Israel: A Songwriting Camp will take place to create Noa Kirel’s song!

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According to the Israeli Eurovision news website Euromix, the song with which Noa Kirel will represent Israel at Eurovision 2023 is set to be created at a Songwriting Camp.

For the first time, Israel is expected to organize a “Songwriting Camp”, a format previously used by countries such as Sweden, Norway and Bulgaria, where composers and songwriters will have the opportunity to work together to create possible entries for the Israeli participation.

The organization of the “camp” seems to have been undertaken by the managers of Noa Kirel, who have already invited songwriters who have collaborated with Noa in the past. Among the names rumored to take part are Doron Medalie (Israel 2015, 2016, 2018), Ron Beaton, Jordi, Nitzan Kaykov, Itay Shimoni and Eitan Peled, while Noa Kirel herself is set to be actively involved in the creative process.

Noa Kirel was selected by a ten-member panel of experts that included professionals from the fields of culture, music and television. The committee members considered 78 male and female singers, assessing their experience in performing live in front of a big audience, as well as their popularity in the domestic music market.

In Eurovision 2022, Michael Ben David represented Israel and did not advance to the Grand Final, taking the 13th place in the 2nd Semi Final with 61 points.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgXjPUsjx4Y

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Source : Euromix, Eurovoix

Eurovision 2023: The new season has just started!

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For many, including us on Eurovisionfun, Eurovision never ends! However, September 1st is a special date. Any song that is released after that date is eligible to be chosen to take part in the next years contest. Therefore, any song from now on can be a potential Eurovision 2o23 entry!

What we know so far

After the landslide victory of Ukraine and Kalush Orchestra in Turin, EBU has already announced that due to the ongoing war since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the contest will be held in the United Kingdom instead, to ensure safety of everyone involved in the production.

During August, BBC announced a shortlist of seven cities that will compete to host the contest next year, while the deadline to submit the finalized bids is set for September 8th. BBC and EBU representatives will visit these cities to inspect the facilities and discuss with local authorities on the proposed bids.

Around late September/early October and after there is potentially a dialogue with the British government, BBC and EBU will announce the Eurovision 2023 hosting city.

The shortlisted cities are:

  • Birmingham
  • Glasgow
  • Leeds
  • Liverpool
  • Manchester
  • Newcastle
  • Sheffield

Betting odds are every year a topic of discussion within and outside the Eurovision fandom. As of the time of writing, the odds about which city will host Eurovision 2023 predict Glasgow as the hosting city, with 65% chances, indicating a one-horse race for the hosting of the contest next year.

Participating countries

As of now, 27 countries have officially or unofficially confirmed that they will take part in Eurovision 2023. These are:

  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Cyprus
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Iceland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Romania
  • San Marino
  • Serbia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

Within the next months more countries are expected to confirm their participation, with the goal to have 40 countries as in 2022. Russia and Belarus are not eligible to take part in the contest, since their broadcasters are not EBU members anymore.

Certain countries have already announced that they will not take part in Eurovision 2023, with some of them extending their long-lasting absence from the contest. Andorra, Monaco, Luxemburg, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Maroco and Hungary will not be present in the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, while Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina are yet to announce their plans but the chances to see them returning are low for various reasons.

Until March 14th the announcement of all the entries

It won’t be before March 14th until we know all competing artists and entries for 2023, since on that day is the meeting of the Head of Delegations where all entries will be officially submitted. However, Israel has already selected its artist and its Noa Kirel, a local superstar with many of her songs conquering the charts.

Albania and Ukraine will be the next to select their entries before the end of 2022, unless there is a surprise as with Czech Republic last year.

Join us on the road to Eurovision 2023!

Eurovisionfun will bring you Eurofun-tastic news throughout the season, while you should be ready for exclusives and surprises! Our 24/7 coverage in Greek and English includes articles, reactions, discussions and many more!

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Let the Eurovision 2023 season begin! Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun!

 

 

 

Israel: “Politics is involved in Eurovision and everything does not depend on me”!

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In the press conference held by Israel’s public television KAN and in which Noa Kirel‘s representation of the country at Eurovision 2023 was formalized, the popular artist referred to the risk she takes by accepting the offer to participate in the contest, since as she pointed out everything does not depend on herself, as politics is actively involved in Eurovision! But why did she say yes to Eurovision despite the possibility of failure?

A woman on a mission

“I am very excited and I feel like we are starting a mission. I was suddenly informed some time ago that I will represent Israel at Eurovision”, the singer initially said at the press conference she gave at the Carlton Hotel in Tel Aviv.

It started with a shock, it hasn’t stopped since. They stop me on the street, at concerts and tell me about it! Lately I’ve also learned about the risks, and that it’s not all about art and live performance there. I’m already imagining myself on the crazy Eurovision stage. With a decision from the heart, I put everything aside and go with complete faith. I always felt proud to represent my country, even today I feel very honored. I want to thank the committee that chose me, it was not a given. I’m already starting work today and as you know I’m working hard. So wish me luck.

Accepting KAN’s proposal

Tal Freifeld, executive of KAN, emphasized the changes in the way of selecting this year’s participation of Israel, while emphasizing on the fact that Noa Kirel is the No. 1 in the country.

This year we decided to change the rules of the game and instead of choosing a representative from this or that reality show, we simply chose the number 1 artist to represent us at Eurovision. We waited for Noa to decide and it took her some time, but we promised full cooperation with her team. Noa will put on a great performance and we will give her all the tools to represent the country with honor.

Noa then commented on the time it took her to make up her mind:

I needed time to myself. It’s a crazy show and on a huge stage. I got backlash from people each giving their opinion on whether I should go or not. There were people who said I would win and there were those who said I would be upset if I didn’t do well. In the end I decided what my heart said. Of course there are worries, I’m human and I get scared sometimes. It is an honorable place and on an honorable stage. Politics is involved and things are not up to me, I might fail naturally. But I’ve always taken risks, they usually work out, it’s part of the career and who I am today. I wanted to represent my country and take that risk.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Noa Kirel (@noakirel)

Who is Noa Kirel?

Her birth-name was Noya, but after she was diagnosed with a severe kidney disease when she was three months old, a rabbi suggested her parents to change her name to Noa, so she could heal and walk. The rabbi also predicted that she would become a dancer.

In March 2020, she enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and served in a military band. In February 2022, Kirel completed her service in the IDF.

She is Israel’s biggest pop star of recent years, dominating the country’s charts since the release of her #1 hit ‘Killer’ when she was just 14 years old. He was a judge on the X Factor for years, while she stars in dozens of commercials, series and movies, making her one of the most popular celebrities in the country. Noa belongs to Atlantic Records and has released 41 singles.

Listen to her biggest hit below:

Source:Ynet

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2023!

Israel: Noa has confirmed her participation in Eurovision 2023!

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It might have taken about a month, but now it’s official! Noa Kirel will represent Israel at Eurovision 2023, as it was officially announced hours ago in a press conference held in Tel Aviv.

Noa Kirel scores for Israel

The superstar of Israel’s pop music scene noted that her fans were one of the main reasons she accepted the offer by the country’s Public Broadcaster to participate in Eurovision 2023.

I think I said everything I had to say about my excitement, the weight on my shoulders and the pride I feel. Thank you for all the love you have given me, the immense support you have provided me with, since I was selected, as well as for the privilege of representing my country (in ESC).

The Israeli Eurovision Committee, consisting of ten experts from KAN radio and Galats, chose Kirel from among 78 renowned artists and gave her the right to be the first one to either refuse or accept said offer. Kirel accepted the offer, after protracted discussions over the past few weeks.

On Monday, Noa revealed in an  interview with  Bequest 12 that she has made specific demands regarding her participation, including being involved in writing and choosing the song, as well as in the direction of the performance at Eurovision stage in May.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Noa Kirel (@noakirel)

Who is Noa Kirel?

Her birth-name was  Noya, but after she was diagnosed with a severe kidney disease when she was three months old, a rabbi suggested her parents to change her name to  Noa, so she could heal and walk. The rabbi also predicted that she would become a dancer. 

In March 2020, she enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and served in a military band. In February 2022, Kirel completed her service in the IDF.

She is Israel’s biggest pop star of recent years, dominating the country’s charts since the release of her #1 hit ‘Killer’ when she was just 14 years old. He was a judge on the X Factor for years, while she stars in dozens of commercials, series and movies, making her one of the most popular celebrities in the country. Noa belongs to Atlantic Records and has released 41 singles.

Listen to her biggest hit below:

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Israel: Noa Kirel will most likely confirm her Eurovision participation on a press conference on Wednesday!

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She’s already added layers to the Eurovision 2023 iceberg of intrigue by saying her Eurovision 2023 participation was only a “maybe” – despite KAN (Israel’s national broadcaster) revealing she was at the top of its wishlist.

But now Israeli media are reporting that Noa Kirel will confirm her Eurovision participation at a press conference on Wednesday.

KAN’s Eurovision committee drew up a list of 78 artists who have performed well on the charts in recent years and then debated among themselves to create a ranked list of artists for ESC 2023. Noa, definitely Israel’s most popular star, came out on top.

However, that didn’t mean that Noa and her management were willing to accept her placement on top and to submit to any and all demands from KAN.

In mid-July the 21-year-old star told on an Israeli newspaper that she needs more time to “brainstorm” a potential Eurovision run.

“It’s a competition that relies on politics, but on the other hand it is also a big stage and that offers a lot exposure,” she said. “Fear has never stopped me from trying things and life is about taking risks and getting up. Is this the thing that will expose me to the world? Or could it be the other way around? That’s why I need to brainstorm and understand how I approach this.”

On Monday, Noa revealed in an interview that she’s made specific demands regarding her participation that include being involved in the writing and choosing of the song and directing the eventual stage show. KAN had planned to have Noa perform three or four songs on a TV show, similar to what Eden Alene did ahead of Rotterdam, and have a jury and the public decide her entry.

It’s thought that KAN and Noa will give some sense of how the song will be chosen during the press conference on Wednesday.

Eran Suissa, the entertainment correspondent for Israel Hayom, previously reported that “Toy” songwriter Doron Medalie was contacted by Noa Kirel’s team about joining the Israel team, most likely as a songwriter.

Medalie previously worked as Noa’s artistic director, giving her hits like “If You Are a Man” and “Tikitas”. He also turned Israel’s fortunes around at Eurovision with songs like “Golden Boy” and “Made of Stars”.

Howeveer, he told that he wants to see some big changes within Israel’s Eurovision team and that such changes will be essential for Kirel to climb the scoreboard. He suggested strongly that there are messy scenes behind the curtain at broadcaster KAN.

“We need to devote enormous resources to Noa and a professional team made up of the best talents and professionals we have. To produce such a system will require a real revolution in attitude. We create the illusion that it is so simple but the truth is that it is the most complex undertaking.”

 Listen to one of Noa Kirel’s most popular songs “Thought About That”:

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Israeli participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023!

Source: wiwibloggs.com

Israel: Kirel in discussions with the composer of “Toy”!

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Although Noa Kirel has yet to make her final decision on whether to take part in Eurovision 2023, her team appears to be in discussions with composer Doron Medalie.

KAN’s announcement and Kirel’s new statements

As we have informed you in our previous article , KAN had officially announced that the superstar Noa Kirel will represent the country in Eurovision 2023. However, a few hours later the potential representative of Israel made it clear that the decision is not yet final.

In a recent interview with the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Kirel stated that she needs more time to think about a potential Eurovision entry. It is, according to the singer, a Competition which “relies on politics, but at the same time it offers great exposure [to the artist]”. However, she later added that “fear has never stopped [her] from trying new things and life is all about taking risks” .

Kirel in talks with Doron Medalie?

According to Eran Suissa, a journalist for the newspaper Israel Hayom, Kirel’s team has contacted the composer of the song that gave Israel its victory back in 2018, Doron Medalie. It is not clear whether the latter was asked to take on the composition/production of the potential Eurovision song or to have an active role in its selection.

Kirel has already collaborated with Medalie, with the latter having a total of three entries in the Contest on behalf of Israel (“Golden Boy”, “Made of Stars”, “Toy”).

What is certain is that Medalie desires structural changes in the team surrounding Israel’s entries in the Contest, and wants resources to be invested towards different directions. Specifically, he stated that:

“We have to dedicate huge resources to Noa, and to have a professional team made up of the best talents and professionals we have […] To produce such a system will require a real revolution in the attitude [KAN has towards the Competition]. We create the illusion that [the end result] is so simple, but the truth is that it is the most complex undertaking.”

In relation to the financing of a possible Kirel’s participation, the Israeli website EuroMix reports that there are tensions over who could absorb the costs. This is due to the fact that until now the costs were covered entirely by KAN, thanks to the profits generated through advertising during the various talent shows. With the internal selection, however, this source of income is no longer available.

What do you think? Will Kirel join forces with Medalie for Eurovision 2023?

Israel: Noa Kirel says her participation is a “maybe”!

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Israel’s Public Corporation KAN announced yesterday that local superstar Noa Kirel will represent Israel in Eurovision 2023, after an internal selection. However, things seem to be not as announced.

In an interview with 103 FM’s Raz Shechnik, the Israeli representative answer that “a decision will be made later on”. She added:

“You’re right, I’m still taking the whole thing in. First of all, it’s a great honor that they chose me. It’s really exciting, and as a kid I always watched [the contest]. So there’s something very grand about it, a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. I’m not taking this whole thing in yet. I’m taking a few days off to understand […] This just happened and we’re still in the middle of this whole thing. My team and I will take some time to figure it all out. Together, we will make a decision, slowly”.

While KAN was the first public broadcaster to announce its representative, it appears that Noa has not yet responded to the offer regardless the positive reaction locally and online.

 

Do you think Noa will represent Israel in the contest? Tell us in the comments!

Source: Raz Shechnik 

 

Israel: Superstar Noa Kirel will represent the country in Eurovision 2023!

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Israel is the first country to choose its representative for Eurovision 2023. Following an internal selection procedure, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (also known as “KAN”) announced today that the professional committee appointed for the selection of the Israeli representative has decided that Noa Kirel (Hebrew: נועה קירל) will represent the country in the Eurovision 2023.

Who is Noa Kirel?

The 21-year-old Kirel became famous seven years ago when she released her first single called “Medabrim” (English meaning – “Talking”). It was followed by successful hits including “Killer”, “”Yesh Bi Ahava” (English meaning – “There’s Love in Me”), “Tikitas” (Hebrew version of “Τι Κοιτάς”, originally by Eleni Foureira), “Million Dollar”(featuring Shahar Saul), “Yahalomim” (English meaning – “Diamonds”) etc.

In addition, she starred in TV shows, in a film, and participated in the Talent Shows in 2019 and 2020. She has won the MTV Europe Music Awards for the best Israeli act between 2017 and 2020.

Since signing with the international record label Atlantic Records, Kirel has released three successful singles; “Please Don’t Suck” which was released in July last year, “Bad Little Thing” and “Thought About That” which was released in February, and which it has already gathered more than 34 million views.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Noa Kirel (@noakirel)

The selection process

Last month, the Broadcasting Corporation announced that Israel’s representative in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be selected through a professional committee, for the first time since 2014.

From 2015 to 2020, Israeli representatives were selected to compete in the reality show “The Next Eurovision Star”. This year, Michael Ben David was chosen to represent Israel in Turin, after winning the “X Factor for Eurovision” program that aired on Network 13. Ben David  did not qualify for the finals of the competition.

The committee included ten members, with expertise in culture, music, television and Eurovision. According to the announcement, committee members discussed 78 names of male and female singers “with rich and proven experience in performing before a large audience”.

In the second stage, each member of the committee suggested two names from the list  (up to 20 names in total). Then, the committee discussed the artists appearing on the list and narrowed the list down, in order of priority, with the most suitable artist ranked first on the list and so on.

At the end of the discussion, KAN made an official offer to the artist who was ranked first on the list to represent Israel in the competition, under conditions that will be determined by KAN. Noa Kirel’s representatives said that “Noa will be proud to represent Israel”.

What’s your take on Israel’s representative for Eurovision 2023? Will she do better than Michael Ben David did?

The most successful Eurovision countries in the 20s!

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Eurovision is heading to the third decade of the 21st century and it has clearly changed not only in comparison with the past, but also with the recent years. In this article we investigate how countries scored during the first 2 years of the 20s, as well as their average score.

As you can see below, we cannot identify a group of 5-6 performing performing always well, as it used to happen the last years. Only a few countries are consistently doing well, despite the fact that the scores studied are only of the last 2 years. Tougher competition, the success of the contest on social media (TikTok had a business partnership with the contest this year featuring exclusive clips of the first rehearsals on the platform), as well as the high interest by record labels are only some of the reasons why it is harder to perform consistently well, since entries are of higher lever than the past.

Lets see in detail the average score of the countries during this decade:

Country        2022   2021    Average

  1. Ukraine           1          5             3
  2. Italy                 6          1            3,5
  3. Greece             8         10            9
  4. Sweden           4         14             9
  5. Russia             –           9             9
  6. Switzerland    17        3             10
  7. Moldova          7        13            10
  8. Serbia              5         15            10
  9. Portugal          9         12           10.5
  10. Lithuania       14         8             11
  11. France            24         2             13
  12. Spain               3         24           13.5
  13. Iceland          23          4            13.5
  14. Finland          21          6            13.5
  15. United Kingdom 2     26           14
  16. Norway           10         18            14
  17. The Netherlands 11     23          17
  18. Azerbaijan     16          20            18
  19. Belgium          19         19             19
  20. Armenia         20          –              20
  21. Malta               35          7             21
  22. Estonia           13         31             22
  23. Poland            12         33            22.5
  24. Cyprus            29         16            22.5
  25. Romania        18          28            23
  26. Israel              30          17           23.5
  27. Albania          28          21           24.5
  28. Australia        15          34           24.5
  29. Bulgaria         38          11           24.5
  30. Germany        25          25            25
  31. Croatia           26          27           26.5
  32. St. Marino     33          22           27.5
  33. Czech Republic 22     36             29
  34. Denmark        31         29             30
  35. North Macedonia 27 35             31
  36. Austria           36         30             33
  37. Ireland           34         37            35.5
  38. Latvia             32         39            35.5
  39. Slovenia         40        32              36
  40. Montenegro   37         –                37
  41. Georgia           39       38             38.5

As you can see in the table above, there are very few countries where the average of their positions in these two years is below 10. This proves how difficult it has become to be in the top ten. It is even more difficult to have continuous results within top 10, since only three countries have achieved this, Ukraine, Italy and Greece!

It is evident that Italy and Ukraine are the two powerhouses of the competition for this decade (so far). Sweden remains high on the list, but far from the first place it was in the last decade. Greece is recovering dynamically since it is in third place, when in the previous decade it was out of the 20s. Cyprus gets lower scores year by year, unfortunately making us believe that 2018 was just a coincidence and is currently in 24th place!

Regardless of personal taste and opinions, the numbers speak themselves and is clear that Ukraine, Italy and Greece are doing great during this decade. The new strategy of the management of ERT to chose the artist and the song internally, is proven to be successful, after years of bad results and 2 NQ (2016,2018).

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun because the journey to Eurovision 2023 has already begun!

Eurovision 2022: Watch the Live-on-Tape performances of Israel, Serbia and Malta!

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The live-on-tape of the countries that participated in the 66th Eurovision Song Contest in May in Turin will be shown this year through the official Eurovision channel on YouTube.

From June 14 to 23, Eurofans will have the opportunity to watch the live-on-tape appearances of about thirty of the forty countries that took part in this year’s contest.

Today, it is the turn of two other countries of the first semi-final. Since the EBU decided to show the live-on-tapes based on the running order of the two semifinals, this means that today it is the turn of Israel, Serbia and Malta.

  • Watch the Live-on-Tape performance of  “I.M” by Michael Ben David:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvzKZFXmng0

  • Watch the Live-on-Tape performance of  “In corpore sano” by Konstrakta:

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

  • Watch the Live-on-Tape performance of  “I Am What I Am” από την Emma Muscat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8_kFinz_cQ

Watch the previously published Live-on-Tape videos:

What do you think about the first Live-on-Tape videos of Eurovision 2022? Do you like them or do you prefer the live performances?

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest!