Yael Naim tour charts U.S. after featuring in Apple commercial

The name Yael Naim might not sound familiar, but her single “New Soul,” which featured prominently in Apple‘s debut commercial for the MacBook Air, has become a nationwide hit. Now, after extensive European touring and only a handful of North American dates, the French-Israeli songstress is launching an 11-city fall tour of the United States.

Naim begins her U.S. run on October 14 at The Triple Door in Seattle, WA, and concludes on October 29 at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, DC. Stops along the way include an October 17 gig at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, CA, and an October 27 performance at Webster Hall in New York, NY. The Paris-born singer will close out the remainder of the year with another leg of European dates following the U.S. shows.

Naim is touring in support of her eponymous sophomore release, which arrived in North America as a physical release in March 2008. The album was previously available as a digital download on iTunes, where it became popular after “New Soul” gained widespread exposure in Apple’s winter advertising campaign. The album peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard 200, while the single rocketed to No. 7 on the Hot 100 charts and No. 2 on the digital song charts.

“It was when I was really young that I sincerely believed to be an old soul reincarnated and I could even say it gave me a sense of superiority over others,” Naim said in a statement on her official Web site . “But then as I subsequently did everything the wrong way round I concluded that it was actually my first time on earth and that I should learn to be a more humble.”

Accompanying Naim on tour is arranger and percussionist David Donatien, whom the 30-year-old singer credits with her newfound success. The two met after the disappointing release of Naim’s debut “In A Man’s Womb.” Though she considered her entry into the music world a failure, Donatien urged her to continue and to experiment with singing in Hebrew. Her Web site explained: “Without meeting the multi-instrumentalist David Donatien, to whom she dedicated two years and who illuminated the artist with his talents as arranger and director, it’s true that [her eponymous album] would have been forgotten at the back of a cupboard.”

Yael Naim itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)