Israeli-Dutch singer Dotan was hosted at the Vatican by Pope Francis before Christmas, before performing on the annual Italian TV show Concerto di Natale, which was broadcast on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.“Still can’t believe this really happened. It’s an amazing honor to perform in the Vatican and meet the pope,” said the 34-year-old Dotan, who has a solid following in Holland, Italy and other European countries.“The Vatican is one of the most beautiful places in the world to play. What happened to my music in Europe and beyond this year is unbelievable. This feels like the cherry on the cake,” he told Italian media. Last year Lionel Richie was the show’s main guest. After the broadcast, his latest single, “There Will Be A Way,” hit the #1 spot in Italy, ahead of Ed Sheeran and The Weeknd.Born in Jerusalem to a Dutch mother and an Israeli father, Dotan Dahan was raised in Amsterdam, staying there with his mother after his parents divorced and his father returned to Israel to live in Zichron Ya’acov. Growing up, he would spend school vacations in Israel, where he picked up basic Hebrew.“When I went to college, I paid for my tuition by playing in cover bands in every grungy bar and pub in Amsterdam,” Dotan told The Jerusalem Post in 2012, adding that the experience taught him about the craft of making music. “But eventually I got so sick of it. I just wanted to play my own songs and really knew I had it in me to record an album.”His debut album, Dream Parade, was released in 2010 in The Netherlands and its single “This Town” paved the way to national stardom.His album 7 Layers is one of the best-selling Dutch artist albums of all time. A 2019 single, “Numb,” was a number one hit in the Netherland, as well as Italy and Poland.
Dotan was embroiled in a controversy in 2018, when a Dutch paper revealed that he had enlisted the aid of at least 140 troll accounts to boost his online reputation and following. The singer later confirmed the existence of these accounts and apologized.