March 18, 2008 | Celeb Watch

Ivri Lider sings out

Being gay didn't stop Ivri Lider from becoming one of Israel's most successful musicians, respected not only by fellow artists, but winning praise from critics and the public alike.

Lider was born on a Kibbutz, an Israeli collective community, in 1974. Seventeen years later he took a major step towards stardom, forming the group Everyone Does It Like This and managing to get booked at the famous Roxanne club in Tel Aviv. Not bad for a teenager.

He later submitted a demo tape to Helicon Records, one of Israel's largest record producers, and they quickly signed Ivri to produce his first album. Two singles, "Leonardo" and "Always Love," took his first record to Platinum status, a success he would imitate on future albums.

However, Ivri kept his homosexuality hidden until 2002. Although some may have assumed the artist was gay, he had never come out publicly. He took a deep breath and came out in the daily newspaper "Ma’ariv," and the story spread rapidly through the country. And though Israel has its conservative aspects, the feedback and support he received was very positive. [more]

"I think peoples' impression of Israel is skewed by the things they see on the news and read in the papers," Ivri pointed out on Hunk Du Jour. "That's not to say it's a perfect world over here, but things aren't nearly as bad as you might think they are from what gets reported. Culturally and artistically, Israel is much closer to New York and LA than to Baghdad and Tehran."

His decision to come out was only partially about freeing himself from the pain of living a double life. As he told the Israeli paper, Haaretz, "I have a social commitment. It's the commitment of an artist. I think it's a right I have and I'm glad I acted on it. A lot of famous people have this right and don't use it. For me, the desire to be a better and braver person exceeded the concern about whether it would make me lose fans. If I hadn't done it, I'd have disappointed myself."

In 2007, Ivri extended his reach to North America when Sony Music released the compilation of gay and lesbian music, "Music With A Twist."  Ivri was the only non-American artist on the album with his single, "Jesse." Perez Hilton even shared the video with his readers, and the video quickly appeared on LOGO's "Click List."

He is inspired for an eclectic mix of artists. "I've always been interested in many different kinds of music. I've played classical and jazz piano, worked with electronic music, and did the "rock band thing." So I try to find inspiration in as many different places as possible, whether it be from someone like Bjork or Bright Eyes to Keith Jarret or Brian Eno."

Was coming out a mistake? "I don’t consider myself brave although I know people have called me that. I just tried to do what felt right for me. I took advantage of an opportunity, being in the public eye, to be myself. I adore getting a letter from a 15-year-old kid that says, “Thank you, my family accepts me because of you”. That makes me so emotional and happy and I know it has been worth the effort. "

Enjoy his BananaGuide debut...