Israeli Heartthrob Mergui Drops First English-Language Single ‘Sucks to Know You’

Mergui has been a household name in Israel for a while now, but with his first-ever single in English, he’s ready for U.S. audiences to get to know him, too. On Friday, the curly-haired heartthrob released his single “Sucks to Know You,” a middle-fingers-up, guitar-driven anthem about healing from heartbreak.

“Now I got about a thousand things/to say to you/But I’m down to four/It goes like,” he sets up the chorus before singing: “Fuck you/I hate you/I miss you/Sucks to know you.”

The video sees him driving in an old car into a beautiful field of flowers in Croatia as he belts the breakup lyrics. The new track, Mergui tells Rolling Stone, “was written when I was coming out of a very difficult point in my life.” He seemingly refers to his public breakup from fellow musician Noa Kirel, who recently signed to Atlantic Records and is also launching a career in the U.S.

“I felt so many different things: a tornado of anger and sadness mixed with excitement and relief,” he says. (During a showcase at the Sun Rose Thursday, Mergui said their relationship “was in front of the cameras,” and it felt like “the media was almost sleeping in our bed.”)

Now, after going through the wringer in Israel, he’s starting a new journey, led by the hand of Saban Music Group, the label home of reggaetón pioneer Don Omar. “Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamed of doing music in English,” Mergui tells Rolling Stone. “This is something I’ve worked towards my whole life, and Haim Saban and the team at Saban Music Group made it a reality.”