Next Star for Eurovision — the Israeli selection for Eurovision 2020 — is reaching the final straight before the final-20 phase. After two very promising bootcamp episodes, only ten spots in the top 20 remained. On Saturday, five more artists booked their spot in the next round.
Dor’el Sa’adon
Dor’el Sa’adon, who suffers from arthritis and scored 95% in the first audition, was first in line. After his audition booked his place as a fan favourite, he had a reputation to live up to. He sang “Heaven” by Bryan Adams and all judges voted him through. So, he qualified directly to the final 20.
Eden Alene
The Ethiopian X Factor Israel winner who scored 55/60 from the public was next in line. Holding the leading victory contender, Eden Alene had to convince all the judges. She then performed “Fallin'” by Alicia Keys, and made the judges fall in love all over again. All the judges voted her in and she sailed to the final 20.
Yuval Beider-Peretz
Next up was Yuval Beider-Peretz, the stunning singer/actor/model who qualified as a wildcard. She performed Ivri Lider’s “VeUlay” and once again made Keren Peles compare her to coriander — you either like her or dislike her. The judges didn’t know what to think, but eventually the result was clear. Since only Peles voted for her, and because there are no wildcards this time, Beider-Peretz was eliminated.
Omer Eliyahu
Nadav Guedj doppelgänger Omer Eliyahu was next on stage. He sang “Shuvi LeVeytekh” with a unique Middle-Eastern touch and had the judges parted. As a result, his soulful performance brought him to the Second Chance round.
Shefita
Despite withdrawing after qualifying from the audition round, Shefita came back. She came dressed up as a frumpy American and said her name was Sara Hoffman. “Sara” performed “Womanizer” by Britney Spears but stopped halfway through, did a costume change and wowed the judges with the rest of her performance. The judges voted her through, but Shefita/Sara withdrew from the contest… So we fully expect her to keep participating in the contest.
Niki Goldstein
Niki Goldstein blew the public voters away on his first audition. But this time, he had to rely on the judges’ critiques alone. So, he performed “Million Reasons” by Lady Gaga, and made sure to spice it up with his own unique touch. He didn’t get a vote from the stricter judges Levy and Amdursky, but the rest of the jury voted him into the Second Chance round.
Yohai Tsarfati
The French-Israeli Yohai Tsarfati who Assaf Amdursky criticised for his diction was next in line. He sang “Shmama” by Uri Ben Ari with better diction and hit high notes that seemed to convince the jury at first. Later on, however, it appears that the jury was undecided. Tsarfati eventually got scores from all but Levy and Peles.
Bar Furman
Bar Furman was in the audience when Assi Azar took her to prepare an audition and go on stage. She nailed her audition, but the standards one needs to meet to pass the bootcamp are much higher. Furman showed her skill in her performance of “Skyfall” by Adele, but didn’t impress all judges. Since three judges (Levy, Peles, Maimon) wanted her in, she qualified for Second Chance.
Dana Lapidot
Dana Lapidot was next to perform. She’s a famous singer-songwriter in Israel, and her participation in Next Star for Eurovision came as a surprise to many. For her bootcamp audition, she chose to sing a song she had previously written for Eden Ben Zaken. Dana’s amazing vocal control convinced all judges to vote her through. So, she qualified directly to the final 20.
Second Chance / final decisions
Yohai Tsarfati was announced first, and host Assi Azar said that he didn’t pass, but that it didn’t owe to a bad performance. The next name announced was Omer Eliyahu, who (apparently with the help of Itay Levy) made it to the final 20. Niki Goldstein was eventually chosen over Bar Furman and made the final 20.
Goldstein and Eliyahu joined the 13 qualifiers to the final 20, with five spots left for the 31 artists who are yet to learn their fate.
Who was your favourite participant of Day 3? Will Shefita come back to the Next Star for Eurovision? Let us know in the comments below!
Who ever needs this freaking Nicky Goldshtein in Eurovision. Who? He appeals to who exactly?
How did he get and Lihi Toledano did not? Keren Peles does not seem to care about Eurovision at all.
Mark my words – Shefita is planning to return. they’re preparing the audience for it a bit by bit.
I’m not complaining. I’m want her to win so badly! she could totally slay ESC
No she would be a total disaster. Worse than Kobi.
Of course she’ll be back…as an impostor in another prank. The only question is if she can outdo herself the next time she’s on because the novelty is wearing off.
If any, people are much more into her than the beginning of the last season.
If any, she has much more chances to win now than last year, to remind you, she got the third place.
Israelis simply can’t understand how bad this whole ”Jewish woman making a comedic impression of an Arab” will look in European eyes. PC doesn’t exist in Israel and they simply can’t understand it (i know because i’m from there). Nobody will even talk about her song or way of singing. Only about how racist her character is.
100% agree Ana. It seems so obvious to me.
I lived in Europe and In the States, believe me, I know their PC culture better then you and I can tell you that she will slay.
BTW, we can see how much the Europeans are starting to detest this PC culture that they have built with their own two hands. the recent elections in the UK are a proof of it. if any one complains, is those SJW from the far left, and the sane, normal majority can’t stand them already,
Oh you know the European PC better than me huh? I live in Berlin already 3 years so I know what I’m talking about mister “I’ve been to Europe I know better”. That kind of arrogant response is very typical so I’m not surprised. Whoever is not thinking the same as you is automatically a far lefty who is irrelevant. Typical d*mbass Israeli talk. Take your head out of your ass once in a while.
just watched the latest show and wow they totally screwed over Lehi Toledano. In her first performance they noted how they loved that she was singing in an older style which is unique nowadays. Then she sings in the same style again (which they loved the first time) and they criticize her for singing in an older style. She was excellent and deserved to move forward.
They don’t judge purely on merits. There are other factors playing into this. Lihi basically auditioned for a casting call on a reality tv show and didn’t get the ‘role’ because she didn’t fit a certain mould that the judges had in mind (and the production as well). The production is not aiming at Eurovision as much as it is catering to a domestic audience and to current trends in Israeli music. I’m not making any excuses for them, but this is a great example why The Next Star era needs to come to a close.
Dana’s rendition of the song she wrote by herself wasn’t equally received by all the judges. Two of them didn’t make up their mind when it was over. It was only after Dana let go and let down her guard that the 2 remaining judges gave her a thumbs up as it was pointless to go back to business as usual. When judges are unanimously in favor of a particular contestant, they usually share that consensus during the audition itself. I think there are more compelling contestants than her. She gets carried away vocally with a forceful sentimentality that is… Read more »
@Sam you aren’t exactly right. Two of the judges held out but their comments made it clear that they were very supportive all along, but wanted to wait to give their review before moving her forward. Amdursky said that this was an incredible performance and better than her first. I will make a couple observations though – 1) The judges are more critical of the professional singers like Dana because the expectations are higher. They are less critical of the amateurs. 2) On the other hand when a professional like Dana (or Maya last year) enters the contest they are… Read more »
The common thread between Maya and Dana is that their participation is a story of personal redemption. It can only get them so far with the judges on their side, but when it’s entirely up to the public to decide, the tables are turned . Maya was the first to be eliminated on the final with a miserly 45% vote. I’m not sure Dana is a household name like Maya because she’s been out of the spotlight for a very long time while Maya kept making some headlines in gossip columns for all the wrong reasons. The producers are looking… Read more »
@Sam you might be right about how the public will perceive Dana. I think it reveals a flaw in the show selection process. Singers who are clearly top notch like Maya have a tougher time with the public because they are tired of her domestically even though Europe is not. This happened last year and the ultimate result was terrible.
Just like in politics, you can stretch the truth and package it with a nice bow tie like they did with Kobi: Introduce him as a shy, awkward and introvert mama’s boy with stage fright only to see him turn from a frog into a prince, then Have him eliminated and finally bring him back due to popular demand or some kind of a premeditated ploy. Credibility may have hit rock bottom, but Kobi’s victory was one of the most one-sided ever on the show’s history because the public was adamant that he wins no matter what. It can happen… Read more »
So Bar Furman is out? That’s a shame.
Is shefita competing or not?
no
She’s not.
You didn’t mention Dana’s tearful discussion afterwards about how she was off because her father just suffered a stroke.
Dana and Eden are the clear front runners. Omer is very good too.
Enough with the Shefita nonsense. This is becoming like a children’s show.
@Alo I disagree. The difference is between amateur singers who have surprised the judges (or and ella lee) and professional singers who are performing as expected (eden and dana). The level of the professionals is far above the amateurs but, at least at the beginning, the amateurs are going to get more attention because they less expected.
Ella Lee is one that could take it another level but Or has no chance. He does the exact same improvised emotional running around stage and grabbing his shirt routine every time. It’s going to get old really quick.
Nobody in Israel is looking for another Koby as he had a disappointing result in Eurovision. And I agree that Ors over the top weird presentation is distracting and to me pretty annoying. He should chill the F up and just sing instead of waving his hands and running around.
@Ana totally agree. Hopefully they learned the lesson from last year.