joining lead singer Klaus Meine of the Scorpions in another “Imagine” duet. Liel would go on to perform and record five more duets with Meine, one of which, “Send Me an Angel”, was featured on her third studio album, Unison, released later that year.
Liel would be invited to join the Eurovision team Six4one, an international group representing Switzerland, and in 2007, she was nominated Official Ambassador of Northern Israel. Liel has since served as the official ambassador of the Peres Center for Peace, the Sheba Medical Center, the Children’s Hospital, the Seeds of Peace, and Children of Peace.
In 2008, Liel performed at the Peres Center for Peace’s 10th anniversary celebration, where she performed a duet with renowned Italian singer Andrea Bocelli. The following year, she released her fourth studio album, Be Free.
In 2012, Liel performed at a New York event honoring the Dalai Lama, alongside stars as Whoopi Goldberg and David Crosby.
In 2013, she went on to win the prestigious Eagle of Peace award for her humanitarian work, and performed a duet with Iranian singer Ebi at the ceremony. In the same year, she starred in her own PBS special My Journey to Peace, before going on to tour the American east coast.
Besides her considerable humanitarian work and stellar international performances, Liel has also appeared on the EDM scene, joining notable record labels as Monstercat and Ophelia Records.