Born and raised in Detroit, Michael HarPaz, son of immigrant parents, emigrated to Israel in 1995 with only a few bucks in his pocket, his guitar on his back and high ambitions.
Within a year, he became a founding member of HiFive, the biggest band in Israeli history. As the lead singer in HiFive, Michael spent the next four years performing to sold out arena shows in front of hundreds of thousands of adoring fans. As a cultural icon, Michael was the pulse of everything pop in the country. Setting trends both musically and socially, Michael managed to change Israeli entertainment history forever.
He and his group set the bar against which all other success was measured. With four gold albums to his name and countless other awards and honors, Michaels fame rose to new heights. He could not walk the streets of Tel-Aviv without a steady entourage or bodyguards and security.
Michael’s music took him to New York and word traveled fast. He performed for Mayor Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion and singing on the stage of Town Hall. Michael became part of the songwriting team for producer John Eaton writing for such artists as P. Diddy, Usher, and The Roots. During this time, Michael also flew to LA to write and perform on the best selling CD, MAXAZRIA BCBG Live.
Soon Michael was in the studio with 7 Aurelius (Jennifer Lopez, Ashanti, Ja Rule) and renowned music mogul, Damon Dash, to work on some collaborative projects. While working on a song for Paris Hilton, Michael was asked to come to Israel to help write some songs for Israeli singer Maya Buskila.
In Israel, Michael’s music was overheard by Oscar nominated film maker Menahem Golan and asked if he would stay in Israel to write and produce an original score for his new motion picture, “A Dangerous Dance”. Humbled by this offer, Michael began writing the rough demos for the movie. The producers and director fell in love with the voice on the rough tracks and soon enough was singing more tracks on the album than not. Michaels knack for vocal impersonations and wide range allowed him to write, produce and sing every track for the film. Currently, Michael is in Tel Aviv finishing the score for Golan’s film, with the first single, “My Champion” about to hit the airwaves.
Michael participated in the “Voices for Israel” project, and though not a ‘religious’ performer, wrote a new Havdallah suite for the Conservative movement. He has participated in many concerts to support Israel Defense Forces and benefits for victims of terror, including those in Sderot and in the bomb shelters during the Second Lebanon War.
Havdallah
Kshe HaLev
So Clearly I Remember
Westport Boy
