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Israel: Everything That Happened in the Third Episode of HaKokhav Haba!

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The third episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition), the talent show that will determine the artist representing Israel at Eurovision 2025, aired on Sunday night, November 17.

In this episode, we witnessed five auditions, with only four contestants advancing to the next round, continuing their quest for a ticket to Basel. Hosts of HaKokhav Haba are Assi Azar and Rotem Sela, who have held this role since 2014. The judging panel consists of Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Eden Hasson, Ran Dankar, and Keren Peles.

Contestants and Their Performances

Aviad Klein

At 25 years old, Aviad Klein has already composed songs for Eden Meiri, Yasmin Moalem, ShrekDiMC, and others. This marks his first appearance on stage as a singer. He performed Adele’s “When We Were Young,” showcasing impressive vocal abilities, earning an outstanding score of 96%.

Amit Sade

Amit Sade, a 23-year-old sales assistant, chose to sing “Scars to Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara. Her rare voice resembles that of international pop-soul stars, garnering unanimous approval from the judges. Amit advanced to the next stage with a score of 96%.

Tamir Vaknin

Tamir Vaknin revealed that he had a troubled youth, struggling with anger issues and spending time in rehabilitation institutions. With experience performing on small stages such as nightclubs and parties, Tamir sang “Eir Nemal” by Eyal Golan. He scored 81% and progressed to the next round, although Assaf Amdorsky voted against him.

Red Band and Moran Aharoni

The Red Band is an Israeli puppet performance group founded in 2005 by Ari Pepper, Micah Doman, and Ami Weisel, blending unique music with comedy. Featuring puppet characters like Red Auerbach (vocals), Poncho (guitar), and Lefty (keyboards), the group has toured both nationally and internationally, performing rock and folk song covers.

They were joined by Moran Aharoni, a singer-songwriter who rose to prominence on the fourth season of Kohav Nold. He later participated in The Next Star for Eurovision 2020, reaching the semifinals. Known for his wide vocal range, Moran brings drama to their act, while Red Band adds rock and comedy. Together, they performed “Human” by Rag’n’Bone Man, scoring 82%. Despite advancing, they received a negative vote from Assaf Amdorsky.

More About HaKokhav Haba

The show continues with more auditions in the upcoming episodes. From 2015 to 2020, HaKokhav Haba successfully secured Israel’s spot in Eurovision’s grand final every year, with Netta winning the competition in 2018 with her song “Toy.”

Last year’s winner of HaKokhav Haba and Israel’s Eurovision 2024 representative, Eden Golan, placed fifth in the final rankings with her song “Hurricane.”

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Israeli participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, in Basel!

Israel: The artist for Eurovision 2025 will be selected through Hakokhav Haba!

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Israel’s public television (KAN) continues the successful recipe of Hakokhav Haba (The Rising Star), the talent show through which it basically chooses the artist to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Read more

Eden Golan: “I would like a song with a message, a huge song”!

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The winner of HaKokhav Haba and now representative of Israel in Eurovision 2024, spoke to our colleagues from Euromix, shortly before the final of the talent show. Among what she said, she also described the song with which she would like to represent her country in the contest!

The 20-year-old performer impressed from her first audition at HaKokhav Haba, gathering 100%, a record that has never happened in the years the said talent show has been held. She is as nervous as she needs to be, but she has high expectations both for her stage appearance and for the song with which she will be invited to represent Israel at Eurovision.

She would like a song with English and Hebrew lyrics, but also with a strong message:

It cannot be a song entirely in Hebrew. We need some Hebrew lyrics that unite us, but it has to be in English, with a message, a huge song!

In the ballad or dance song dilemma, Eden Golan explains how she could serve both.

Maybe I should combine both? Everything is still theoretical and many things can be done. If a commanding heart-wrenching ballad is submitted to the committee, then I will be happy to compete with a ballad. If a song is submitted that includes dancing but also has a message of strength and empowerment then that would be great. But maybe a combination of both it would be the best solution.

As for the reactions in some countries to Israel’s participation and whether this could affect the chances of winning in Malmö, it is something that Eden realizes exists, but prefers to focus on the love and sympathy that exists from someone else portion of the world and not in hatred.

There is a lot of hatred towards Israel and that is something that cannot be ignored, but on the other hand there is also a lot of love and many times we focus more on the bad things and less attention on the good things. What is important is to represent Israel with pride and give our best, make our people happy – and whatever happens will be for the best.

Watch the full interview below:

How the song will be chosen

The broadcaster, KAN, has issued an invitation to a wide range of Israeli creators to submit songs for the winner of “HaKokhav Haba” to compete in Eurovision 2024. A key requirement for this year’s submissions is that the songs must include Hebrew lyrics.

At least 30 creators will nominate their songs for the winner of “HaKokhav Haba” and participants are allowed to submit up to two songs each until February 11. All creators must have Israeli citizenship and foreign creators are not allowed to participate. Submitted songs will be presented anonymously to a seven-member selection committee.

The committee will evaluate the songs based on professional criteria, such as the quality and originality of the lyrics and melody, the suitability of the song for the artist, its suitability for the Eurovision contest, the possibility of the song’s success at Eurovision, the suitability of the representation of the broadcaster as public broadcasting, the overall impression left by the song and other relevant criteria.

If the committee does not find a suitable song, it has the option of inviting the general public to submit additional songs, or choose a song published after September 1, or choose a song from other proposals made for Israel’s participation in the Eurovision between 2021 and 2023.

The winning song will be edited, recorded and a music video produced for the song’s unveiling, which is scheduled for a special broadcast in late February or early March.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024, in Malmö!

Source: Euromix

Israel: The results of the 22nd episode | The finalists of HaKokhav Haba!

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Yesterday 01/02, the 22nd episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition), the talent show through which the artist who will raise the flag of Israel at Eurovision 2024 will be announced!

As we have already informed you, 35 artists passed the scope of the auditions, with 14 of them going to the second phase – the battles phase, and they will claim the representation of the country in Eurovision 2024!

In the 22nd episode we watched the four candidates perform one song each and three of them make it to the finals of HaKokhav Haba and one leaves. We remind you that the presenters of HaKokhav Haba are Assi Azar and Rotem Sela who have been in this position since 2014, while the members of the jury are Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar and Keren Pels with a new addition being Eden Hasson.

Four contestants then appeared in front of an audience and a jury and the player who collected the lowest score, leaves HaKokhav Haba.

Mika Moshe

Mika opened the night with the song ‘Yash Lech Otoch’, her original song with singer Miri Mesika. Mika’s voice is velvety and exciting as usual.

Shay Tamino

Shay Tamino chose to sing the song “What About You” by Pink tonight. Shai is an exciting singer and during her performance the judges realize how difficult the competition will be.

Dor Shimon

Dor chose to perform the song “When You Went Away” by Shiri Maimon. Dor dedicates the song to his friend the late Dvir Fima, an armored officer who fell in the fighting in the Gaza Strip, and to all the soldiers who defend the country.

Eden Golan

Eden performed the song “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera. Eden stands on stage in a white dress with four violinists at her side. All the judges agreed that with this appearance she could go to Eurovision even now.

After the completion of the songs, the following results were announced:

Overall jury results
70 points – Eden Golan
62 points – Mika Moshe
46 points – Dor Shimon
44 points – Shay Tamino

Shiri Maimon
12 points – Eden Golan
10 points – Mika Moshe
8 points – Dor Shimon
7 points – Shay Tamino

Keren Pels
12 points – Eden Golan
10 points – Mika Moshe
8 points – Shay Tamino
7 points – Dor Shimon

Ran Dankar
12 points – Eden Golan
10 points – Mika Moshe
8 points – Dor Shimon
7 points – Shay Tamino

Assaf Amdorsky
12 points – Eden Golan
10 points – Mika Moshe
8 points – Shay Tamino
7 points – Dor Shimon

Eden Hasson
12 points – Eden Golan
10 points – Mika Moshe
8 points – Dor Shimon
7 points – Shay Tamino

Itay Levy
12 points – Mika Moshe
10 points – Eden Golan
8 points – Dor Shimon
7 points – Shay Tamino

Overall TV Audience Results:
89 points
85 points
57 points
51 points – Shay Tamino

The top three places have not been revealed to maintain suspense for the final. Unfortunately, Shay Tamino leaves the competition.

So the four HaKokhav Haba finalists are:
Or Cohen
Eden Golan
Dor Shimon
Mika Moshe

We remind you that the HaKokhav Haba final will take place on February 6.

Through HaKokhav HaBa, Israel managed to qualify every year to the final of our favorite competition from 2015 to 2020, while 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 the song “Unicorn” who gave the Middle Eastern country the third place in the Grand Final by collecting 362 points.

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

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: Euromix

Israel: The results of HaKokhav Haba’s 21st episode | Or Cohen is the first finalist!

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The 21st episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition) was just concluded. HaKokhav Haba is the talent show under which the artist that will represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 will be selected.

Out of the 35 artists who made it beyond the audition stage, 14 advanced to the battles’ phase, where they will compete to represent their country in Eurovision 2024!

In episode twenty-one, the five remaining artists performed solo one song each, while one of them was directly advanced to the Grand Final of the competition. Assi Azar and Rotem Sela, serve as the show’s hosts, as they have been doing since 2014. The jury is consisted of Eden Hasson, Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar, and Keren Pels.

The performances of the 21st episode

The five remaining contestants performed in front of an audience and a panel of judges. The contestant who achieved the highest score, directly advances to the Grand Final of HaKokhav Haba.

Mika Moshe

Mika opened the song with “Umbrella” by Rihanna. As always, Mika has a smooth and captivating voice. Even though two judges did not vote for it, he achieved a score of 84%.

Dor Shimon

Dor chose to perform “In love with the rain” by Ofer Levy .Definitely one of the best singers of this season, he has a powerful voice. While all jurors voted for him, he did not convince the TV audience, as he achieved a score of 80%.

Shay Tamino

Shay Tamino chose to sing “Loruh Hayam” by Ofra Haza tonight. Given that she gave an ethnic performance in front of the judges, there was disagreement among them regarding her interpretation. Three judges voted her out and she achieved a final score of 62%.

Or Cohen

Cohen selected Margol’s “Clay Walls.” Or gives yet another outstanding performance, demonstrating her talent as a singer throughout the season. She gave an excellent of the song. With the support of all the judges, she achieved a score of 93%.

Eden Golan

Eden performed “Roar” by Katy Perry. She is definitely a talented singer. Although all of the judges voted for her, their opinions varied. Hence, Eden achieved a score of 88%.

The results

After all the performances were concluded and with a 93% score, Or Cohen achieved the highest score among all five contestants tonight. Hence, she directly advances to the Grand Final of HaKokhav Haba and is a step closer to the Israeli representation in Malmö.

Now, the four remaining artists who will claim the three remaining spots in the Grand Final on the next episode of HaKokhav Haba, are the following:

  • Eden Golan
  • Dor Shimon
  • Shai Tamino
  • Mika Moshe

The Grand Final of HaKokhav Haba will take place on February 6.

Israel qualified for the finals every year from 2015 to 2020 through HaKokhav HaBa, and Netta won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 with the song “Toy”.

Israel was represented last year by Noa Kirel and the song “Unicorn”, which came in third place with 362 points overall.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: euromix

Israel: The results of the 19th episode of HaKokhav Haba | Only six artists left!

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Yesterday 25/1, the 19th episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition), the talent show through which the artist who will raise the flag of Israel at Eurovision 2024 will be announced!

As we have already informed you, 35 artists passed the scope of the auditions, with 14 of them going to the second phase – the battles phase, and they will claim the representation of the country in Eurovision 2024!

In the 19th episode we watched duets of the candidates with well-known Israeli artists, with six contestants advancing to the next stage and one leaving the show. We remind you that the presenters of HaKokhav Haba are Assi Azar and Rotem Sela who have been in this position since 2014, while the members of the jury are Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar and Keren Pels with a new addition being Eden Hasson.

Seven contestants then appeared in front of an audience and a panel of judges, with the one with the lowest score leaving the show.

Or Cohen

Opening the night is Or Cohen, who continues to show great confidence on stage. Despite relatively mediocre comments from the judges, everyone votes for her. Or Cohen receives 94% and advances to the next phase.

Mika Moshe

Mika joins in with a duet with Netta. The voices of both match very well and this of course does not go unnoticed by the judges. All but one judge votes for her. With 86% she advances to the next phase.

Dor Shimoni

Dor insists on his familiar Mediterranean style and this is commented negatively by the judges, who would like him to try other styles, like the other contestants. With 79%, however, he advances to the next phase.

Eden Golan

Eden performs a Beatles song and proves that she can sing anything. The comments are once again demeaning to Eden. With 92% it proves that it is one of the big favorites for the victory.

Shay Tamino

Shay’s performance divided the judges, with some saying it was her best on the show and two judges not liking it, voting her off. Finally with 72% it will be in the next episode as well.

Leanne Byrne

Leanne’s choice of song and performance did not convince most of the panel. In the end, with 56%, she will manage to qualify for the next phase.

Arik Sinai

Although Arik received generally positive reviews, he did not convince the audience and the jury with his performance. With 51% he was the one who was eliminated from the continuation of the show.

The six artists who are still in the running to represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 are:

Leanne Byrne
Eden Golan
Shay Tamino
Or Cohen
Mika Moshe
Dor Shimoni

Through HaKokhav HaBa, Israel managed to advance to the final of our favorite competition every year from 2015 to 2020, while 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 the song “Unicorn” who gave the Middle Eastern country the third place in the Grand Final by collecting 362 points.

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

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Israel: On February 6, the choice of representative for Eurovision 2024!

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In an announcement, Israel’s public television reports today that the HaKokhav Haba final will be held on February 6, where the Israeli representative for Eurovision 2024 will be chosen.

Four contestants will compete in the grand finale of HaKokhav Haba for the ticket to Malmo, Sweden. The winner will be chosen by the viewers and judges.

KAN has already made a call to a wide range of Israeli creators to submit the song with which the winner of HaKokhav Haba will represent the country at Eurovision 2024. A necessary condition for those who submit a song this year is that it also contains Jewish lyrics.

At least 30 creators will nominate their songs for the winner of HaKokhav Haba, who will also be able to nominate a song. All creators must have Israeli citizenship, while foreign creators are not allowed to participate. Each creator can submit up to two songs, until February 11th.

The song selection committee will consist of seven members and will choose based on professional criteria such as: the quality and originality of the lyrics and melody, the suitability of the song for the artist, the suitability of the song for the Eurovision contest, the chances success of the song in the Eurovision contest, suitability for representing the company as a public broadcaster, the general impression left by the song and other relevant criteria.

The proposed songs will be presented to the committee anonymously, without revealing the identity of the creators of the songs to the committee members. Composers participating in Israel’s song selection process will not be able to participate as composers in another country for Eurovision 2024.

According to the regulations, if the committee does not find a suitable song, it can publish a call to the general public for additional songs, or choose a song that has been published after September 1, or choose a song from other songs submitted for Israel’s participation at Eurovision, between 2021-2023.

The winning song will be edited, recorded and produced a clip, in preparation for the program to reveal the song, as well as for its submission to Eurovision. The song will be announced in a special show in late February or early March!

At the moment there are seven artists left in the running to represent Israel at Eurovision 2024:

Leanne Byrne
Eden Golan
Arik Sinai
Shay Tamino
Or Cohen
Mika Moshe
Dor Shimoni

One of the above will be the HaKokhav Haba winner and the one who will get the ticket to the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

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

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all developments regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024, in Malmö!

Source: Euromix

Israel: The results of HaKokhav Haba’s 16th episode | Nine artists still in race for Malmö!

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Yesterday, January 17th, the 16th episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition) was aired. HaKokhav Haba is the talent show under which the artist that will represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 will be selected.

Out of the 35 artists who made it beyond the audition stage, 14 advanced to the battles’ phase, where they will compete to represent their country in Eurovision 2024!

In episode sixteen, the ten remaining artists performed in duets, while nine of them moved to the next stage and one was eliminated. Assi Azar and Rotem Sela, serve as the show’s hosts, as they have been doing since 2014. The jury is consisted of Eden Hasson, Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar, and Keren Pels.

The duets of the 16th episode

Ten contestants performed in front of an audience and a jury, with the committee ultimately deciding who would be eliminated from the two artists with the lowest scores.

Oral Ravid and Mika Moshe

One of the weakest performances of the two singers. The two artists performed “Children of Life” but did not impress all the jurors jury achieving a score of 73%.

Yonathan Biton and Dor Shimoni

They chose to perform a mashup of the songs “Dizziness” and “Badad“. The two artists are among the most notable singers in HaKokhav Haba. They received a positive feedback from the majority of the judges, but they ultimately achieved a 73% score.

Or Cohen and Eden Golan

The two singers decided to perform Alicia Keys’ song “If I Ain’t Got You“. A powerful and electrifying performance by the two divas, who have indeed an incredible vocal range! With a 96% score, they were declared the winners of the evening and received triumphant feedback from all the judges.

Moria Angel and Leanne Byrne

They selected to perform John Lennon’s legendary “Imagine“. The judges disagreed as something felt off with their performance. Only one judge voted favorably and stated that he disagreed with the other judges. Unfortunately, with a score of 29%, they were eligible for elimination.

Arik Sinai and Shay Tamino

The last duet saw Arik Sinai and Shay Tamino perform “Before it ends” by Idan Raichel.The two artists’ styles are completely different, and it shows. They received positive feedback from the majority of the judges, but they ultimately achieved a 77% rating.

Having achieved the lowest score of the evening, Moria Angel and Leanne Byrne were put in front of the jury, in order the latter to decide who would leave HaKokhav Haba. The jurors ultimately decided that Moria Angel should be eliminated.

HaKokhav HaBa 2024

Only nine candidates remain in the running to represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 and they are the following:

  1. Leanne Byrne
  2. Eden Golan
  3. Arik Sinai
  4. Shay Tamino
  5. Or Cohen
  6. Jonathan Biton
  7. Mika Moshe
  8. Dor Shimoni
  9. Oral Ravid

Israel qualified for the finals every year from 2015 to 2020 through HaKokhav HaBa, and Netta won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2018 with the song “Toy”.

Israel was represented last year by Noa Kirel and the song “Unicorn”, which came in third place with 362 points overall.

https://youtu.be/Z3mIcCllJXY

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: euromix

Israel: The entry of 2024 in Hebrew | A jury will choose it!

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The song that will represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 and will be performed by the winner of HaKokhav Haba in Malmö, will be chosen by a committee, will include Hebrew lyrics and will be announced on March.

In a statement, Israel’s public television reports today that it has already invited a wide range of Israeli song writers to submit songs with one of which the winner of HaKokhav Haba will represent the country at Eurovision 2024. A necessary condition this year for those who will submit a song, is that it must also contain Hebrew lyrics. The talent show is coming to an end in three weeks and thus we will have the artist, who will raise the flag of Israel in Malmö, in this special year for the country. The song will be selected internally by a panel and be announced in a special broadcast on March!

At the moment, there are ten artists left to claim the representation of Israel in Eurovision 2024:

  1. Leanne Byrne
  2. Eden Golan
  3. Arik Sinai
  4. Shay Tamino
  5. Or Cohen
  6. Yonathan Biton
  7. Mika Moshe
  8. Dor Shimoni
  9. Moria Angel
  10. Oral Ravid

One of the above will be the HaKokhav Haba winner and the one who will get the ticket to the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. Last year Israel at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool was represented by the explosive Noa Kirel and the song “Unicorn” who gave the Middle Eastern country the third place in the Grand Final, receiving 362 points.

https://youtu.be/Z3mIcCllJXY

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

Follow us in all our social media, so that you’ll not lose a thing of what’s happening Eurovision:

Source: Euromix

Israel: The results of the 14th episode of HaKokhav Haba | Eleven artists left for Malmö!

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Broadcast yesterday 10/1, the 14th episode of HaKokhav Haba (special edition), the talent show through which the artist who will raise the flag of Israel at Eurovision 2024 will be chosen!

As we have already informed you, 35 artists passed the scope of the auditions, with 14 of them going to the second phase – the battles phase, and they will claim the representation of the country in Eurovision 2024!

Episode 14 saw three more battles with five artists advancing to the next stage and one exiting the show. We remind you that the presenters of HaKokhav Haba are Assi Azar and Rotem Sela who have been in this position since 2014, while the members of the jury are Shiri Maimon, Itay Levy, Assaf Amdorsky, Ran Dankar and Keren Pels with a new addition being Eden Hasson.

Six contestants therefore appeared in front of an audience and a jury, with the committee choosing at the end the one who will leave, among the three artists who collected the lowest score.

Or Cohen Vs Mika Moshe

Two very good performances for both artists. A judge’s downvote on Mika Moshe’s performance decided the outcome. With 93% against 86% Or Cohen advanced directly to the next phase.

Mika Curtis Vs Oral David

Here things were clearer. Oral David was the undisputed winner, since with 96% against Mika Curtis’ 59% he easily advanced to the next phase.

Leanne Byrne Vs Eden Golan

A duel that could be final. Two artists with great voices. They both collected very high percentages and of course the positive opinion of all the judges. In the end, for just one unit, Eden Golan was the winner, having scored 96% against Leanne Byrne’s 95%.

Finally the judges among the three artists who lost in their duels, chose Mika Curtis to leave the show. Now only eleven candidates remain in the running to represent Israel at Eurovision 2024.

The 11 artists who are still in the running to represent Israel at Eurovision 2024 are:

  1. Leanne Byrne
  2. Eden Golan
  3. Arik Sinai
  4. Shay Tamino
  5. Ido Bartel
  6. Or Cohen
  7. Yonathan Biton
  8. Mika Moshe
  9. Dor Shimoni
  10. Moria Angel
  11. Oral Ravid

Through HaKokhav HaBa, Israel managed to qualify every year to the final of our favorite competition from 2015 to 2020, while 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 the song “Unicorn” who gave the Middle Eastern country the third place in the Grand Final by collecting 362 points.

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: euromix