Lina Makoul

Leena Courtney Makhoul (; born ), usually known as Lina Makoul, is a Palestinian-American singer-songwriter and music producer. In 2013, she became the first Palestinian to win The Voice Israel.

Early life Makoul was born in Ohio, United States, to Arab-Christian parents and raised in Acre, Israel. Since the age of four she has loved dancing, playing the piano and singing. She is fluent in five languages.

She started studying biology at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. She dropped out in order to pursue her singing career.

Career In 2012, Makoul auditioned for the second season of The Voice Israel. On 23 March 2013, Makoul won the final at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv with 62% of the vote, having performed "What a Feeling", theme song of the movie Flashdance. Along with her mentor Shabat, she performed a song written and composed by him with his daughter singer Manor Shabat. She also sang Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. She was the first Palestinian-Israeli to win the show. She was approached by Israeli-born international manager Irit TenHengel, who signed her to her label, Yodan Productions.

In September 2016, Makoul was selected as the opening act for the band Queen + Adam Lambert in Tel Aviv.

In September 2017, she announced she would be supporting British girl group Little Mix on the UK and Ireland leg of The Glory Days Tour for all 37 arena dates from October until November 2017.

She performed an Arabic version of Silent Night for the documentary film Silent Night: A Song for the World (2020).

Makoul joined the Saint Levant Deira tour in the fall of 2024, opening for the majority of the concerts on the tour in North America and Europe.

National identity In 2018 she described herself as American-Palestinian. Makoul protested and mentioned that she had volunteered in the past, working at Israeli institutions such as synagogues and the Magen David Adom ambulance service. Her second single "Dance Sucker" rose even further to No. 4 in the UK Music Week's Official Club Chart, reflecting her growing international success. The single "Dance Sucker" was released as a preview of Makoul's 2017 album Walking on a Tightrope. The track was produced by Jerry Wonda and Tal Forer.

Singles

YearSingleMusic Week (UK) DJ Charts Commercial Pop Charts2016"This Ain't About You"2017"Dance Sucker""Can't Keep Falling"