We have with us today an immensely talented singer-songwriter: Noa Bar. 

Noa has been working as a professional recording artist and performer for a few years now, and already she’s made a major impact on the music world in her home country of Israel, here in the United States where she now lives, and in many other countries where listeners are connecting with her music on a deeply personal level. 

Before we go any further, we need to mention Noa’s debut album, UNFILTERED, which is slated to release later in 2023. 

Noa trained with Nira Gal, possibly Israel’s greatest vocal coach, and she’s performed with major Israeli artists like Avi Sungolda and Nadav Guedj. 

If you’d like more details on Noa’s influences, collaborations, and what she’s been listening to recently, then you’re in the right place. 

You’ll find our full interview with Noa Bar below, and if you’re curious to hear her new work, be sure to follow her on your favorite music streaming service. 

Jam Addict (JA): We’d like to ask about some of your influences and collaborators. Has there been a single biggest musical influence throughout your career? 

Noa Bar (NB): There are a lot of artists I listen to on a daily basis or work with who inspire me so much. But my biggest inspiration of all, the singer who made me want to become a singer, would have to be the one and only Amy Winehouse. 

Her picture is framed in my studio, and when I got to spend time with a person who knew her, he told me that when he watched her perform live “she took his heart, broke it, and put it back in the way that she wanted.” The fact that she could do that with her voice is truly inspiring to me. 

My other influences would have to be Leon, Dua Lipa, Frank Ocean, Stormae, Mahmood and BLANCO, Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Jazmine Sullivan, and many more. I’ve been listening to Italian and French pop lately, too. Inspiration is everywhere nowadays.

JA: When exactly did you start training with Nira Gal? And what was the experience like?

NB: I actually started training with her a week after I finished my military service in Israel in 2018. Nira was training the vocal coach I had at the time, who was so good that I had to find the woman who taught her and learn from her directly. 

Nira is the best vocal teacher I’ve ever had and will probably ever have. She is truly incredible. She teaches the top singers in Israel and is considered one of the best vocal coaches in the country. She rewired my entire body and the way I sing. 

One particular part of my training was holding my tongue with a towel while doing a three-octave scale, or riffing while going up and down the stairs. She was very tough! She never gave up on the smallest detail and always told me I could do anything and hit any note. She would send me home with homework and I loved every minute of learning from her. 

We’re still in touch and she’s excited about my upcoming album too. She was also one of the people who told me I should move to Los Angeles.

JA: What was it like opening for Nadav Guedj at the Israel Independence Day celebration? 

NB: It was a day I’ll never forget. Nadav was and still is one of Israel’s biggest stars, as well as the Eurovision representative back in 2015. I was in high school back then, and it was my first big performance. I was performing in front of ten thousand people and it was my seventh show of that day because, in Israel, Independence day is a day full of performances and music. 

I was accompanied on stage by six instrumentalists and over forty dancers. My parents and best friends were smiling at me from the first row, and it was a very exciting moment for me and maybe the moment I realized I had to experience this kind of adrenaline again. There are no words to explain how exciting it was to be 18 years old and performing on a big stage with fireworks, dancers, instrumentalists, and ten thousand people. It was magical. 

And Nadav was the reason I started working with my first producer on my songs. He produced Nadav’s song for the Eurovision contest and the first three singles I ever released.

JA: What do you look for in a potential collaborator?

NB: What a great question. I look for someone who has something deep and honest to say to a listener. There are songs that I hear in languages I don’t even understand and I still cry when I hear them. Because when the emotions are there and you feel like behind that collaborator there’s a person that’s trying to deliver their absolute best to make our listener’s heart feel something, that’s all that matters. 

It’s not about me and the collaborator, it’s about what’s best for the song and for the listeners’ ears and hearts.

JA: You also moved to Los Angeles last year. What has the transition been like?

NB: It’s been amazing so far. So many things have happened in one year. I recorded an album, met my amazing managers, got to work with so many amazing artists, producers, and writers, and met people from all around the world. So many miracles happened to me and it’s pretty amazing to think about how people come here from so many different parts of the planet, all for one reason. Just like me, they’re chasing their dreams and being themselves in this world. 

It’s not always easy, though. My family and my best friend are still living in Israel, and I miss them a lot. I had to learn how to live seven thousand miles away from the place I called home for twenty-one years. But if I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t have the courage to pursue music. I feel like I’m here on a mission to make people feel something through music and make the world a better place. So I am very grateful for everything I have and for being able to do what I love the most every day. I enjoy the journey and love LA. It feels like home and I love it.

JA: Who are some other contemporary artists you’ve been listening to lately?

NB: So many good artists are out there! Including friends of mine that I love listening to. But if I could name just one of them it would definitely be Leon, who’s such an amazing singer from Sweden. 

Frank Ocean, Jazmine Sullivan, Dua Lipa, Alessia Cara, Mahmood and BLANCO from Italy, lots of UPSAHL lately, Stormae from France, Raye from the UK, Eddie Benjamin, Lennon Stella, Kendrick Lamar, Broadway musicals, and honestly, I just love to keep searching for more great music. There are so many incredible artists, and isn’t it amazing that anyone can put their craft out there for the world to listen to?

JA: Is there anything you’d like to share about your upcoming album release?

NB: There are so many things to share, it’s something that I’ve been working on for so long and with so many talented people I love. But if there’s anything that I’m truly happy with it’s that this is the first time I’m letting my songs truly show who I am. I’m honest, real, authentic, and I speak to real-life stories and the imperfections in me that I’m learning to love. 

There’s a real story behind every song. This album is about my eating disorders and how I healed from them, learning to love my imperfections, being sick of talking about the weather and not going deeper, my trust issues, fear of commitment, and much, much more. You’ll have to hear it yourself later this year! 

I’m an open book, and I hope it will encourage people to be more honest, real, and authentic, and ultimately, love themselves the way they are. If I can make even one precious soul do that, then I’ve won.