Last night, Sunday 12th of January, the 29th episode of HaKokhav Haba, the song contest through which Israel will select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, which will take place in Basel, Switzerland, on May 13, 15 and 17, 2025, was broadcast.
The next phase of HaKokhav Haba began with 8 contestants, which is the duel challenge. Four duets competed in this episode, where two of the contestants left the competition at the end of the competition process.
Hosts and Judges
Rotem Sela continues as the host of the show, alongside Assi Azar, one of the hosts of Eurovision 2019. Azar has been a host since the first season of HaKokhav Haba in 2013, while Rotem Sela began hosting from the second season, a role she still holds today.
The judging panel includes:
- Assaf Amdursky
- Keren Peles
- Shiri Maimon
- Eden Hason
- Ran Danker
- Itay Levi
The duets
Dolev Mandelbaum vs. Yuval Raphael
Dolav Mandelbaum opened the night with Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” The cover perfectly suited Dolav’s vocal range. It started out softly, and as the song progressed, so did his vocal abilities. All judges gave a positive vote, receiving an 86% score.
Yuval Raphael chose to perform Bruno Mars’ “Talking to the Moon.” Yuval dedicated the song to the Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas, especially her friend Matan Tzengauker, who is still being held hostage in Gaza. All judges also gave a positive vote, receiving a 96% score, ensuring her qualification to the next round.
Moran Aharoni and Red Band vs. Yuval Gold
Moran and Red chose to sing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” As usual, Moran and Red managed to surprise us with another unique, precise and amazing performance. Once again, Moran and Red proved that their combination is relevant and correct. Ran Danker was the only member of the jury to give a negative vote, receiving 82%.
Yuval Gold chose to sing Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” dedicating it to his good friend Daniel Sheinkerman who was murdered in the Nova Festival massacre. Two of the judges, Eden Hason and Itay Levi, gave a negative vote, receiving 71%, and thus Moran and Red moved on to the next round.
Amit Sade vs. Daniel Wais
Amit chose to sing Adele’s “Skyfall”. Amit is so captivating and touches the soul with her unique and soulful vocal tone. Itai, Ran, and Keren gave negative vote, receiving 60%.
Daniel chose to sing Andra Day’s “Rise Up”, along with artists from the “Shoofuni” project. Eden and Asaf gave negative vote, receiving 65%, ensuring her qualification to the next phase.
Ido Malka vs. Valerie Hamaty
Ido chose to perform “The Story of My Life” by One Direction. The song suits him perfectly. Ido sounded great in the song, as if it was written for him. Keren and Asaf voted against it, receiving 75%.
Valerie chose to sing “Rise Like a Phoenix”, by Conchita Wurst, who represented Austria and won Eurovision 2014. All judges voted in favor, receiving 83%, ensuring her qualification to the next phase.
At the end of the competition part, the jury decided that Amit Sade and Ido Malka would leave the competition.
Last year’s winner of HaKokhav Haba and thus the country’s representative at Eurovision 2024 was Eden Golan. Eden Golan, with her song “Hurricane”, finished in fifth place in the final ranking.
Source: euromix
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