In less than 4 weeks we’ll know who will represent Israel in Tel Aviv and try to secure a second consecutive victory.
And with so many talents in this season of The Next Star, it is hard to predict who will have the honour of waving the Israeli flag on home soil.
The competition has now entered the duel stage. And on top of that, in this episode, each set of duellists received a mission or a theme that they were required to project in their performance.
Overall, 5 duels took place and one candidate was eliminated. The last duel was between Maya Buskila and Kobi Marimi. Their theme was Eurovision songs which may hint that they are the broadcaster’s favourites to win.
Ketreyah v Danielle
However, things started with these two super women, who performed head-to head and were asked to show their style.
Ketreyah – “Wings”
She’s got it all! Voice, appearance, dancing skills and mostly – style, which was the defined task. She received 85% of the votes and no one could have ignored her.
Danielle – “No diggity”
After a relatively weak performance last week, she was at her best. Her charisma and passion were present throughout her performance. Unfortunately, this was not enough for her to overtake Ketreyah having achieved only 69% of the votes, perhaps because something with her voice wasn’t entirely there.
Shefita V Avraham
Both Avraham and Shefita were saved by the judges in the earlier stage as their results were lower than the other 10 candidates. Their theme was Divas’ songs.
Shefita – Bootylicious
The “Arab diva” – sure knows how to deliver, but again it’s hard to say whether this will speak to the European audience. The audience however loved her and she received 83% of the votes.
Avraham – When We Were Young
When Elton John met Adele. A very intimate performance from Avraham. His vocals are probably among the best ones in this season, and he has given an outstanding show. As Shiri said: sometimes, being a singer is all that it takes. He received 88% and overtook Shefita.
Osher and Klara v Shalva Band and Ofri
This was a different duel as each set of candidates performed a duet in twos or threes.
Osher and Klara – Tafasta Li Makom (Hebrew)
Despite the fact that they are considered as strong candidates, something as a couple wasn’t working and they received a low mark – 70%.
Shalva (band) and Ofri – Halomot Shel Acherim (Hebrew)
Pure vocals made the magic work again. We’ve had our doubts about Shalva, but after this performance, we’re convinced that this is could actually work for Israel. Ofri on the other hand delivered solid performances from the very early stages and she keeps doing so. This duet received 94% which was by far the best result in this show.
Tay v Daniel
Their theme was a personal story.
Tay – Breath Me
This is the dark horse of the competition and there is something enigmatic about her. She’s only 20 but when she sings, something very mature emerges. Tay is in our opinion the most surprising candidate this year although her performance in this show wasn’t her best. She received only 72 points but all the judges agreed that she has a star quality and must proceed to the next stage.
Daniel – Hello
As we said, there is so much talent in this season and Daniel is another example of this. In his entry tonight, he took Adele’s Hello and literally owned it for a few minutes (although towards the end it became a bit flat). He received 79% of the votes which was enough to win in this duel.
Kobi v Maya
That was without a doubt the most exciting duel of the evening as both candidates are considered hot favourites to win and to represent Israel in Tel Aviv.
Kobi – Fuego
Kobi is the outsider. He performed Fuego and brought a completely new meaning to the song (and even to the word Fuego), having travelled to the east and turning it into a theme from a mysterious movie. You may dislike his interpretation to the song but even if you try hard, you will not be able to ignore him.
Maya – Rise Like A Phoenix
Dressed as a bride, Maya brought a very dramatic performance to the table and gave Kobi a huge fight. This Israeli mega star is born to sing, and we wonder what Conchita would say had she seen her tribute to her song. She received 85% of the votes and to be honest, gave us chills.
Only one of tonight’s candidates was eliminated, that was Klara Sabag. The other 11, will proceed to the next episode.
What do you think about Kobi’s and Maya’s performances? Did you like their interpretation to Fuego and Rise Like A Phonix? Did you like any other candidates? Let us know in the comments below!
Yep he’s out. I knew it (see my comment below). He was not a real contender and was eliminated from the top 9. Israel has a choice of something very refined and polished (Maya), something less refined but unique (Shalva), or something in the middle (Ketreyah).
Shalva and Maya are clearly the top two. It’s pretty obvious. They both offer totally different things. Maya is the best singer but I could see them choose Shalva because they are different. Ketreyah is an outside third. Kobi has no chance. His voice is not refined enough. He even knows this. You could see his face when he watched Maya. She demolished him.
Can someone explain me the meaning of the concept od this show? I don’t understand why there are duels and everyone continues into the next round of the show
its a musical reality show, the winner get to represent israel in the eurovision…
its a long way until you win, there are many rules and steps, you can loose but sometimes the judges can save you
I’m obsessed with shefita
i really hole that is kobi isnt winning, shefita will….but the problem is that i think that the production will be affraid to select her, because people will not understand her humor and will say she is making a joke out of arabic female singers which she is not
I think it’s a fight between Ketriyah, Shalva, Kobi and Maya but Shalva are building in momentum which makes me think they might just win it.
Kobi is a wizard. Takes any song and makes it his own, and it is always surprising and magical. Maya can sing, sure, but so can Tay, Daniel, Avraham and Kitriya.
The only ones with a ‘wow’ factor are Shefita (the amazing), Kobi and Shalva. For me Kobi is the favorite.
Good luck to all!
Shalva is on the safe way to win it imo
Damn, this Rise of a Phoenix crushed me.
They have to send Maya.
Avraham is the surprise of the season for me personally
I’m still rooting for either Kobi or Shafita, but definitely wouldn’t mind the Shalva band or Maya after that performance
I want Ketreyah and Avrham to sing a duet together.
I want them both in eurovision
Am I the only one here who gets creeped out by the thumbnail photo (especially from the dude in the picture)?
The way its set up now the final four are likely to be Maya, Kobi, Shalva Band and Kitria. I would add Avraham and Daniel as potential frontrunners. Rest will not survive the cutoffs. I think Kitria and Shalva Band are most likely to get the public vote. Both Kobi and Maya are way too controversial (you either hate them or you love them – I personally am not a fan of either). I would be immensely happy to see Kitria or Shalva representing Israel and I think they will do the country proud (a top 10 result, definitely not… Read more »
Kitria is not good enough…in her style there are better singers..she never made me emotional…shalva band will not do well because they will be considered as gimic although they are not bad at all…from your list kobi is the only one which isunique and therefore must win…when you have 42 songs you better be unique to stand out….Maya has good voice but she is not unique and for me she is very technical in her singing…you will see, kobi will win and will finish top 5 at least
No, Kobi won’t reach top 5 at Eurovision…
He’s not that good as people claim he is… This hype is so unjustified
He’s not bad but come on… There are so many other singers better than him
its your opinion and you are in the minority so…
Kobi is going to win easily….I’m sure he will do well in eurovision as well, he is something you don’t see every day…he has his own stamp. I won’t be surprised if he brings Israel s double, he just need a very good ballad and it’s a done deal
They are all so good at this point! Its hard to pick just one.
Klara Sabag left? I wasn’t expecting that. It should have been Danielle. She is out of her league here.
About my pick to win and represent Israel at Eurovision, i officialy decided to root for Shalva Band. They are amazing.
Shefita is also growing on me. She is definitely unique and there is something about her that i just love.
Maya was great, but Kobi is serving that Freddie Mercury realness.
Don’t get the hype around Kobi
Yea, he’s good, not THAT good
Also, I’m still waiting for the judges to talk to Shalva as they do to other people
Can’t they sinply treat them equally?
Exactly what happened during the last episode that aired yesterday.
WOW! Maya was a white phoenix shining bright and guiding us to the light of fulfilled dreams in wonderland HUNTY 😀
Very interesting having a guy sing Fuego and a woman sing Phoenix, but they both nailed it. Either of them or Shalva Band would be my picks.