Ishtar (born Esther (Eti) Zach, on 10 November 1967 in Kiryat Atta, Israel… Read Full Bio ↴Ishtar (born Esther (Eti) Zach, on 10 November 1967 in Kiryat Atta, Israel) is an Israeli-born pop singer who performs in Arabic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and English. She debuted in 1996 and is best known for her work as the front vocalist of the French-based band Alabina, and her solo pop hits such as C'est La Vie, Last Kiss, and Habibi (Sawah).

She speaks and sings in Arabic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and English; in addition, she says she "half-speaks Moroccan".

Ishtar began performing in clubs at age 14 and continued even while enrolled in the IDF. Though she was born Eti Zach, she chose the name 'Ishtar', a Mesopotamian Goddess, because her grandmother called her Ester, which "with her Egyptian accent it sounded like Ishtar", she said.

It was around this time a friend asked her to join them in France. She soon fell in love with the country and decided to make it her home.

Alabina Years:
Once she moved to France, Ishtar began working as a backup vocalist for several flamenco type acts. It was here she was discovered by Charles Ibgui who, enamored with her voice, introduced her to Los Niños de Sara. She joined the group as a lead vocalist and together they performed under the name Alabina.

Alabina soon became a worldwide success charting in the top 10 and top 40 several times in the US alone.

Alabina had found success mixing Flamenco, Arabic, Pop, and Dance sounds. Los Niños de Sara usually sang in Spanish while Ishtar would sing in Spanish, Arabic, French, Hebrew, or a mix of the languages — several songs were sung in Spanish and Arabic.

Solo Career:
Despite Alabina's success, after two albums Ishtar decided to do a solo project of her own (though still a member of the group); Los Niños de Sara also began to release CDs of their own.

In November, 2000 La Voix d'Alabina (The Voice of Alabina) was released. It stepped up the Oriental pop sound while mixing in some traditional Arabic sounds and dance beats. Nine out of the twelve songs were mainly in French though Arabic, Spanish, English, and Hebrew were mixed in on various songs (for example Last Kiss was in English). Several of the tracks found dance floor success, including Last Kiss.

Ishtar also paid a visit to her fans in Israel, where she hosted a few television shows, singing duos with local stars such as Pavlo Rosenberg, Avihu Medina, and David D'Or.

Ishtar continued to tour the world with Alabina for the next few years as she worked on her second album, Truly Emet, which was released in August, 2003 this time with most of the songs being in Hebrew. However she decided to sing more songs in mixes of Arabic and Hebrew to show that there could be harmony between the two cultures. Truly Emet was again a dance floor success especially the songs C'est La Vie, and again Last Kiss.

A few more performances were done with Alabina, though as of 2005, the group had seemed to disband by no longer actively performing or releasing new music.

Ishtar's third album, Je Sais D'où Je Viens (I know where I come from) was released in November, 2005. This time the music was still Oriental pop, however much less dance. More hip hop-type beats were stirred in with the Arabic music. Most of the songs were sung in Arabic, four were sung in French, and a few in English, while Spanish and Hebrew could be found throughout the album. Again she found dance success with such singles as Habibi (Sawah), which for the first time in her career featured a rapper JMI Sissoko.

Shortly after a greatest hits CD, The Alabina Years, was released, featuring a mix of Ishtar's solo hits, her Alabina hits, and some new English tracks as well.

Ishtar currently lives in France and is working on promoting her album "Best Of".

Discography
** Albums(Only solo CDs are listed)

The Voice of Alabina
Truly Emet
Je Sais d'où Je Viens
The Alabina Years
Best Of Ishtar Alabina

** Singles

Last Kiss
C'est La Vie
Habibi (Sawah)
Yahad

Alabina
Ishtar Alabina Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

De granada a Casablanca
Enterré mi fantasía
Una guitarra, y una gitana canta
Canta mi Andalucía
De llegar a Casablanca
Tú me bailas en la playa
Con tus ojos negros, chiquita
Y tu boca enamorada

Enamorada como tú (como tú)
Enamorada como tú (como tú)
Enamorada como tú (como tú)
Como tú, como tú, hay nadie como tú...

yalabina yalla
ya habibi yalla
nifrah win ool, masha allah
yalabina yalla
ya habibi yalla
nifrah win ool, masha allah

yalabina ala tool

yalabina ala tool
yalabina ala tool
ah ya aili waili waili waili waili
ulu inshalla...

De granada a Casablanca
Enterré mi fantasía
Una guitarra y una gitana canta
Canta mi Andalucía
De granada a Casablanca
Enterré mi fantasía
Una guitarra y una gitana canta
Canta mi Andalucía

ayunak helwa
shafayfek ghenwa
ayunak helwa
shafayfek ghenwa

ah ya aili waili waili,
Waili waili ulu inshalla...

Overall Meaning

"Alabina" is a love song that captures the essence of a man who is captivated by a Spanish woman. The song's title is also the name of a group that incorporates Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, and French music, and this song is a perfect example of the group's style.

The song starts with the singer describing how he buried his desires between Granada and Casablanca. He talks about a guitar and a singing gypsy, highlighting the Andalusian culture of Spain. The chorus revolves around how he met a girl on the beach in Casablanca, and he falls in love with her because of her dark eyes and her enamored lips. He finishes the song by repeating that there is no one like her.

The song is a beautiful representation of Spanish and Middle Eastern cultures. The lyrics reflect how the two cultures intertwine. The man falls in love with a Spanish woman in Morocco, and the music mixes Spanish and Arabic rhythms. The lyrics use Spanish words and phrases and sprinkle in Arabic words and phrases too, which illuminates the Arabian influence on Spain.

Line by Line Meaning

De granada a Casablanca
I buried my fantasy from Granada to Casablanca

Enterré mi fantasía
I buried my fantasy

Una guitarra, y una gitana canta
A guitar, and a Gypsy woman sings

Canta mi Andalucía
My Andalusia sings

De llegar a Casablanca
When I arrive in Casablanca

Tú me bailas en la playa
You dance with me on the beach

Con tus ojos negros, chiquita
With your black eyes, little one

Y tu boca enamorada
And your enamored mouth

Enamorada como tú (como tú)
Enamored like you (like you)

Como tú, como tú, hay nadie como tú...
Like you, like you, there's no one like you...

yalabina yalla
Let's go, Alabina