Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

On TV in ‘LaLa Land’: Israeli Singers Vie For Record Deal

“I’m travelling to L.A. with a dream in my suitcase and butterflies in my stomach. I’m looking for the end of a string to grab and create an opportunity to conquer the world,” sings Dudu Aharon in the first seconds of the opening sequence for “Chai b’LaLa Land” (“Living in LaLa Land”), a new Israeli reality TV show about six Mizrachi-style Israeli singers trying to make it big in Los Angeles.

The program, set to begin airing on Israeli’s Yes satellite cable network later this month, has been described in an article in Los Angeles’ Jewish Journal as a cross between “American Idol” and “Big Brother,” and is the most expensively produced Israeli reality show to date. Aharon lived in L.A. together with Etti Levy, Avihu Shabat, Julietta Agronov, Zehava Ben and Alon de Loco for six weeks beginning last January, as they vied for a distribution deal with Geffen Records.

“Chai b’LaLa Land” viewers can look forward to seeing how the singers, having left their fame and comfort zones back home in Israel, navigate unknown territory in southern California. Will de Loco’s uniquely Israeli reggaeton, Shabat’s sexy Middle Eastern crooning, or Ben’s tight Mizrachi diva jeans-and-leopard-print fashion sense cross over successfully to American audiences?

And perhaps even more interesting for some viewers will be seeing whether Ben and Levy, long-estranged middle-aged sisters who both rose to fame out of the Beer Sheva slums, can live together for six weeks without serious incident.

However things wind up, it will have at least been fun to have gone along for the ride with the singers as they cruised the Sunset Strip in a classic red convertible — following their dreams in LaLa Lend, as they pronounced it in their Israeli accents.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.