The Next Star for Eurovision 2016: Episodes 5 and 6 (Recap)

“The Next Star For Eurovision 2016”, the singing reality show that will choose Israel’s representative for Eurovision, continued auditions this week. As ever it was high on drama. It featured a woman who has survived six brain surgeries and suffers short-term memory loss and a big scandal over a gay-themed song. Scroll down to find out who qualified from Episodes 5 and 6. And if you missed the previous episodes, you can catch up here.

MEET THIS WEEK’S QUALIFIERS

Maor Gamliel
Maor is a 19-year-old soldier who came to his audition with a teddy bear. He sang an original song he wrote with his friend about a guy named “Moshiko”, who just can’t come out of the closet. “Moshiko, he’s into boys, Moshiko, loves asses…” he sang. The cheeky lyrics have left some LGBT activists fuming, and hundreds of people have already written to the state body that regulates television. You can read the full lyrics in our detailed post about the controversy.

Shira Becker Goldshtein
Shira, 35, studied music at a famous music school whose graduates include some of the country’s best-known singer-songwriters, including one of the judges in the show, Keren Peles.

Shira is most def a survivor. Following a botched operation, she had to endure six separate brain surgeries and still suffers from short-term memory loss. Fortunately she doesn’t forget the lyrics to songs. Shira sang marvelously, but, as one of the judges told her, she doesn’t have much of a stage presence. Hopefully she’ll find it for the next round.

Gil Hadash
Gil is a 20-year-old soldier who has had no connection with her parents for the past year. In her audition she chose to sing the Hebrew song “Lo Stam” (Not Purposelessly). The judges really liked her and even told her to start packing her suitcase for Stockholm. What do you think about her audition?

“Velma” (Matan Velner  & Hen Elmakias)
This duo tried their luck last season, but didn’t qualify. One of them doesn’t know how to take a compliment. When an interviewer suggested they were more “calm” and mature this time around, dude just got up and left. The audition went more smoothly. They sang an original song called “Enjoy The Pain”. The audience and the judges found their unique style absolutely brilliant and gave them a ticket for the next phase of the competition.

Kim Segal
Kim is only 18 years old but she’s already been in another reality singing contest, The X Factor Israel. Back then she competed as part of a trio. This time she came by herself with her sweet voice and look. Both the judges and the audience fell in love with her.

Talsha (Tal Shachar Ben Ari)
Talsha is only 25 years old, but she already has 26 tatoos!
She really liked Eurovision 2015 and dreams of competing there. She plays in two bands at the moment, but came to the audition by herself. She sang a unique acoustic version of Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” and really brought the house down.

YOU CAN WATCH THIS WEEK’S EPISODES HERE: EPISODE 5, EPISODE 6.

The auditions continue next week and will lead to Phase 2, where the judges will choose the actual finalists. At that point all of the acts will sing each week, with one biting the dust each time. Those shows will air on Friday nights.

Which artist do you like the most so far? Who do you think would do well for Israel at Eurovision?

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