“The Next Star For Eurovision 2016”, the singing reality show that will choose Israel’s representative for Eurovision, finally wrapped up the auditions phase this week. After two months of auditions 50 acts are still in the race to sing for Israel in Stockholm. Soon 50 will become 16 — and with the speed and severity to make you forget the previous 16 episodes entirely. Scroll down to find out who managed to make it through this week. And if you missed any of the previous episodes, you can catch up here.
MEET THIS WEEK’S QUALIFIERS
Hila Ben David
Hila, 31, is no stranger to Eurovision, as she has already performed in the Israeli Kdam (Israel’s national selection for Eurovision). In 2005 she sang as part of Svika Pic’s band and in 2013 she went as a solo artist with her song “Beautiful”. The latter made it to the final, but failed to win. Knowing all that, you shouldn’t be surprised to hear that she chose to sing her own version of Israel’s Eurovision 2015 song “Golden Boy”. Jazzy and smooth, she sailed on through…
“Shotef 60”
Their name Net 60 EOM refers to the practice of paying the self-employed 60 days after the date on their invoice. The band members are all sound guys and cameramen from the show’s crew and decided to use their break in the studio to compete with their humorous song “Lehatzil Et Haolam” (“Saving The World”). Their special groove got them to the next phase, but will they remain in the show as contenders — or as crew?
Adi Avrahami
Adi, a 25-year old singer-songwriter, was discovered by judge Keren Peles after she saw one of Adi’s videos posted on her Facebook wall. During her audition Adi sang a song that Keren wrote called “Bakirkas Haze” (“In This Circus”). Risky move — but it paid off.
“Zaalouk”
Zaalouk is a young band who describe their sound as “fusion Moroccan.” Their name refers to a delicious Moroccan eggplant salad and they most def brought some special flavor to the show with their song, sung in Haketian (an endangered Jewish-Moroccan Romance language). Their happy vibe left the judges smiling.
Shai Peri
Shai, 27, was a sailor in the army for seven years. Today he manages projects at a smart real estate company. He writes his own songs but didn’t choose one of them for his audition. Instead he went for “HaShir Al HaAretz” (“The Song About The Land”). The judges weren’t sure he has what it takes, so they asked him to sing a part of his own song, “Onat Ha’Nedida” (“The Migration Season”). The judges were really impressed and they voted him through.
YOU CAN WATCH THIS WEEK’S EPISODES HERE: EPISODE 15, EPISODE 16
The judges will soon whittle the fierce 50 down to the sweet 16. We’ll keep you posted…
Which artists do you like the most so far? Who do you think could do well for Israel at Eurovision?
