Summer concerts: R&B icons take over Tel Aviv

Top musicians come from around the world to give concerts in Israel, mostly in Tel Aviv, and every year the number is increasing!

Leonard Cohen, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Paul McCartney are just some of the big names who have given concerts in Israel in recent years.

This summer’s concerts are all about R&B with performances by such artists as Chris Brown and Mariah Carey.

More than 10,000 people gathered Monday night at Live Park in Rishon LeZion to see Chris Brown, one of the most popular rappers in the world. Brown, 26, gave the audience a show full of energy, and played many of his big hits including Turn Up the Music and Yeah 3x, as well as several cover versions, among others, of songs by Michael Jackson. Sometimes the brightly lit stage was transformed into a New York rap club, with the appearance of more than a dozen dancers.

Mariah Carey, one of the most celebrated singers in the world, is also coming to Live Park next month to give her first-ever concert in Israel.

The gig comes less than two months after Carey made her first visit to Israel, with boyfriend James Packer, an Australian businessman who reportedly is a friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The couple had a “pre-engagement spiritual meeting” with an unnamed religious leader meant to advise them on whether or not to marry. Most famous for her five-octave vocal range and 18 No. 1 singles on the Billboard charts, Carey will make $500,000 for her first concert in Israel.