Israeli singer-songwriter, producer and dancer, MERGUI, is set to become an international phenomenon.

In 2020, the rising artist was signed to Saban Music Group following on from his breakout success in his home country. Before signing to Saban Music Group, the singer-songwriter spent his childhood and teen years learning to write music and produce, with his main influences coming from the likes of Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, to name a few. It wasn’t until a reputable producer came across one of his DIY demos and invited him to appear on The Rising Star (Israel’s largest musical TV talent show) that his ascension began. Now, His fiery brand of palatable pop has gained the talented artist a huge fanbase and millions of streams. But he’s not stopping there, MERGUI now has his eyes on breaking through to international audiences and thanks to his irresistible pop sound, he may just succeed. In aid of his grand ambitions, most recently he’s just unveiled the first two singles from his forthcoming EP Dark Side Of The Rainbow – his debut English-speaking single entitled Sucks To Know You (FU) and the infectious follow-up single Lie Like This.

In conversation with 1883 Magazine MERGUI spoke to us about his debut English-speaking single, supporting Maroon Five, and his dream artist collaboration.

MERGUI, thanks for chatting with 1883 Magazine. You’ve recently put out your debut English-speaking single, Sucks To Know You (FU) – what inspired the language change and were you nervous at all or was this always going to be the next natural step?

Hi! thanks for having me. My biggest dream has always been to share my music with the world. I grew up in a musical family. My mom is a singer and my dad used to be a musician. I grew up listening to R&B Pop and HipHop music in English, so it felt natural to follow this. It has always been my dream. I’m really excited to release my debut single and start the journey.

The accompanying visual for the single is not only a relationship for a breakup but also for someone being able to gather the strength to move on from their past (as you mentioned in a BTS clip on Instagram). As someone who is a “nostalgic person”, would you say that writing this song has given you the strength to move on?

“Sucks To Know You (FU)”  is from my upcoming EP, “Dark Side of the Rainbow”. The EP tells the story of my life in the past few years and it shows the dark side of my last relationship. The story is not just about my breakup; it’s about how I came to find myself. So yes, I am a nostalgic person and sometimes it’s hard for me to leave things behind. I believe writing this song and sharing how I felt helped me put it behind myself and open a new chapter in my life. 

 As a singer, songwriter, and producer – could you tell us about the moment when you realised ‘Okay, I want to make music my career’?

I had this little home studio in my room. I started writing when I was very young, I enjoyed messing around producing things and getting inspired from the process. It was pure fun. I was the only one who enjoyed doing these things where I grew up. I didn’t have a problem with that though, I love being different. Music really helped me shape my personality and express myself. When I was a kid, I painted, and played sports – I was a basketball player, then a soccer player, and then I got into dancing which became a huge part of my life. I was in the studio for at least five hours a day. I wish I could tell you a specific moment, but I feel like I never really chose it, it was always there.

You’ve already built up a very committed fanbase but there seems to be a big focus on bringing your talents to international audiences. With so many big global music insiders on your side, does this make you feel more confident and ready to take on the world? Or does this all add a lot of pressure?

I feel genuinely blessed to have my fans back home because none of this would have happened without them, they’ve changed my life and let me have my career. Thanks to them, I’ve obtained a huge amount of experience because I’ve been able to progress my music career back home on a smaller scale. So being able to have a fanbase that has my back, having my supportive team, and the experience I’ve gained so far, are all positive things.  There is a lot of pressure and worries that come with this career. but It is a marathon and I’m here for the long run. For most of the world, I’m not the famous “MERGUIi” yet, so I worry they won’t understand how hard it is to get to the next level. There’s no one answer to all of that, so I’ll just keep doing me.

You previously served in the military, what led you to join up and how did you find it?

 It’s mandatory in our country, so I joined after high school. I was blessed to sing at different bases and make so many soldiers happy.

We need to talk about your support slot with Maroon 5, you performed in front of 50,000 people!

Wow… what a night. Opening up for Maroon 5 at the park was a dream come true for me because I grew up listening to their music a lot. It felt unreal. Seeing a field of so many people singing every word with me was such an exciting experience! 

If you could collaborate with one other artist or band on a stand-alone single – whom would you pick and why?

Obviously there’s a lot of different artists to pick from but it would have to be Adele. I love listening to her discography with my mom. She’s so legendary, Adele is an icon

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What can people expect from your new single Lie Like This if they haven’t heard it yet? It’s just dropped!

Another layer of the story, I’m so excited! It’s definitely one of my favourites and probably the best music video I’ve ever done. I was working with so many great musicians on this track such as Noga Erez and Ori Rousso. They are really good friends of mine. I also had the amazing Mike Dean lend his legendary touch to it.

Finally, your debut EP Dark Side Of The Rainbow drops at some point soon. What did you want to achieve when you set out to make this project?

Now more than ever, music has become my way of expressing myself. For me, it’s important that Dark Side of the Rainbow tells a story from my life.So i wanted to set out and create a cohesive body of work with different songs and visuals from the last three years of my life, it was the biggest challenge for me, and I’m very proud of it. 

We can’t wait for the EP release – good luck!

Thank you.

Lie Like This is out now. Follow Mergui @mergui

Interview by Cameron Poole

Photography by Brian Ziff