Israel: HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2024 starts tonight!

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Three weeks after its scheduled start on October 31, the HaKokhav HaBa (Rising Star) talent show, which will determine Israel’s representative in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Malmö, Sweden, next May, begins tonight.

The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to the so far delayed start of the talent show, with Keshet 12′s makers deciding not to air HaKokhav HaBa until now following the outcry from the Israeli media and the Israeli people for the show’s scheduled premiere at the end of October.

In fact, the title of HaKokhav HaBa is being changed and will now be called The Next Star – Special Edition 2023. However, the name change does not change anything regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024, as the winner of The Next Star will be the one who will receive the anointment to represent Israel in Malmö.

The presenters of the show will be Assi Azar and Rotem Sela who have been in this position since 2014. The jury members will be Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar and Keren Pels while Eden Hasson is a new addition.

Through HaKokhav HaBa, Israel managed to qualify for the final of the beloved contest every year from 2015 to 2020, and in 2018 Netta was also the winner of Eurovision with the song “Toy“.

This year Israel at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool was represented by the explosive Noa Kirel and her song “Unicorn” which gave the Middle Eastern country third place in the Grand Final, scoring 362 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3mIcCllJXY

Source: Euromix.co.il

MTV EMA 2023: Eurostars among the award recipients!

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The 2023 edition of the MTV Europe Music Awards may have been cancelled due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war for security reasons, however this did not prevent the hosts of announcing the winners of each award category. Winning artists were revealed yesterday and hence will receive their awards at a later stage.

The regional European MTV awards have a strong connection with Eurovision, as many artists emerge each year from the contest and introduce themselves into a wider audience. As a result, there could not be an MTV winning artists’ list without the presence of Eurovision stars.

Specifically,

  • Måneskin, the winners of Eurovision 2021, have won in the “Best Rock” category as well as in the “Best Italian Act“. This marks the second time they have been awarded with the “Best Rock”, following 2021 and the first time with “Best Italian Act“, after being nominated for three times.
  • Gjon’s Tears has been awarded the “Best Swiss Act” award for the second time, following 2021, the year he competed in Eurovision, finishing third.

Best Nordic Act

This year, we could all agree that the “Best Nordic Act” category was a bloodbath. All the three artists nominated for the prize were Eurovision 2023 artists. Loreen, Alessandra and Käärijä were nominated, indicating the big commercial success they had after achieving a top five placement in Liverpool.

The choice was hard, but in the end Käärijä from Finland won the award of the “Best Nordic Act”.

Other Eurovision artists nominated

Along with the aforementioned, there were more Eurovision stars nominated for an award in the MTV EMA 2023, such as

  • Sam Ryder (United Kingdom 2022) was nominated for the “Best Push Artist” category
  • and S10 (Netherlands 2022) was nominated for the “Best Dutch Act” category

“Best Israeli Act” missing

Reading the winning artists’ list, we can easily notice the absence of the “Best Israeli Act” category. There is no information given by the awards committee about the exclusion of the category referring to the Israeli music scene and to what extent it is connected with the ongoing war.

Nevertheless, on the nominated artists’ list, Noa Kirel, the Israeli representative in Liverpool, was also found. Noa Kirel, even before her introduction to the European audience the past May, has been a multi-nominated and multi-awarded artist in the MTV EMAs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3mIcCllJXY

You can check the full list of the winning artists here.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!

Israel: Due to security concerns, Gali Atari will not be attending Het Grote Songfestivalfeest!

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Het Grote Songfestivalfeest, which will be hosted in Amsterdam this month, will not feature Gali Atari, who was a member of Milk and Honey, the band that won Eurovision in 1979 in Jerusalem.

The organizers have announced that Gali Atari will not be performing at the concert for security considerations caused by the current state of affairs in Israel and around the world.

The eurostars who will be performing in Het Grote Songfestivalfeest 2023!

Co-produced by AVROTROS and PILOTSTUDIO, the major concert will be broadcasted on Dutch state television on November 16 from the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam.

The event will be hosted once again by Edsilia Rombley (The Netherlands 1998 and 2007, host of Eurovision 2021).

The concert’s official Instagram account regularly announces new performers. The following artists, listed in alphabetical order, along with the songs they will be singing, are confirmed for the concert:

  • Alika – “Bridges” (Estonia 2023, 8th place)
  • Bobbysocks – “La det Swinge” (Norway 1985, winners)
  • Charlotte Perrelli – “Take Me to Your Heaven” & “Hero” (Sweden 1999, winner & 2008, 18th place)
  • Conchita Wurst – “Rise Like a Phoenix” (Austria 2014, winner).
  • Cornelia Jakobs – “Hold Me Closer” (Sweden 2022, 4th place)
  • Edsilia Rombley – “Hemel en Aarde” & “On Top of The World” (The Netherlands 1998, 4th place & 2007, DNQ)
  • Eleni Foureira – “Fuego” (Cyprus2018, 2nd place)
  • Ell & Nikki – “Running Scared” (Azerbaijan 2011, winners)
  • Emmelie de Forest – “Only Teardrops” (Denmark 2013, winner)
  • Johnny Logan – “What’s Another Year” & “Hold Me Now” (Ireland 1980 & 1987, winner)
  • KEiiNO – “Spirit in the Sky” (Norway 2019, 6th place)
  • Käärijä – “Cha Cha Cha” (Finland 2023, 2nd place)
  • Linda Wagenmakers – “No Goodbyes” (The Netherlands 2000, 13th place)
  • Luca Hänni – “She Got Me” (Ελβετία 2019, 4η Θέση)
  • Μåns Zelmerlöw – “Heroes” (Sweden 2015, winner)
  • Rosa Linn – “Snap” (Armenia 2022, 20th place)
  • Ruslana – “Wild Dances” (Ukraine 2004, winner)
  • Ruth Jacott – “Vrede” (The Netherlands 1993, 6th place)
  • Serhat – “Say Na Na Na” (San Marino 2016 DNQ  & 2019, 1th place)
  • Stefania – “Last Dance” (Greece 2020 & 2021, 10th place)
  • The Roop – “Discoteque” (Lithuania2020 & 2021, 8th place)
  • Verka Serduchka – “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” (Ukraine 2007, 2nd place)
  • WRS – “Llámame” (Romania 2022, 18th place)

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun to stay up to date on all the latest news about the world’s largest music competition!

Source: ad.nl 

Israel: The search for Eurovision 2024 begins!

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The talent show HaKokhav HaBa (Rising Star) starts its broadcast tonight in Israel. The winner of the show will represent the country in Eurovision 2024.

HaKokhav HaBa returns as a method of selecting the artist representing Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest after 2020. The show was scheduled to start earlier this month, but the armed conflict with Hamas delayed its launch.

Tonight, however, we will watch the first episode of the auditions, which took place a week ago in Jerusalem. The results will be determined by a 60% jury vote and a 40% audience focus group vote. The HaKokhav HaBa jury includes Asaf Amdursky, Itay Levy, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon, Ran Danker and Eden Hason. The presenters of the show are Assi Azzar and Rotem Sela.

Through HaKokhav HaBa, Israel managed to qualify for the Grand Final every year, and in 2018 Netta won the contest!

This year Israel was represented by the country’s super star Noa Kirel with the song Unicorn, placing third in the Grand Final.

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest news regarding our favourite Contest!

 

Israel: The first episode of The Rising Star to be aired on 31st of October!

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The first episode of The Rising Star will be aired on 31st of October!

Until today there was pervasive uncertainty not only regarding the continuation of The Rising Star but also regarding the participation of Israel at the upcoming 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden given the ongoing war situation between Israel and Palestine, following the terrorist attack of the Hamas fighters on Israeli soil on 7th of October.

In an announcement by the channel Keshet 12 of the national public broadcaster KAN it became known that the first episode of the show through which the next Israeli representative will emerge will be aired on the upcoming Tuesday, 31st of October.

The hosts of the show are going to be Assi Azar and Rotem Sela, who have done so since 2014. The member of the jury panel are Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar and Keren Pels, while Eden Hasson is the new addition.

Moreover the presenters of The Rising Star Assi Azar and Rotem Sela commented on what has been developing in the country in recent weeks:

“Even though we are going through a tough period of time, it has been decided that it is about time. Music will help us unite and heal the wounds in these tough times.
The format will be fitted to the current situation in Israel”

This year Israel was represented in 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool by Noa Kirel and the song “Unicorn” who after an explosive performance, she managed to bring the Middle Eastern nation in the 3rd place of the Grand Final with a total of 362 points.

https://youtu.be/Z3mIcCllJXY

Source: ESC BEAT

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

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Israel: Is Rising Star being postponed indefinitely?

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Israel’s Home Front Command reportedly ordered the filming of the television program Rising Star, via which the country’s representative for Eurovision 2024 was anticipated to be picked, to be put off indefinitely.

The aforementioned event, which is connected to the most recent escalation of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine and the accompanying declaration of war last Saturday, was of course anticipated.

Rising Star was slated to start filming this week, with broadcasts beginning on November 12. However, the current circumstances prevent this.The question is whether Israel will choose its entry internally or decide to withdraw from the forthcoming competition in the event that this report has been confirmed and Rising Star does not move forward.

The Israeli representative was chosen using the Rising Star method from 2015 through 2021. This process also resulted in the selection of Netta, the 2018 Eurovision winner.

Israel was represented this year by Noa Kirel, one of the most popular performers in the country, whose song “Unicorn” came in third place in the competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3mIcCllJXY

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun to stay up to date on all the latest news about the world’s largest music competition!

Sources: Mako, esc bubble 

Spain: Chanel will join Noa Kirel tomorrow at Tel Aviv!

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The sold-out performance by Noa Kirel last night in Tel Aviv’s Yarakon Park was attended by an estimated 65,000 people. Noa demonstrated her incredible talent as a singer and performer not only to Israel but also to Europe. Eleni Foureira, a much-anticipated guest performer, sang her Eurovision-hit song “Fuego” with Noa during the concert, thrilling the audience.

Due to the concert’s overwhelming success and the fact that all of the tickets were sold out right away, Noa’s team decided to hold a second concert on September 23.

The concert is anticipated to be just as thrilling as yesterday’s event and will provide the audience with another pleasant surprise. Reliable sources claim that Noa’s team invited Chanel to perform with her tomorrow. Chanel was the Spanish representative in Eurovision 2022 and appears to have accepted the invitation to perform live tomorrow in Tel Aviv.

Chanel, as well as Eleni Foureira and Noa Kirel, caused pandemonium with her performance skills along with her latin rhythm and temperament in 2022, bringing Spain back to the top three for the first time since 1995.

Through the occasion of her concerts, Noa Kirel had the opportunity to share the stage with Eurovision performers that set the bar high, a bar that she overcame, and performers with whom she was also inevitably compared.

Stay tuned on EurovisionFun for all news!

 

This is what we’ve been waiting for: Eleni Foureira and Noa Kirel perform “Fuego”!

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As we informed you earlier, Eleni Foureira(Cyprus 2018) and Noa Kirel(Israel 2023) took the stage today for the first time together at Yarakon Park in Tel Aviv, on the occasion of the latter’s big concert.

The meeting of those two was explosive, and based on what we’ve seen so far, they indeed managed to set the packed Yarakon Park on “fire”.

No words needed, just enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/A45N2a4gwkM

Meanwhile, Noa performed her Eurovision entry “Unicorn” as well as many of her hit songs, making the crowd delirious.

Eleni Foureira-Noa Kirel

The connection between the two Eurovision artists is obvious. Eleni Foureira represented Cyprus in 2018, taking the 2nd place, while Noa Kirel represented Israel this year, finishing 3rd. These two women caused pandemonium with their sleek performances on the Eurovision stage, setting the bar even higher for all dance entries.

However, there has been a connection between Eleni and Noa for years. In 2017, Noa Kirel released her big hit “Tikitas“, which is the Hebrew cover of the song “Ti Koitas” by Eleni Foureira. Behind the two versions, as well as other songs of both artists, is the composer Doron Medalie.

Stay tuned on EurovisionFun for all Eurovision news!

Eleni Foureira: Present at tonight’s Noa Kirel concert!

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A burning desire of Eurovision fans is set to come true tonight. Confirming the intense rumors of the last few days, Eleni Foureira and Noa Kirel will meet tonight for the first time on stage and on the occasion of the latter’s big concert in Tel Aviv.

A photo, which is circulating the social media today, depicts Eleni Foureira on stage at Yarakon Park:

Eleni Foureira-Noa Kirel

The connection between the two Eurovision artists is obvious. Eleni Foureira represented Cyprus in 2018, taking the 2nd place, while Noa Kirel represented Israel this year, finishing 3rd. These two women caused pandemonium with their sleek performances on the Eurovision stage, setting the bar even higher for all dance entries.

However, there has been a connection between Eleni and Noa for years. In 2017, Noa Kirel released her big hit “Tikitas“, which is the Hebrew cover of the song “Ti Koitas” by Eleni Foureira. Behind the two versions, as well as other songs of both artists, is the composer Doron Medalie.

Noa Kirel’s big concert will take place in Yarakon Park in Tel Aviv, which is expected to be packed in the evening with the presence of 65 thousand spectators. The tickets, in fact, were sold out in less than five hours from the time of their release. At the same time, Noa will give a second concert on 9/23, in which we do not expect Eleni Foureira, in view of an already planned concert of hers.

Are you also looking forward to this collaboration? Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Israel: Auditions for “The Next Star” are about to start soon!

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The search for the successor of Noa Kirel has just started for Israel. Despite the great success of the internal selection method in 2023, which came up with one of Israel’s biggest stars and a third place result, KAN announced that it will choose its next Eurovision artist through “The Next Star”. “The Next Star” format was first used in 2015 with Eden Alene being the last Israeli participant to be chosen through this show. During these editions, Israel managed to qualify to the Grand Final each year and even won the contest in 2018 with Netta Barzilai.

Auditions for the show will start soon

Open preliminary auditions for “The Next Star” will take place on Sunday 10th of September, at the Tel Aviv Expo and Convention Centre in Pavilion 2, where Eurovision was hosted in 2019.

These preliminary auditions are open to all Israeli participants aged 16 and above, and will require all aspirants to prepare two songs to be sung acapella. Acoustic instruments, such as guitars, can also be used. These preliminary auditions will not be televised, though candidates are warned that video from the day, such as images of the waiting crowd, will be utilized in the show “The Next Star.”

Those who prove to be successful on the day will advance to the show’s auditions, which will be hosted by Assi Azar(Eurovision 2019 host) and Rotem Sela, as they have done since 2014. On the judging panel we will also see Shiri Maimon, who represented Israel in 2005.

Recorded auditions will take place in late September and the show is set to premiere in November.

22 years-old Noa Kirel represented Israel this year in Liverpool with her song “Unicorn“, taking the third place and soon becoming a Eurovision sensation!

Stay tuned on EurovisionFun for all Eurovision news!

Source: euromix