She’s not even 15 years old, but this Israeli immigrant to Canada is blessed with a powerful singing voice that belies her years. Now Maya Gamzu is hoping that her current success on this season’s reality TV show Canada’s Got Talent (airing on Citytv) will be her ticket to stardom. Gamzu and her family moved from Tel Aviv to Richmond Hill, Ont. four years ago. She was already performing in Hebrew back home ever since she was a toddler, but mastering the English language was a challenge she took on so that she could reach a wider audience. Although she doesn’t flaunt it, her Jewish and Israeli roots are a huge part of Maya’s identity: for her audition episode, she wore a red string bracelet around her left wrist which she had brought from the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Originally, Maya had hoped to make a connection with the lone Jewish judge on the show, Toronto-born comedian Howie Mandel. But surprisingly it was the award-winning rapper Kardinal Offishall who became her champion, and awarded the Grade 9 student at Westmount Collegiate Institute the so-called “Golden Buzzer” – which means she went straight through to the semi finals. That episode airs tonight Tuesday, May 2. Maya Gamzu and her father Sergei join The CJN Daily to take us behind the scenes of the popular show.

What we talked about

Watch Maya Gamzu’s audition and interview with Canada’s Got Talent on Citytv
Follow her on Instagram
Vote for Maya Gamzu after the episode airs, using this link

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here.

Could Israeli-born teen singer, Maya Gamzu, win "Canada’s Got Talent"?