“The Next Star For Eurovision 2016”, the singing reality show that will choose Israel’s representative for Eurovision, continued auditions this week. The latest episode saw plenty of special talents and big personalities, including the original Israeli Elsa (from disney’s “Frozen”), who unfortunately didn’t qualify. Scroll down to find out who did make the cut. And if you missed any of the previous episodes, you can catch up here.
MEET THIS WEEK’S QUALIFIERS
Meir Green
Meir, 22, studies in yeshiva and tries to mix religion and music. After several unhappy years, he found joy and self-fulfilment through music. He has never watched Eurovision, but chose to sing a special version of Israel’s Eurovision 2015 song “Golden Boy” — with lyrics from the bible. Nadav Guedj was invited to hear this Orthodox version and he really liked it, as did the audience and the judges. But is Meir a star or just a one-time gimmick?
Nati Zafran Marlburu
Nati, 18, came to Israel from France with her mother, sister and brother. She has no connection with her father, so naturally she chose to sing a song about a father — “Papaoutai”. Nadav Guedj arrived unexpectedly to sing with her in French!
“Almanor” (Alma & Manor)
This young duo met at boarding school and later performed in street shows together. Some of the judges thought that the girl was the stronger of the two, but they both managed to qualify for the next round despite the imbalance.
Adi Achrack
Adi, 26, comes from a religious Yemenite family but she’s lived a secular life for the past few years. As a child, she didn’t watch TV at all, but she would sneak out once a year to watch Eurovision. The qualifying bar is 70% (combined votes from the audience and the judges). She barely managed to scrape through with just 71% approval.
YOU CAN WATCH THIS WEEK’S EPISODES HERE: EPISODE 9, EPISODE 10.
The auditions will soon be over, followed by phase 2, where the judges will choose the finalists. At that point one or more finalists will be eliminated every week until the grand final, where the winner will be selected.
Which artists do you like the most so far? Who do you think could do well for Israel at Eurovision and become the next “Golden Boy”?
Wait did Harel mean to down arrow Meir?
How can people watch this show? It’s a mess
With the right song I can imagine Almanor bringing something good to ESC. They could be my choice up till now.
Wowwww
This selection has become a joke
Only gimmickim can go trouh
“Ha has never watched Eurovision.” Just send him home now.
Mona! What a shame! She should’ve qualified! But anyways, great show Israel!