Acapella group Kippalive rock ‘The X-Factor Israel’

Ra’anana-based acapella group Kippalive, which began as a group of friends singing Shabbat songs together on Friday nights in 2011, took the stage last week on the X-Factor Israel.

By YONI COLLINS
RA’ANANA-BASED acapella group Kippalive 370 (photo credit: reshet.tv)
RA’ANANA-BASED acapella group Kippalive 370
(photo credit: reshet.tv)
Ra’anana-based acapella group Kippalive, which began as a group of friends singing Shabbat songs together on Friday nights in 2011, took the stage last week on the X-Factor Israel.
The group of singers came together as a hobby to put their own spin on Shabbat songs, but it was not long before they caught the attention of the municipality of Ra’anana with their street performances.
Shortly afterward they were performing their first show, on Independence Day 2011.
Kippalive’s 11 members (Danny Kaye, Doron Chitiz, Rafi Sandler, Shlomi Levin, Rafi Nathan, Matan Ziv, Daniel Fensterheim, David Weingarden, Gilad Felberg, Jeremy Benkamoun and Asher Stern), who continue to travel and perform around Israel, have become close friends since the founding of the group. They had known each other for a long time prior to the group’s creation but had never been close.
Singing songs in both Hebrew and English, Kippalive took their Friday night hobby professional. They now perform at weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, ceremonies, and, according to their website, “just about anything.”
On last week’s X-Factor, the group started their performance with a slow rendition of “Oseh Shalom Bimromav,” until Sandler, current manager and co-founder of the group, stepped in front of his nine-group members and began to sing R Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly.” That, however, was just the beginning. From there they smoothly and effectively transitioned into Matisyahu’s “One Day.”
After an impressive breakdance performance, Kippalive finished on a high note with a compilation of all three songs. The girls in the audience were cheering and breathtaken by the set; more importantly for the 10 friends was the judge’s reaction.
All four judges – Shiri Maimon, Moshe Peretz, Rami Fortis and Ivri Lider – gave the group a standing ovation.