2009 Israel: Noa and Mira Awad - There Must Be Another Way (16th place at Eurovision in Moscow)

2009 - Israel
Performed by: Noa & Mira Awad
Music by: Noa, Mira Awad, Gil Dor
Lyrics by: Noa, Mira Awad, Gil Dor
Language: Hebrew, Arabic & English
Placing: 16th (53 points)

The ESC entries from Israel have so far been very rarely non-political, with most of the songs dealing with the desire for peace and reconciliation. Given the conflict between Jews and Palestinians, it is only too understandable that this issue is a burning issue for many Israelis. Fun songs like "Golden Boy" are a rare exception and even "Toy", Netta's winning song had a vital social message within.

In 2009, the Israeli TV station IBA apparently wanted to send a particularly clear message and sent Noa & Mira Awad, a Jewish-Arab duo, into the fight for country points for the first time. However, they failed to achieve great success, and the two only came in 16th place in the final.

The title "There Must Be Another Way" may not sound very original, but it is a clear statement in view of the never-ending conflict between Jews and Arabs. It is therefore no wonder that President Shimon Peres personally thanked the duo after choosing their song for Moscow and praised their commitment to peace in Israel.

The title "There Must Be Another Way" may not sound very original, but it is a clear statement in view of the never-ending conflict between Jews and Arabs. It is therefore no wonder that President Shimon Peres personally thanked the duo after choosing their song for Moscow and praised their commitment to peace in Israel. The dark-haired beauty Noa is also known in Israel by her real name Achinoam Nini and is considered the voice of Israel due to her long-standing international success. She has conquered the most famous stages in the world, from New York's Carnegie Hall to the Montreux Jazz Festival. The seemingly endless list of her duet partners reads like a who's who of the sophisticated music scene, from Sting and Stevie Wonder to Sheryl Crow and George Benson to Santana and Al Dimeola. In Germany, some people may also know her from her collaboration with Peter Maffay.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1969, the Yemenite Jew grew up in New York and returned to Israel at the age of 17, where she studied music at the Rimon School. Together with her then partner, the jazz and rock musician Gil Dor, she launched an unparalleled career, wrote hundreds of songs and delighted fans all over the world with her unique sound. She is now very successfully going her own way. She is married, has two children and has been active in the Israeli peace movement for years.

The career of Mira Anwar Awad, born to a Palestinian father and a Bulgarian mother in 1975 in an Arab village in northern Israel, was far less glamorous and straightforward. Although she also studied music at the well-known Rimon School and diligently wrote her own songs, for years she, as a Palestinian, was unable to get her foot in the door of Israeli record companies and radio stations with Arabic songs. She became increasingly frustrated because the rejections had nothing to do with her music, but was repeatedly told that it was the Arabic language that scared Israeli listeners.

Discouraged, she concentrated on her second career, acting. She is currently playing the lead role in "My Fair Lady" at the Hakameri Theater in Tel Aviv and was recently hired for the TV series "Arab Work" and "Noah's Ark". Her breakthrough as a singer came after a duet with Noa on her album "Now". Together they sang the Beatles song "We Can Work It Out" as a statement for the peace movement.

LYRICS:

There must be another way (Einaich)

There must be another
Must be another way

Einaich, achot
Kol ma shelibi mevakesh omrot
Avarnu ad ko
Derech aruka, derech ko kasha yad beyad

Vehadma'ot zolgot, zormot lashav
Ke'ev lelo shem
Anachnu mechakot
Rak layom sheyavo achrei

There must be another way
There must be another way

Aynaki bit'ul
Rah yiji yom wu'kul ilkhof yizul
B'aynaki israr
Inhu ana khayar
N'kamel halmasar
Mahma tal

Li'anhu ma fi anwan wakhid l'alahzan
B'nadi lalmada
L'sama al'anida

There must be another way
There must be another way
There must be another
Must be another way

Derech aruka na'avor
Derech ko kasha
Yachad el ha'or
Aynaki bit'ul
Kul ilkhof yizul

And when I cry, I cry for both of us
My pain has no name
And when I cry, I cry
To the merciless sky and say
There must be another way

Vehadma'ot zolgot, zormot lashav
Ke'ev lelo shem
Anachnu mechakot
Rak layom sheyavo achrei

There must be another way
There must be another way
There must be another
Must be another way