Noa & Mira Awad

Noa & Mira Awad represent Israel with There must be another way at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia. Known in Israel by her given name Achinoam Nini, Noa is Israel's leading international concert and recording artist. Born in Tel- Aviv in 1969, Noa lived in NYC from age 2 until her return to Israel alone at the age of 17. Her family is originally from Yemen. After serving the mandatory two years in the Israeli Army in a military entertainment unit, Noa studied music at the Rimon School where she met her long-time partner and collaborator Gil Dor. Noa's strongest influences come from the singer-songwriters of the 60s, like Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. These musical and lyrical sensibilities, combined with Noa's Yemenite roots and Gil Dor's strong background in Jazz, Classical and Rock, have created Noa and Gil's unique sound, manifested in hundreds of songs written and performed together. Noa plays percussion, guitar and piano. She is married to Dr. Asher Barak, they have two children, Ayehli and Enea, and live in Israel. Mira Awad is an Palestinian actress, singer and songwriter, living in Israel. Born in Rama village in the Gallillee to a Palestinian Father (Anwar) and a Bulgarian Mother (Snejanka), between two brothers (Alan and Sinan). Due to a multi-cultural and humane up-bringing, Mira lacks the ability to understand why the human-race is butchering its own kind and the environment, and is a strong believer in co-existence among fellow human beings and all other living organisms on this planet.