When Yael Naim recorded “New Soul” in her living room, she never dreamed that success would sweep her up and carry her to stardom. Somehow her song landed on Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ desk, and he recommended it for Apple’s MacBook Air TV commercials. The rest, as they say, is music history: “New Soul” rocketed to the top of the Billboard charts and also became the number one downloaded song on iTunes. That makes Naim, who grew up near Tel Aviv and served in the Israeli army, the first Israeli solo artist to crack Billboard’s top ten.

Naim says her hit song was inspired by honest self-reflection. As a young girl, she believed she possessed an old soul, one that understood life. Thinking she was wise beyond her years, the aspiring star developed an attitude of superiority. But as she matured, she realized she had made “every possible mistake.” When Naim finally admitted that she was, in fact, a new soul who came to this world with a lot to learn, she was able to humble herself, deal with her mistakes, and ultimately recreate herself. As she says, she just looked back and said, “Okay, let’s start again, it’s okay.”