Yair Keydar may not be part of the finale of Netflix’s “Star Search” reboot, but the 12-year-old son of Magda Fishman, a senior cantor at B’nai Torah Congregation in West Boca Raton, is a winner in our eyes.
The teen was scouted for the show on social media. “I’m big on Instagram, posting my videos,” Keydar shared in an interview this week. “Someone commented and told me to audition. I thought it was fake.”
Luckily, it wasn’t, and the rest is “Star Search” history, as they say.
Keydar burst on stage as part of the Music Juniors category and brought his best Broadway chops to rousing performances. His outfits were legendary, his crowd work was perfection, but what stood out more than anything was his voice. He had the celebrity judges, Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chrissy Teigen, wowed and in some cases, weeping.
His rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” that iconic song written the sons of Jewish immigrants from Europe, made Chrissy Teigen incredibly emotional: “That got me so much, but the pureness in your voice, it’s so pure and so beautiful… you even got warmer and more beautiful as the song went on,” she said. “Thank you for sharing it with us.” He got maximum scores from all the judges.
Perhaps his best performance, at least from this Jewish mom’s perspective, was of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.” While he sang in a particularly dapper silver suit, he walked up to his mother in the crowd and held her hand as he told her not to worry about a thing, Mama. She seemed completely, wonderfully verklempt (and yes, his dad also got a little hand squeeze). I wish my son could sing this to me every day.
Keydar was very close to making it to the final this week, trailing behind fellow Star Search Junior contestant Madison Lauren by just 0.o8 points after the audience’s final scores. But this crowd charmer certainly has big things in store going forward.
Keydar, who grew up all over — in California, Long Island, Connecticut and now Parkland, Florida — started performing with his musical mother. Whenever she was on stage at work, he kept trying to grab the mic from her.
“The first time I remember singing in public, my mom did an interfaith event at a church and wanted me to do a duet with her in front of about 500 people,” he told JTA in 2024. He’s spent a lot of time singing with his mom in synagogue and on stage, often in Hebrew and Yiddish.
The two even performed the Yiddish favorite “Chiribim, Chiribom” at New York’s NYC sing Yiddish! Summer event back in 2023:
A year later, he earned a role in “Drag: The Musical” off-Broadway. He found out about this career-changing opportunity while running errands with his dad, Zarin Keydar.
“I was shopping with my dad at Walmart, and both my manager and agent wanted to talk with us,” Keydar shared with JTA. “We went to the back of the store where they were restocking things, and they told me I had booked the role of Brendan in ‘Drag: The Musical.’ I wanted to scream it to everybody! It was such a surreal moment.”
In the musical, which tells the story of two rival drag queens, he played a young man entranced by their glitz and glamor.
“It’s a powerful character, and it relates to me in many ways,” he said of the role, which he played from late 2024 to 2025. “I think it encourages other kids to be who they are.”
Aside from “Star Search” host Anthony Anderson and the judges, Keydar already has some famous admirers, including “Wicked” composer Steven Schwartz, who kvelled about Keydar’s cover of his song “The Wizard and I.”
“Yair is an extraordinary young talent with a beautiful voice, and a remarkably mature knowledge of how to use it,” the composer told JTA.
We can’t wait to see what the future holds for this total star!
Keep Kveller Kvelling. Your support ensures that anyone seeking laughter, community and Jewish joy can find it here, without needing to cross the Red Sea (or a paywall).
