Idan Amedi

Idan Amedi (עידן עמדי; born February 19, 1988) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and actor who rose to fame on the reality show Kochav Nolad in 2010. He has released 5 studio albums, with hit singles like "Pain of Warriors" and "Finished." Amedi began acting in 2017, joining the cast of the TV action series Fauda where he plays Sagi Tzur. In his personal life, Amedi married Miriam Benyaminov in 2018 and they have two children together. He was called up as an IDF reservist during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, and was seriously injured in January 2024 while demolishing Hamas tunnels in Gaza.

Early life
Idan Amedi was born to a Kurdish Jewish family and raised in Jerusalem. During his mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces, Amedi was in the combat engineering corps.

Amedi specializes in various martial arts, such as taekwondo and Thai boxing. Prior to his military service in 2005, he was the runner-up in the national taekwondo championship.

Kochav Nolad 8 and first album: 2010-2012
The beginning of Amedi's career as a singer and creator was in the audition for Kochav Nolad, in which Amedi performed with the song "Pain of Warriors", a song he wrote and composed himself for his experiences as a fighter during his military service in the combat engineering corps in the IDF.

At the end of that "Kochav Nolad" season in 2010, the song "Pain of Warriors" emerged as the first single of Amedi to the radio stations, and reached first place in the various chorus parades in Israel, including the Galgalz parade and the Reshet Gimel parade.

On January 23, 2011, another single came out of the first album, Tashlich (Throw).

In May 2011, Amedi released the song Run to the Light.

On September 5, his first full album, Idan Amedi was released. Shortly before that, he released another single, "Elaiich (To you)".

Amedi wrote and composed all the songs of the album, the song "The Last Letter", written and composed according to the letters of Moshe Ohayon R.I.P as part of the project "Soon we will become a song". Most of the songs Amedi co-edited with Itamar Meiri and Eitan Raz.

In addition, Amedi wrote a song based on Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau's book "Don't Send Your Hand to the Boy," called "Continues to Walk," as part of "The Voice Still Remains" project in collaboration with Reshet Gimel and Holocaust Memorial Information.

The album also includes "Pain of Warriors", which won the title "Song of the Year" in the annual 2011 chorus parades.

In the same year, Amedi also won the Rookie of the Year title in the Reshet Gimel network. The album was released by 'Aroma Music'.

In May 2012, Idan Amedi's debut album reached the status of a gold album after sales of over 20,000 copies.

Second album - "Bazman Hahachron (Recently)": 2013-2014
In February 2013, Amedi's second album, Bazman Hahachron (Recently) was released. The two singles that preceded the album, "Nigmar (Finished)" and "Beautiful Things to See" were successful and reached the top of the various chants. Next to the album came another single, "MIshum Ma (For some reason)".

In this album, Amdi continued to collaborate with the producers of his first album, Itamar Meiri and Eitan Raz.

In August 2013, Amedi's second album, Bazman Hahachron (Recently) reached the status of a gold album.

The song "Finished" won the "Song of the Year" title in the annual network of three-year chorus, and thus Amdi completed two winners of the title. Amdi even won the "Singer of the Year" title in this march.

"Nigmar (Finished)" is a song that Amedi wrote during his military service, telling the mosaic of Israeli society about "Oferet Yetzuka" Operation, in which Amedi participated as a combat commander in the combat engineering corps.

Years after the release of this album, Bazman Hahachron (Recently) and "Nigmar (Finished)."

Third album - "Ratzinu Lihiyot (we wanted to be)": 2014-2015
In October 2014, Amedi's debut single ("Old Voice of Memory") came out of his third album, Ratzinu Lihiyot (we wanted to be)". The song is about his memories of the Nahlaot neighborhood where his  grandparents lived. It was first place on the Galgalz hit parade for a month.

In January 2015, he released Menasim (Trying) which combines Hebrew and Arabic. Three years later, a remake of the song became the theme song for the second season of the TV show Fauda, in which Amedi plays Sagi.

In this album, he performs a duet of "Yah Ribon Olam" with his brother Elad.

On May 17 of that year the album Ratzinu Lihiyot (We wanted to be) was released, produced by Tom Cohen.

Fourth album - "Chelek Mehazman (Part of the time)": 2016-2019
On March 14, 2016, Amedi released the first single from his fourth album, called Chelek Mehazman (Part of the time) as the album's name, which he originally wrote for singer Rita. The song reached seventh place in the Galgalatz hit parade.

He released two more singles ("Ad Sheyaale Hayom Haba (until the next day)" and "Achshav Kulam Rokdim (Now everyone is dancing)"), in January 2017.

In March 2017, two months after the release of Chelek Mehazman (Part of the time), the album won  gold album status following the sale of 20,000 copies. In January 2018, the album reached the platinum album status of over 40,000 copies.

In 2018, he won first place in the Soldier hit parade marking Israel's 70th anniversary. In the summer of that year, he performed at the amphitheater in Caesarea.

Fifth album - 2020
In January 2019, Amedi released "Ma At Margisha (What Do You Feel)", the first single for his fifth album to be released by the end of 2020.

In June 2019 he released "Ani Rotze (I Want)", and in February 2020, "Mipo Lesham (From Here To There)". In May 2020, the single "Remember Almost Everything" came out. He wrote and directed the clip himself.

Acting career
In 2017, Amedi joined the cast of the TV drama Fauda, playing the character of Sagi Tzur, a new undercover man who joined the team.

Discography

 * Idan Amedi (2011)
 * Bazman Hahachron (Recently) (2013)
 * Ratzinu Lihiyot (we wanted to be) (2015)
 * Chelek Mehazman (Part of the time) (2017)
 * Zocher Kimaat Hakol (Remember Almost Everything) (2023)

Personal life
In May 2018, Amedi married Miriam Benyaminov, a social activist for people with disabilities, after more than a decade together. In December 2019 their first daughter was born. In May 2023 their second son was born.

After the outbreak of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war on October 7, 2023, Amedi was called up to join the IDF as a reservist. Amedi was among the first Israeli forces to reach Gaza's coastline and was frequently featured in photos and videos published of Israeli soldiers in Gaza, including marking for demolition Hamas tunnels in Shuja'iyya. On January 8, 2024, Amedi was seriously injured during the bombing operation of a Hamas tunnel in Southern Gaza.