France: Yael Naim Singer of the Year

Israeli singer Yael Naim was crowned Best Female Singer of the Year in France's musical award ceremony "Victoires de la Musique" on Tuesday.

Naim competed against French singer Vanessa Paradis, who recently called off her concert in Israel, and Asa, a singer of Nigerian descent considered a rising star in France.

Naim's third album, "She was a Boy," was released in late 2010 and received critical acclaim. Tuesday's award joins the Album of the Year award she won in 2008 in the World Music category, along with her musical partner David Donatien.

Her second album, "Yael Naim," received international attention thanks to the hit "New Soul", which was used by the Apple company in an international advertising campaign in January 2008.

Naim was born in Paris in 1978 to Jewish parents of Tunisian descent. She grew up in the central Israeli city of Ramat Hasharon and served in the Israel Air Force band.

She began her career as a singer in French musical "Les Dix Commandements" by Élie Chouraqui and Pascal Obispo. Her first album, "In a Man's Womb," was released in 2011 and was not very successful.

Naim worked on her second album – which includes songs in English, Hebrew and French – for two years. It was followed by "She was a Boy," which is all in English and combines touches of pop, folk music and jazz.

This article first appeared on Ynet and is reprinted with permission.