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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.

 

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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: 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: 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.

 

 

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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?