Toy (song)

"Toy" (Hebrew transliteration: טוי) is a song recorded by Israeli singer Netta Barzilai. Written by Doron Medalie and the song's producer Stav Beger,[fn 1][2][3] the song was released on 11 March 2018 along with its official music video clip, which was directed by Keren Hochma.[4] It is best known as Israel's winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 held in Lisbon, Portugal. The song was leaked online a day before the official release.[5]

"Toy"
Single by Netta
from the EP Goody Bag
Released11 March 2018 (2018-03-11)
Recorded2018
Genre
Length3:00
Label
  • Tedy Productions
  • Unicell
  • S-Curve (US)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Stav Beger
Netta singles chronology
"Toy"
(2018)		 "Bassa Sababa"
(2019)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Toy" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2018 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Languages
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Doron Medalie
  • Stav Beger
Finals performance
Semi-final result
1st
Semi-final points
283
Final result
1st
Final points
529
Entry chronology
◄ "I Feel Alive" (2017)
"Home" (2019) ►

The song marks Israel's fourth Eurovision win along with 1978, 1979 and 1998,[6] having won with 529 points. The song reached the top of the charts in Israel.[7]

The song held the title of the most viewed video on Eurovision Song Contest's YouTube channel until it was surpassed by Russia's 2020 entry "Uno" in July 2020.[8][9]

The song is featured in the game Just Dance 2019.

Lyrics

The song's lyrics are mostly in English, with the exception of the Hebrew phrase אני לא בובה (ani lo buba, "I am not a doll"), and the slang word סטפה (stefa, meaning a pile of banknotes).[10] The Japanese word baka (バカ "stupid") is also used extensively and the Pokémon character Pikachu is used once. "Trump-pam-pau" refers to the then-President of the United States, Donald Trump, as Doron Medalie revealed in April 2019 to the Israeli media.[11]

Eurovision Song Contest
Performance at the first semi final rehearsal

"Toy" was first drawn to compete at the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, in which it was performed seventh in a field of nineteen songs, and achieved first place, based on a combination of fourth placing from televote and first from jury. It thus qualified for the final, under a format progressing the top ten most-voted songs from each semi-final.[12] In the final the song was performed 22nd in a field of 26, and won, based on third placing with 212 points from the jury and winning the televote with 317 points, achieving overall first place with a combined score of 529 points which Israel later won hosting rights for 2019 in Tel Aviv.[13]

Critical reception

Charlotte Runcie of The Daily Telegraph awarded the song five stars out of five, describing it as "gloriously bizarre pop" with "playful lyrics and a powerful vocal performance".[14]

Allegations were made that the performance of the song at Eurovision featured appropriation of Japanese cultural imagery as a "prop", including Netta wearing a kimono and buns, and the performance's staging featuring Maneki-nekos—a Japanese symbol of luck.[15][16] Netta did not respond to the allegations, but did state in previous interviews that she was a follower of Japanese popular culture, particularly the Pokémon franchise.[17]

In 2022, Ben Kelly of The Independent named it 39th best Eurovision-winning song of all time.[18]

Further information: List of songs that have been the subject of plagiarism disputes

On 3 July 2018, Israeli infotainer Guy Pines reported that Universal Music Group may file a lawsuit claiming "Toy" similarities in rhythm and harmony with The White Stripes' song "Seven Nation Army".[19][20] Universal sent a pre-suit notice letter to the songwriters Doron Medalie and Stav Beger, claiming copyright infringement.[21][22] In February 2019 the Israeli composers agreed to give writing credit to Jack White,[23] and a share in the royalties for the song.[24] Medalie and Beger had reportedly agreed to give Universal some of the song's distribution rights in certain territories, potentially exposing the song to an even larger audience.[25]

Credits and personnel

Recording and management

  • Recorded at Stav Beger Studios (Tel Aviv)
  • Published by Tedy Productions and Unicell

Personnel

  • Netta – vocals, loop arrangements
  • Doron Medalie – composition
  • Stav Beger – composition, production, percussion, mixing and mastering
  • Jack White – composition[fn 1]
  • Avshalom Ariel – loop arrangements
  • Ami Ben Abu – keyboards
  • Shimon Yihye – guitars
  • Daniel Rubin, Maayan Bukris and Liron Carakukly – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2018–19) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[26] 15
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[27] 29
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[28] 19
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[29] 88
Euro Digital Songs (Billboard)[30] 9
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[31] 10
France (SNEP)[32] 117
Germany (Official German Charts)[33] 19
Greece Digital Singles (IFPI Greece)[34] 12
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[35] 36
Ireland (IRMA)[36] 63
Israel (Media Forest)[7] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[37] 60
Norway (VG-lista)[38] 19
Scotland (OCC)[39] 28
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[40] 16
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 34
Turkey (Radiomonitor Top 100)[43] 36
UK Singles (OCC)[44] 49
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[45] 1
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[46] 11

Year-end charts
Chart (2018) Position
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[47] 48
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[48] 78
Chart (2019) Position
US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[49] 45

Decade-end charts
Chart (2010–19) Peak
position
Israel (Mako) 1
Israel (Walla!) 5
Israel (Kan Gimmel) 32

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[50] 3× Platinum 120,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[51] Gold 25,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes
  1. Contains several words in Hebrew.

References
  1. "White Stripes' Jack White gets co-credit for Israel's Eurovision-winning 'Toy'". The Times of Israel. 8 February 2019.
  2. Herbert, Emily (25 February 2018). "Israel: Netta's Eurovision Song "Toy" To Be Released March 10th". Eurovoix.
  3. Ioannou, Dimitris (25 February 2018). "Netta Barzilai to sing "Toy" in Lisbon!". escXtra.
  4. "Keren Hochma". IMDb.com.
  5. "Netta Barzilai's Israeli Eurovision entry leaks online". Ynetnews. 11 March 2018.
  6. "Israel Wins Eurovision Contest". Variety. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  7. "Media Forest 11 11-03-18 17-03-18". Media Forest. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  8. Cobb, Ryan (26 May 2018). "RECORD BREAKER! "TOY" becomes most viewed video EVER on Eurovision YouTube channel". Escxtra.com. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  9. "Uno! Little Big's Music Video is the most watched video on the Eurovision YouTube Channel!". Eurovision. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  10. "רוביק רוזנטל, מילון הסלנג המקיף" (Comprehensive Slang Dictionary), ISBN 965-07-1401-4, p. 259
  11. "מתברר שישראל זכתה באירוויזיון עם שיר שתוקף את טראמפ". הארץ.
  12. "First Semi-Final: 10 Acts Qualify For Eurovision 2018 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. 8 May 2018.
  13. "The results of Eurovision 2018: Let's dive into the numbers! - Eurovision Song Contest Lisbon 2018". Eurovision.tv. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  14. Runcie, Charlotte (13 May 2018). "Eurovision 2018: Israel's winning song is gloriously bizarre pop — review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  15. "Israel's Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai accused of cultural appropriation". SBS News. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  16. "Eurovision 2018 winner Netta has been accused of cultural appropriation". The Independent. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  17. "Eurovision favourite Netta: 'I don't sing beautifully'". The Independent. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  18. Kelly, Ben (10 May 2022). "All 68 winning Eurovision songs ranked from worst to best". The Independent. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  19. "Does 'Toy' sound like 'Seven Nation Army'?". The Jerusalem Post. 3 July 2018.
  20. "Major US label claims Israel's winning Eurovision hit 'Toy' plagiarized". i24NEWS. 3 July 2018.
  21. "Universal threatens to sue 'Toy' creators for copyright infringement". Ynetnews. 7 April 2018.
  22. "Songwriters of Israeli Eurovision Winner 'Toy' Threatened With Plagiarism Suit". Haaretz. 4 July 2018.
  23. "Jack White of The White Stripes gets writing credit for 'Toy' - Israel News - Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post. 7 February 2019.
  24. "White Stripes' Jack White gets writing credit for Israel's Eurovision hit 'Toy'". i24NEWS. 7 February 2019.
  25. "White Stripes frontman Jack White now listed as composer of "Toy"". wiwibloggs. 7 February 2019.
  26. "Netta – Toy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  27. "Netta – Toy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  28. "Netta – Toy" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  29. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201820 into search. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  30. "Euro Digital Song Sales Chart (The week of May 26, 2018)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  31. "Netta: Toy" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  32. "Netta – Toy" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  33. "Netta – Toy" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  34. "Official IFPI Charts-Digital Singles Chart" (in Greek). IFPI.gr. Archived from the original on 30 May 2018.
  35. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  36. "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  37. "Netta – Toy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  38. "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single uke 20, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  39. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  40. "Top 100 Canciones – Semana 20: del 11.05.2018 al 17.05.2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  41. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  42. "Netta – Toy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  43. "Top-Charts Netta-Toy". Top-Charts. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  44. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  45. "Israel's Netta Barzilai tops Billboard dance chart with Eurovision winning 'Toy'". i24NEWS. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  46. "Dance/Electronic Songs: January 1, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  47. "Dance Club Songs - Year-End". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  48. "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs - Year-End 2018". Billboard. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  49. "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  50. "Brazilian single certifications – Netta – Toy" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  51. "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 October 2023. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter Toy in the search box.
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