From TikTok to Concert Halls: The Story of 'Hayotzrim', the Duo Captivating Mizrahi Music

A profile of the singing duo 'Hayotzrim' – father Hagi Chen and his son Yuval – who broke out on TikTok and now fill concert halls with Mizrahi music and songs in Moroccan. The breakthrough began in 2017 with a cover of a song by Sarit Hadad, followed by the duet 'Infinite Love' that garnered hundreds of thousands of views. The original song 'Or' reached millions of views and attracted collaborations with Nissim Saroussi, Shlomi Shabat, and Liat Benia. The article also describes the personal journey: the ostracism and bullying Yuval experienced in childhood, and his father's support for piano studies.

A profile of the singing duo 'Hayotzrim' – father Hagi Chen and his son Yuval – who broke out on TikTok and now fill concert halls with Mizrahi music and songs in Moroccan. The two, a father and son, have become the hottest duo in the Mediterranean genre, and the article sets out to understand the secret of their charm. The initial breakthrough began in 2017 when they uploaded a cover of a song by Sarit Hadad. Following another duet in Hebrew and Arabic ('Infinite Love') that garnered hundreds of thousands of views on live, they began uploading performances regularly every two weeks. Over time, alongside covers, they started working on original material, including the song 'Or' which reached millions of views and attracted collaborations with leading artists such as Nissim Saroussi, Shlomi Shabat, and Liat Benia on the hit 'Love Like Ours'. Behind the success lies a path fraught with personal and professional challenges. The father, Hagi Chen, worked for years in the north as part of the wedding band 'Meshi' alongside his brother, singer Oren Chen. After Oren went solo, Hagi tried to break out from Tiberias but faced many difficulties. Yuval shared that as a child he suffered from ostracism and bullying at school and struggled with low self-confidence. His father pushed him to study piano – a decision that Yuval says didn't seem 'cool' at the time but became his musical and personal anchor. The close partnership between father and son drives their successful tour of sold-out halls across the country.