Thursday 13 October 2016

Yehonathan Gatro

Today we pay another visit to Israel. Yehonathan Gatro (יהונתן גטרו), whose real name is Yehonathan Getreuer (יהונתן גטרוייר) was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 25 October 1977. He started singing when he was just 14 and became a teen heartthrob, very popular with the girl/teen audiences. As for his coming out:

"Actually it was very easy. I come from a very liberal family and I'm very lucky that no one made a big deal about it. I knew I was gay from a very early age but only came out to everyone around 25. I told my mother when I was 18."


He realized that he wanted to be a Pop singer in 1993, when he saw Madonna in concert in Israel.

In 2000, he released his first album, in Hebrew, entitled Medabrim Al Ze / Talking About It (מדברים על זה). Just Believe (רק תאמיני) was one of the songs:


In 2002, he moved to Los Angeles to study acting. In 2006, he released the first single Kore Lecha (Calling You), a gay love song. The single represented Yehonathan’s official coming-out to his fans. The video version of the song went on to top the charts in Israel.


Here's the same song remixed by Lyrik:


... And here's the ballad version:


In 2007 On A Hot Summer Night was released and immediately turned into a huge dance club hit and was named "one of the top 10 gay videos of all time" by DNA Magazine.


In 2008, he co-starred in a recurring role on the highly provocative Israeli TV series, The Ran Quadruplets, where he played Nadav, a sexually charged young man embroiled in the world of Tel Aviv's pulsating gay scene.

The aptly titled My Turn was Yehonathan’s first full-length English album and EP, was released in May 2009, and was produced by Lyrik. Just Another Summer was On A Hot Summer Night in English. Here it is:


Here's the 2015 mix by Lyrik:


Here's My Turn, which was his next single:


... Which was followed by Remember When:


Say Goodnight was a single in 2010:


Across the Universe, another collaboration with Lyrik, was released in 2011:


All of the above tracks were included in the album My Turn. In my opinion, one of the very good Pop/Dance albums of the last 10 years. Another song from this album was You'll Always Be My Love:


In 2012, Yehonathan released the songs Turn On Your Lights and Make It Without You as a preview of the album that would be released in 2013.

Here's Turn On Your Lights:


... And here's Make It Without You:


On February 26, 2013, Yehonathan officially released his second full-length English album, Yeho, produced by Lyrik. I Got To was the album's first single:


Lyrik also appears in the album on the song You'll Be Loved:


Also appearing on the album is the Russian LGBT singer Daniell Gertsegov in the song My Yeho.



Yehonathan is a very attractive man, with a talent for good Pop and unapologetically gay. Watching his videos is an empowering experience. Hopefully he'll make more music in the years to come. When he does, we're ready for it.

2 comments:

  1. I remember hearing and seeing some of these vids several years ago on NewNowNext but after hearing the songs he sings in his native tongue I think I prefer those to the English versions. There's a facility that comes from expressing yourself in your language that can go missing in another tongue. There's a rhythm and color to his voice that I don't quite hear in the English though I'm not sure how familiar he was in that language to begin with. Anyway, he's a hot guy with a nice voice and good songs. What more can you want?

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    1. You're absolutely right, RM. (By the way, I've missed reading your comments). There's more emotional honesty when one sings in their native language and the musicality of the words is inborn rather than learned. Yet English is the international language and if one wants to have a shot at an international career, that's the go-to language. Definitely a hot guy, and most of his videos are also sexy in a gay-affirming sort of way. The songs and the voice are nice, so, as you say, what more can you want?

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