| abstract | - Amir Haddad (born Laurent Amir Khlifa Khedider Haddad), sometimes known only as Amir, is a French-Israeli singer and songwriter born in Paris of Tunisian and Spanish-Moroccan Jewish parents. He emigrated to Israel at the age of 8 and in 2006 competed in the fourth season of Kokhav Nolad, the Israeli version of the Idol franchise - the only candidate to sing French-language songs in the audition phase. He was eliminated in the fourth round of competition. After completing his obligatory service in the military, he released his debut album Vayehi in 2011. He graduated from university in 2012 with a degree in dentistry. It was in 2008 when performing alongside Patrick Bruel at a concert in Israel in front of about 11,000 people that started to fuel Amir's dream to pursue a career in music. In 2014, Amir competed in the third season of the French version of The Voice. His performances during the season gained much praise from the coaches and earned him a massive fanbase. He reached the final, finishing in third place to eventual winner Kendji Girac. On 29 February 2016, France 2 announced that Amir would represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm with the song J’ai cherché. He finished in 6th place in the final, giving France its best finish in 14 years and its best-scoring entry to date. His most recent album, Au coeur de moi, was released on April 29, 2016. It has become a hit in France, peaking at #6 on the French album chart and going gold within 2 months of its release. It went double platinum in France and gold in Switzerland in 2017 and has produced 2 hit singles. On 28 February 2017, Amir announced that he will assist Marianne James and Stéphane Bern as a commentator for France 2 at the final of the 2017 contest in Kiev.
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