Music Star Gitit Shoval On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry
An Interview With Elana Cohen
I wish I knew that I would get more nos than yeses. I also wish that someone would have told me not to take a no personally. I wish someone would have told me that the music industry is one of the hardest ones to be in, although having said that, I don’t think that it would have changed anything because music is a part of my being and I don’t think I would be able to fully let it go. I wish someone would have told me that entitlement is one of the most dangerous things for success, and I wish that somebody would have taught me how to have a career while being a great mother.
As a part of our interview series with leaders, stars, and rising stars in the music industry, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Gitit Shoval.
New England Music Awards Nominee, Gitit Shoval is an Israeli-American singer/songwriter of the Ancestral-Pop genre. Her bilingual “healing based” music sits at the intersection of the diva like qualities of Beyoncé and the alternative / avant-garde worldliness of Bjork. Gitit was catapulted into overnight success at a young age. Soon after, national tours, television, radio performances, overseas engagements, and a move from Israel to North America followed. 555 will be Shoval’s eighth album, following seven LPs, one EP, and four Platinum-Selling albums for children to her credit. Additionally, Gitit is the Hebrew voice of characters such as Smurfette and Barbie. Holding a Master of Arts in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music, Gitit Shoval is a Cantorial Soloist, and a Mass Cultural Council Grant Recipient.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit about your “origin story”. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
Thank you so much for having me, Authority Magazine! My name is Gitit Shoval, I was born in Israel to a musical family. My father was a very well known radio persona and musician, and my mother was a lyricist who worked with the biggest singers of the time. I began my professional music career at the age of 13, at the Pre-Eurovision Contest of Israel with one of my mother’s songs.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Even though music was a very natural career path for me given my parents’ profession, it came as a surprise at a very early age. My mother wrote lyrics to a song written by a composer who just immigrated to Israel from Romania that year. When it was time for him to hear the final lyrics, he got sick and wasn’t able to come over to my parents’ home. So, my mother had me record the song at 13 on a cassette, and she and my father brought it over to him to listen. He was so moved and touched by what he heard that he wanted to do something with the song and share it with people. My father suggested to submit the song to the Pre-Eurovision Contest. The song was accepted and a few months later I got to perform it live on television with a whole orchestra, and an entire country watching. Back then, Israel only had one single TV channel and everybody tuned in. This performance changed my life.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
After I met my musician husband, Ron Druyan, we opened a recording studio to record our music, and somehow in a fascinating chain of events, that studio became one of the leading voiceover studios in the country. While I performed my music all over Israel, I also got to be the Hebrew voice for many beloved and well known cartoon characters such as Smurfette from the Smurfs, and Barbie.
It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Once I was invited to sing at the Independence Day of Israel celebrations in one of a biggest cities in Israel. The concert went great and everyone had a wonderful time. When I went backstage a man approached me. He shook my hand and said that the performance was amazing and that he loved every minute of it. He was very kind and sweet, and I thanked him for his warm words. I then asked him, “remind me how we know each other?” He turned out to be the Mayor of that city, the man who invited me to perform. It was incredibly embarrassing! Lesson learned! Always know who invites you, remember their names and what they look like!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The one person that holds my hand and walks with me every step of the way both personally and professionally, is my husband, Ron Druyan. Ron is an incredible musician who believes in me beyond words can express. When I met Ron about 37 years ago, I actually made the decision to leave the music industry and choose another career path. Ron was the one who kept me in music and convinced me that it was what I was meant to do in my life. I am forever grateful to him for that moment, and for so many other moments throughout the years.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Tze’akat Ha’dal Takshiv Ve’Toshi’ah,” or in English, listen to the poor’s cry and help (Psalms 33:1). I think that this quote is the biggest life lesson one can learn. Always be aware to what happens around you and help others in need. Growing up, my parents always taught us to give to others, and to be kind and compassionate. This quote has been such a strong part of my life, that I decided to use it in one my songs in my new project 555. I wrote lyrics in English around this quote and composed a melody. This song may be the song that I am proudest to have written throughout my career.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Currently I am working on an exciting project called 555. 555 is a new album. It is a celebration of my 5th decade in the music industry. I will be recording 5 songs over the span of 5 days, which will be live streamed on YouTube. 5 songs, 5 days, 5 decades. Opening up the process of recording music is raw, transparent, exciting, and rarely done in this manner. It adds a high level of complexity to the production, but also allows me to celebrate this milestone with my supporters. I am so looking forward to this experience, and I know it will be a memorable one. Join me for 555 on May 30th to June 3rd, live on YouTube!
Event Link — https://www.youtube.com/live/ad5J4aP89vY?feature=share
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in music, film, and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
Music is a language beyond any other, and every culture shares it in a different way. It’s extremely important to share your culture with others and to invite other cultures to be a part of your world. This is exactly what I have been doing for the last 10 years. My writing style is close to my Israeli roots, which is a mix between eastern European music and Middle Eastern music. I love singing with musicians from all over the world, like the United States, Greece, Jordan, Iran, Puerto Rico, and many more. Collaborating with musicians who come from different backgrounds helps create music that is moving both to the ear and the soul.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
I wish I knew that I would get more nos than yeses. I also wish that someone would have told me not to take a no personally. I wish someone would have told me that the music industry is one of the hardest ones to be in, although having said that, I don’t think that it would have changed anything because music is a part of my being and I don’t think I would be able to fully let it go. I wish someone would have told me that entitlement is one of the most dangerous things for success, and I wish that somebody would have taught me how to have a career while being a great mother.
I began my career at a very young age, in the biggest way imaginable for an artist in Israel at that time. Becoming an overnight star could easily be translated into entitlement, and it took me many years to become mature enough to understand that there is no such thing as “I deserve.” Hard work and resilience is the key to any success.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Do music that you love. Do things from your heart, and you’ll be able to reach other people’s hearts. If you act your truth it is much easier to thrive.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I would love to inspire a movement of committing a kind act a day, having people participate on a social mission of doing at least one good deed a day to help promote and inspire a better, kinder world.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I would love to have breakfast or lunch with the great Stevie Wonder! He is one of the most remarkable musicians of all time, and I would be honored to meet and learn from him.
How Can our readers follow you online?
Website: https://www.gititshovalmusic.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GititShoval
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gititshoval
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gitit_shoval
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gititshoval/
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
