60 artists qualified for the bootcamp phase of The Next Star for Eurovision, the Israeli artist selection for Eurovision 2020. But on Saturday, the journey to narrow 60 down to just 20 began. Here’s a summary of the exciting first bootcamp episode which saw five singers go through and six others go home.
Second auditions results
Ohad Shragai
Ohad Shragai was the first to perform. He sang “Mono” by Shlomi Saranga. During his performance, he used a vocoder and a vocal looper and moved zanily on stage. All jurors except for Assaf Amdursky and Itay Levy voted for him. As a result, he qualified to the Second Chance round.
Lali Kolishkin
Lali Kolishkin was next in line. Her performance of “Addicted to You” by Avicii showed the jury that she’s worthy of passing the bootcamp. All jurors voted for her. As a result, she qualified directly to the final 20.
Yahel Yaish
Then, Yahel Yaish went on stage. He barely passed his first audition, so he had to really bring it in order to make the top 20. So he sang “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. Despite a good effort, only Static & Been El voted for him. As a result, he got eliminated.
Gaya Shaki
Gaya Shaki, who gave an intriguing piano performance in the auditions, was next. She performed an acoustic, haunting version of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. Her fantastic vocal control got her votes from all jurors but Static & Ben El, which meant she goes to the Second Chance round.
Ella Lee Lahav
Ella Lee Lahav, the first audition of the season, went next. Juror Keren Peles even told her she’s one of the “memorable ones”. She sang Ariana Grande’s “Into You” and slayed the highest notes. She got votes from all jurors, and qualified directly to the final 20.
Galit Weitzman
Galit Weitzman was next in line. She’s the oldest soloist — at the age of 45 — who made the bootcamp. Her cover of “Russian Roulette” had the judges polarised, but eventually it sufficed. On one hand she showed vocal ability, but on the other hand her accent was poor. She received votes from everyone but Assaf Amdursky and Static & Ben El, and made the Second Chance round.
Non-qualifiers
Atara Oryah sang an original song, but only received a vote from Static & Ben El, and got eliminated from the contest. Then, Tzion Khuri sang “Proud” by Tamara Todevska and got no votes. So he was eliminated. Eden Shabi also got eliminated, receiving votes from Static & Ben El and Shiri Maimon.
Lidor Ben Atya
Lidor Ben Atya, who got 70% in the first audition, was next in line. She sang “HaLev Sheli” by Ishay Ribo and her Mizrahi voice got massive support from the judges. Only Keren Peles didn’t vote for Ben Atya, and she qualified for Second Chance.
Orr Amrami-Brockman
Orr Amrami-Brockman, the Ukrainian-born teen with two fathers who scored the highest result ever, was the next bootcamp phase participant. He sang “Nitzakht Iti Hakol” by Amir Benayoun.
Second Chance / final decisions
Ohad Shragai and Gaya Shaki eventually qualified to the final 20, while Galit Weitzman and Lidor Ben Atya were eliminated. Shragai and Shaki joined Lali Kolishkin, Ella Lee Lahav and Orr Amrami-Brockman in the final 20. On the other hand, Weitzman and Ben Atya, along with Yaish, Oryah, Khuri and Shabi are out.
Five artists qualified to the final 20, while six artists got eliminated. 49 artists will find out their fate in the coming episodes.
Who gave the best second audition? What do you think of the first results? Let us know in the comments below!
Orr got 100% woohoo … Ohad has an annoying voice. He’s in Elai Botner’s band and when it’s just him singing, I hate it.
I’ve been thinking about Ohad Shragai a bit more and he reminds me a lot of Svika Pik, who tried to get into Eurovision like 5 times. Eccentrically talented but just not exactly the right fit for the contest (except as a writer).
Ohad Shragai is the most talented of the bunch. He is a composer and singer while the rest of them are just singers. But I don’t know if Eurovision is the right venue for him.
Ella lee all the way.
Ella lee is amazing..for sure will be in the final…only eden elena can give her fight this season
No. Ella doesn’t have stage presence. Great voice but she’s very amateur. Cannot compare to Eden or Dana Lapidot or even Toledano. In a few years she’ll be ready.
I find Ohad Shragai to be too eccentric and overqualified for Eurovision. It seems like he applies more intellect than heart so there’s something too polished in the way he delivers. I must be biased a bit because his nerdy hipster look and attire rub me off the wrong way. I realize we haven’t even seen a fraction of what this guy is capable of in terms of showmanship and extravaganza, but I can’t help feeling he’s mainly driven by ego and knowing how Israelis like a Cinderella story, he certainly doesn’t fit the show. Ella Lee’s audition was phenomenal.… Read more »
Off topic: Lucy Ayoub, one of the 4 hosts of ESC 2019, gave an in-depth interview on the ‘Walla’ news portal. She confirms that she will lead the 2021 selection process and even gives a hint about one aspect of what’s to be expected: viewers will play a part in filtering the songs/singers submissions by casting their vote. The preliminary rounds will take place on Kan Digital, which is an online platform for web shows and web series produced by Kan.
I can’t even focus on his singing. His overly hipster appearance makes him look like the most annoying person in the world. I think people would dislike him just because of that stupid look.
I agree with you. He’s extremely talented and unique in an intellectual and eccentric way but I don’t know if Eurovision is right for him. It’s not a venue for his type of talent.