What's With Israeli Bands and Britney's "Toxic"?

"Toxic" is one of those songs that gets in your head, and there's just nothing to be done about it. And I'm not even a band. But if I were, I'd probably do a cover of it. But I'm American, and with the exception of my recently acquired obsession with Coolooloosh and Subliminal and the TACT Family, tend to mostly enjoy American music.

Then came the Israeli "Toxic" invasion. When I encountered Israeli band missFlag, they did a cover. Then I saw a Newsweek article that reported Yael Naim (she of the ethereal squeak in the MacAir commercials) also performs a cover of the song. One quick trip to Wikipedia later, and I've got a whole list of bands that cover this tune, including missFlag, Naim, and Shiri Maimon, who covers it in Hebrew translation, which has been overlaid on the original Britney video here.

So to recap, three Israeli musical acts, and three different versions of one Britney Spears song. missFlag (3 versions available, below is the one with the best sound): Yael Naim, multiple versions available including this soulful version, and a more classical sounding clip, which is below): Shiri Maimon (her vocals on Britney's video):

Which is your favorite? And why do you think "Toxic" is resonating in Israel? Is it because every Israeli is secretly in the Mossad? Or secretly fans of Britney no matter how big a train wreck she is? Is it a Kabbalah thing?

Comments

[Benji Lovitt]

It's a weird phenomenon but people are really obsessed with this song. When I worked at summer camp last year in NY, one of the American staff members played a soulful version on his guitar to the delight of the kids. To tell the truth, the first time I ever heard it, I thought it was catchy as hell before someone told me it was Britney. (If this comment decides to show up high in Google searches of my name, I will have to move to a deserted island.)

[TalTalK]

Actually, it's not a cover of the song. Shiri (and a few other actors) were on a teen show called EXIT and this was one of the songs they sang - it's not a translation but a promo to the show (I worked on their summer tour so I know the song by heart - and still sing it when I hear the original).

[John]

missFlag!