Tonight Israel selects the artist that will represent them at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 this May in Lisbon, Portugal.
The final of HaKokhav HaBa L’Eirovizion takes place tonight in Israel, with four artists vying to represent their country on stage at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.
The final will take place in two parts. In the first part the four singers will all perform, as ever the audience will vote giving the singers a % score out of 100. While the judges will also vote along either boosting the score or opting not to boost the score.
Once all four singers have performed, two artists with the highest percentage score will qualify straight for the final. A further artist will then be saved by the jury and also progress to the final. In the final all three singers will perform again with the winner decided by 100% public voting.
The jury is formed of:
- Harel Skaat (Represented Israel at Eurovision 2010)
- Karen Peles
- Static
- Ben-El-Tavori
- Assaf Amdursky
The four artists competing to represent Israel in Lisbon are:
- Chen Aharoni
- Netta Barzilai
- Riki Ben Ari
- Jonathan Merugi
The Next Star has been used to select the Israeli Eurovision representative since 2015. This has proven successful for Israel. In 2015, Nadav Guedj gave Israel its first top 10 finish since 2005 and its first qualification since 2010 with “Golden Boy”. Israel has qualified for the final every year since then. Imri finished 23rd in this year’s final with “I Feel Alive”.
IPBC is organising the Israeli entry for the first time this year. Despite not yet achieving full EBU membership, the EBU has allowed Israel to continue participating in Eurovision events.
Watch the show live from 20:00 CET here.
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
Israel debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973, and were represented by Ilanit who finished in 4th place with the song “Ey Sham”. Their first victory came in 1978 with Izar Cohen and the Alphabeta. Israel won again the following year with Gali Atari & Milk and Honey. Israel’s most recent victory came in 1998 when Dana International performed “Diva” in Birmingham, beating Malta to victory in a tense voting sequence. Israel struggled in the contest during the early-2010s, failing to qualify for the final from 2011-2014. However since the HaKokhav HaBa selection process was introduced in 2015 they have qualified three times, with Nadav Guedj finishing in 9th in 2015, Hovi Star finishing in 14th in 2016 and Imri finishing in 23rd in 2017.
