“For the first time in my life I did not want to get out of bed”

Anyone who has heard Lake Bohbot’s new song, “Diamond,” which came out a few weeks ago, must have raised an eyebrow at its new branding: no longer an oriental soul singer but a pop singer (who doesn’t happen to mention Ariana Grande); No longer “Bohbot Lake” but AGAM; No longer a girl who was discovered in the children’s singing competition “School of Music” but a strong young woman with 300,000 followers on Instagram, who knows what she is worth.

The song, which conquered the radio and gained two and a half million views on YouTube within two weeks, is currently at the center of a lawsuit filed this week in the Magistrate’s Court in Bat Yam, because it is completely unexpected: the lyricist Yossi Gispen. The reason: a symbol of a few seconds from the song “My Beauty Queen”, one of Eyal Golan’s greatest hits from 16 years ago, written by Gispen about who was then Golan’s private beauty queen, Ilanit Levy. According to Gispen, he was surprised to find that although he refused the request three times, the passage was used.

Gispen, one of the most prominent creators of Mediterranean pop, is demanding NIS 100,000 from Bohbot for copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleges that “to the applicant’s astonishment, he was surprised to find that despite his consistent opposition and refusal to allow the inclusion and inclusion of his work – he was ignored by all involved, and the infringing work was published as an integral part of the original work.”

“I’m surprised by the lawsuit, I did not expect it,” Bohbot responds for the first time. “This is a musical reference and nothing more, for which I received the approval and blessing of the songwriter Adi Leon and he even appears in the credits of the song.”

The Ministry of Public Relations, which accompanies the song, said: “The song ‘Diamond’ is an extraordinary success, and therefore receives a lot of interest around it. Ido Netzer, Yam Refaeli and Amit Mordechai, the creators of the song, which features a musical reference to ‘My Beauty Queen’ “Who gave his permission to use an excerpt from the melody. Leon even appears in the credits of the song. When Mr. Gispen’s request is received, it will be examined and treated through pipes in Kabbalah and in accordance with every law.”

It is not inconceivable that the prosecution will do only good for the promotion of the song, and for the promotion of Bohbot as a singer who represents a feminist social agenda.

“The way I got the first sketch I knew I wanted to do it,” she says. “I stopped in the middle of the song, I didn’t have to hear until the end, I said ‘Now I’m going to record, this song is mine and whatever.”

Did you easily connect to the words as well?

“Yes, I represent the female sex, probably of the girls of my generation that the Me Too revolution did not miss. This is the first time I sing a song with a social statement, and I connect with it one hundred percent. I hope this song will make all the girls and girls who listen to me say they are good “Strong and independent, and do not need any man to feel equal.”

Did you plan in advance for this song to lead your image revolution?

“We did not plan revolutions, but I know I’m starting a new path here. This song is just the beginning, he comes and says, ‘Okay, I’m no longer an eight – year – old lake from a music school, or a 12 – year – old lake like In Rio. “I am a young girl, almost a woman, who has paid one hundred percent with the message that the song brings with it.”

Although she is only 17 years old, changing the musical line is not her first makeover. It was preceded by a serious external makeover, which included weight loss, hair straightening she did at age 12 and has since stopped (“It ruined my hair”) and dental care. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she says. “I had insecurities because of the crooked teeth I had, I did not agree to smile because it bothered me. I could not make a bridge, because it takes years and it also changes the pronunciation and diction a bit, and as a singer I could not take a risk that it would hurt my singing. I keep smiling. “

Have you been asked to lose weight?

“None of the people who ran me told me I needed to lose weight, and I think if someone had told me something like that he wouldn’t have worked with me. I chose to take myself in hand.”

What does it mean to take yourself in hand?

“I started walking with my mom, she took me to a nutritionist, and I started to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I do not feel like I gave up anything, I can eat whatever I want, but I am careful because I work hard so it’s a shame to suddenly poke puffs. I’m on Instagram all day. By Liran Koehner, she gives recipes that have no such thing. Luckily I like fruits and vegetables, I eat spelled bread, which is tastier than white bread, I make myself acai every day, and I like it in levels. Tachles I do not feel particularly thin, I am tall “1.77 meters, it blurs. Sports also help, and the truth is that I was addicted.”

Agam was recently cast to star alongside Oz Zahavi in ​​a new HOT series called “The Good City,” which tells the story of a gay teacher in a high school challenge class in the south of the country. Agam will play Linoy, a student who is dealing with a family tragedy and together with her classmates she is running for mayor.

Casting for a series that has not yet been filmed caused a stir on the net when the subject came up on Guy Pines’ Instagram page. It turned out that the show’s followers did not really like her casting for the lead role “at the expense of thousands of perhaps lesser-known actors, who do not finish the month and are forced to make a living from house cleaning or any other gig.”

Do you understand the criticism?

“I got this role by right and not by grace, so I decided not to shut up this time, because it’s burning in me. I work hard on my acting lessons, it’s not a gimmick. Today I allow myself to say that I get roles not only because I’m a famous singer, but also because I’m an actress. From the age of 11 I went to auditions and I was not accepted because I was not good. Until the age of 15 I ran between auditions and got just no and no, even though I’m Bochbot Lake. ‘ “Invest ‘, I went to study, and that’s how the door opened for me, they started to take me more seriously, and I also came to Habima with a lead role in’ Mama Mia! ‘”

When she mentions the musical “Mama Mia!”, Based on the songs of the band Abba, her face is serious and tears well up in her eyes. The reason: she had to take a step back and reduce the dose of her performances in the lead role, which she shared with Roni Dalumi, after only two performances, and this – no less and no more – at the request of the audience. Viewers, who did not like to see the 16-year-old kissing on stage with 30-year-old actor Matan Shavit, who played Skye, expressed unequivocal reservations on the theater pages on social media, and the theater directors had no choice but to send the girl home, who would grow up a bit.

How was your first show?

“I never got as excited as I did that day. I wanted to prove to everyone that I’m good, that it’s really justified that I’m there. When I went on stage all the excitement was gone, I’m never cheering for myself, but I said to myself, ‘Xiao, you were good.’ “They uploaded a clip of me behind the scenes to their digital and a few seconds from the show, and the reactions were shocking. I swear to you that I want to cry now just to remember it.”

How do you proceed from here?

“The next day I went up to my second show – I said to myself, ‘If until now you gave 300 percent, today you give a thousand percent.’ I did it great, but the audience was really angry. People called Habima and said it was disrespectful and unpleasant. They saw a 16-year-old girl kissing on stage. In response, they cut me off half of the plays, and also in the plays I participated, they took down the scene of the kiss. I was supposed to do 12 plays a month and I was reduced to four. Of course I have no bad word to say about the theater. to respond”.

Take it hard?

“I collapsed. For the first time in my life I did not want to get out of bed. I’m already after that, but when I remember that I start crying.”

No response was received from Habima.