Israel has chosen. Michael Ben David has won X Factor for Eurovision with “I.M”, and will represent Israel at Eurovision 2022 in Turin.
After over three months of auditions and shows, the grand final saw the final four artists – Inbal Bibi, Michael Ben David, Eli Huli, and Sapir Saban – battling for the ticket to Turin.
All four performed one cover of their choice and their Eurovision entry.
Michael Ben David – “I.M”
Michael Ben David wins X Factor Israel for Eurovision 2022
First round: Cover round + repechage
The first round was comprised of two duels.
First, Inbal Bibi was up against Michael Ben David. Bibi performed first, singing “The Winner Takes It All” by ABBA. Michael Ben David went after her, with his cover of “Shnei Meshugaim”. Michael Ben David emerged victorious, with Inbal Bibi heading to the repechage stage.
The second duel saw Eli Huli face off against Sapir Saban. Eli Huli sang the Friends theme song “I’ll Be There for You” by The Rembrandts. Meanwhile, Sapir Saban performed “Badad” by Zohar Argov. Eventually, Eli Huli qualified directly to the final three, while Sapir Saban continued to the battle against Inbal Bibi for the third spot in the final.
For the repechage, Sapir and Inbal performed their Eurovision entries. Sapir’s “Breaking My Own Walls” scored 31%, and Ibal’s “Marionette” received 69% of the vote. This meant that Sapir Saban placed fourth, while Inbal Bibi joined Michael and Eli in the second round.
Second round: Eurovision songs
Since Inbal Bibi had just performed her powerful ballad “Marionette”, she did not perform again.
Instead, Michael Ben David performed his club banger “I.M”.
Eli Huli then closed the show with the lovely mid-tempo tune “Blinded Dreamers”.
X Factor Israel for Eurovision 2022: Final results
Jury:
- Eli Huli – 58 points
- Michael Ben David – 50 points
- Inbal Bibi – 42 points
Committee:
- Eli Huli – 60 points
- Michael Ben David – 46 points
- Inbal Bibi – 44 points
Televoting:
- Michael Ben David – 118 points
- Eli Huli – 95 points
- Inbal Bibi – 87 points
Total score:
- Michael Ben David – 214 points
- Eli Huli – 213 points
- Inbal Bibi – 173 points
What do you think of the X Factor Israel results? How will Michael Ben David do at Eurovision 2022 with “I.M”? Let us know in the comments below.
@wiwibloggs_official The Wiwi Jury have listened to all 8 songs from the #XFactorIsrael #Eurovision selection and here is their ranking 🇮🇱 #XFactor #ESC2022 ♬ original sound – wiwibloggs
To all of you haters out there, to all of you gays in denial, to all of you antisemitic, homophobs and hypocrites WTF ,you are taking yourself way too serious ,for f..k sake 3 min of music ,like ,dislike bye. So much hatred for 3 min. Listen every morning to ‘you need to calm down’ Taylor Swift and get over it. . . . You need to calm down You’re being too loud And I’m just like oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh You need to just stop Like, can you just not step on my gown? You need to calm… Read more »
Are you okay? Do you need me to call someone?
Fun song though.
he is ok, when you watch the comments it makes sense,
i dont agree with people being anti-Semitic though
Please can you call Chanel? You know ..slomo Chanel
After all this hatred, I think Israel needs to at least qualify for the Grand Final. So far, Czech Rep. & Israel are the best.
Guurrl, this is just a song and not your mother or a poster of Rocco Steele… just drop down a few notches and take several seats, cause … the same way people are going to fangirl about this, others will express their distaste for it … Deal with it, it’s how life rolls, and you are no longer 16 … you have bills to pay and a house to take care of … move on from this cuz nobody is going to keep up with all the suffering Kardashian-wannabes around here …
well performed, but a very forgettable song
Dear Fan
For a sec I thought it’s Simon Cowell..forgettable indeed isn’t that the whole idea of ESC ? can you imagine if songs where unforgettable? Hundreds and thousands of middle of the road music stuck in your head.
Get over it , enjoy the 3 min live act and that is all
I have to say I’m stunned by the extreme vitriol here, such violent rhetoric over a generally positive and fun song. It’s okay to dislike it, but this is not the first bad song in Eurovision herstory, yet there is some unprecedented levels of hate being thrown around here. Could it be that this is not about the song at all? Why are people here soooo offended by a guy they know nothing about, who hasn’t done or said anything wrong? Honestly, if you don’t like the song, say that, no need to be so aggressive and hateful about it,… Read more »
Word!
I must say I am a big fan of how the Israelis manage to blend elements of 3 or 4 songs into one. My only concern with this song is: none of this sounds to me as fresh as it should. Feker Libir, for example, was a million times better. But maybe they’ll do a revamp until May.
My only concern with this song is: it sucks
Well, it’s the Doron Medalie method. He said that a Eurovision entry should take unexpected turns all the time to keep the viewer engaged through the whole 3 minutes. Although it’s very hard to make it actually sound good.
the more i think of this entry, the more i realize it represents a gay stereotype that really shouldn’t be pushed by anyone. it’s clearly forced to the point it’s cringe and you can’t say “oh but he’s just being himself”
Yeah, i agree. It’s a very boring cliche that we’ve seen before in Eurovision. It’s not original and it is annoying actually
On the contrary. I am glad Israel is free enough & ballsy enough to choose this song & this artist. They have all the right to participate & they have their place at the ESC. In countries where homosexuality is no longer taboo, gays can live their lives openly & be whatever they want to be. Thus, effeminate men that have always been bullied & scorned & that very often were upfront fighting for gay rights can now be as effeminate as they want without being beaten & bullied. And I wouldn’t say Michael’s performance is forcing anything. I’d rather… Read more »
On second thought. Look, more conservative countries, if either this song or Michael are considered inappropriate in these countries, then maybe… this song & this artist are what those countries really were asking for. That’s what they needed to be exposed to.
As you can read in one of the articles on Mahmood & Blanco. (I don’t like to follow National Finals, I just read the comments here.) I was led into thinking they were gay & that they were singing a gay romantic ballad. Then, I saw one photo I didn’t like & very very very easily I jumped to conclusions. I assumed one of them was taking on the role of the man & the other the woman. That upset me. That upset me because neither of them is effeminate. And if there were to be a gay romantic ballad… Read more »
I must admit I’m not a fan of Israel but kudos to them for hearing the will of the audience. Other countries should take notes.
hearing the will of the audience LOL|
Norway 2012 came last in Eurovision but it won the national final. Switzerland 2011 came last but it won the national final and the list goes on…
as deban said in his reaction, go home try to dance and sing at the same time in that level and return to here and talk.
people think anyone can do that, well…definatly not.
dont try to take from michale what he owns. this is a crime
He also said the song is Borderline unlistenable. Which it is. Stop trying to hype Israel with this awful song, no one is buying it.
will see about that on may, this gonna be public favorite despite the haters here.
in the bottom line deban said that after all the good things in this entry overcome the bad, and the bad will be improved.
this gonna finisg top 5 because of michael, i have no doubt,
waiting to see your faces on may
No one questions Michael’s talent, this is what made the performance stand out from the rest. BUT the song is horrible, a copy of Whine Up and Swish Swish with silly cringy lyrics, plus the combination with the middle eastern breakdance makes it even worse.
if people smile and dance when seeing the performance this is what counts
with all the repect to your opinions.
public vote for entries that leaves impact and this definitely does.
Reminds me of Montenegro 2017, but at least Slavko’s entry was somewhat fun to listen to in studio, ridiculous lyrics and all. This hasn’t really got any redeeming features and I’ll hopefully only have to listen to it once more during SF 2 as it becomes Israel’s first NQ since 2014…
Slavko had a tragic live performance but the song was a bop unlike this mess of an Israeli entry
The problem with the song is that it’s trying to be too many things at the same time. A bit of ‘swish swish’ , a bit of oriental, a bit of Ru Paul. It ends up being a mess. Let’s wait for the revamp to see if it improves
it’s essentially a mashup of katy perry’s swish swish and kate deluna’s whine up. i love both of these songs but i absolutely hate i.m lmao
This is giving me such a RuPaul TOP4 song vibe… It is definitely not the level of “break up (bye bye)” rather B.D.E…
Didn’t watch any of his performances in Xfactor, however this doesn’t sound like he is a great singer.
With such a small margin he as well might have been chosen because of an error during the public voting. Many people report that they had all sorts of problems to vote, and some even demand another count (which I doubt that anyone will do). And I mean, if “Blinded Dreamers” would win, would it be a huge difference? People would say it’s too generic and that the singer lacks charisma.
with blinded dreamers no one can say anything bad on the song unless they dont have ears. its obvious that michael song and performance is polarized but hey toy was as well and won big time. its a good sign because the people that do love michael will vote for him like crazy as it happened in israel. all the haters here will eat their hats in the money time, i have no doubt this is whats going to happen. michael will rock the stage with any song because he is a strong performer, very strong. you can already see… Read more »
Oh trust me, people would complain that the song (Blinded Dreamers) is bland and generic. Toy worked for some unexplainable reason. I think people till this day don’t understand how a mess like Toy somehow sounded both all over the place and fairly coherent and tight at the same time.
I.M is still a mess, I hope that they will do something to make it work. I think it’s doable.
how much bla bla bla….he will do a revamp, killer video clip, will go on stage and burn it this is exactly whats going to happen after all the bla bla bla
top 5. period!!!
I mean we’re gonna react at what Israel decides and shows to us. Not a fictional revamp that is somehow going to transform a poor mans RuPaul copy into sudden top 5 material within the month? If they manage to turn a turd into a swan i’ll be the first to take back my words but right now this is the worst eurovision song i’ve seen this decade just above that Belarusian propaganda song.
Michael still a good performer but yea, producers handed him crap.
its not fictional, this is whats going to happen, a revamp will occur. if you think that you will have lots of performers like michael in the contest you are wrong, the things he can do only few can. he can sing, act and sing in the same level. try to sing like that when you dance like he dance. its almost impossible unless you work very hard to get there. if this won over blinded dreamers which was amazing song it will win over many songs in the contest. most people smile hard and move while seeing his performance… Read more »
2021 was a really strong year. 2022, not so much…
Honestly? There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and this is giving me arrogance 100%. It feels so forced…
Massive cringe. Awful!
what is so cringe? are you homofobic?
this is fun and michael celebrates him self
with this song. I am talks about being proud at yourself no matter what people say.
and this is his answer to all the haters here
To people wondering why michael won: Eli and Enbal messed up their live preformances, Eli was like a deer in the headlights and I think it was too hard for Enbal to sing this song live with dancing. I wanted Enbal to go with ZAZA which she had a much better live preformance but after that didn’t happen michael was the best choice. If they can get a good revmap, change chergraphy a little and get good costumes and he will do really well. Watch the live versions on youtube and you will see why he was the one to… Read more »
I tried a lot to understand what’s wrong and I think I found it. His voice doesn’t fit the song. Actually he sounds like he is on X factor uk bootcamp trying to impress Simon Cowell so he can go through to the live shows. The song needs a revamp and another key for Michael because now it gives slavko kalezic vibes
Ru Paul,s Drag Race without the wigs and make up?
Homophob
He looks like he’s having fun on stage, he sounds good and the choreo is fine, but the song is very cheesy and cheap.
Agree with all of that, and I kind of… really like it? ESC wouldn’t be the same without the odd dose of daft fun, and we’re not getting “Superman” so this’ll do nicely:) That said, the selection system looks like an absolute mess, I don’t envy anyone in Israel with Eurovision ambitions beyond cheesy pop at the moment.
The song is awful, and i don’t like his voice but this blatant homophobia in the comments needs to stop.
They asked him the host city and he thinks that Eurovision 2022 is going to take place in ?stanbul 🙁
A mess XD
Things happen 😀 Even NRK did the same mistake they showed the view of Istanbul instead of Torino. The interesting thing is why both of them confused with Istanbul i have no idea
This guy doesn’t know about eurovision at all, he even answered that eurovision 2022 is going to be held in ?stanbul ahahahahah
The song itself isn’t that bad…but of course revamp is needed. Worse thing is his stage presence, why to feed all stereotypes about being gay? I don’t wanna hear again from my friends and family “Oh he behaves like a typical gay. Why gays are like this? ” Bruh.
Everyone else has been harsh enough so the only critique I’ll add is that this song is confused. It goes in about five different directions for no real reason. I’m not sure a revamp can save anything, but they need to try.
I will mention one bright spot: I loved the high note fake out. That was a moment of self awareness in a song that otherwise feels like they forced in every cliché they could think of.
The build up to the chorus is Whine Up, the drop is Swish Swish… and there are like 8 other (original) songs mixed into this. The word revamp gets thrown out often at this stage but for Israel it is beyond tweaking and refining what’s already there. Some ideas must be removed and others polished if they want something that sounds like a real song. At least it has personality and the singer is talented, so the potential is there..
And can we please stop with the “look how amazing and fierce I am” lyrics? Narcissism =/= confidence.
Another year, another Jendrik , another 0 points
Maybe they will revamp it and change music a bit. And lyrics. And vocals. Nvm
wow so disappointing Israel – will not qualify.
Well…. I DO like this entry!! Camp and fun. Why do I have a “Deja-Vu” feeling?…. All haters here had same type of comments to NETTA’s song – and we all know the end result (don’t we :-)…). Netta is a DIVA/ICON and Michael is 2022’s DIVO!!! GOOD LUCK ISRAEL!!!! I LOVE IT!!!
Love it so much.
Good luck Israel
I am gay, LGBT society has been fighting for understanding, tolerance and equal laws for over 70-80 years now.
What is this performance? Everyone can be whatever they want but this is just inappropriate and tasteless. Bungling.
how is this inappropriate or tasteless? and btw your gay card is fake, it’s being cut by scissors as we speak.
Inappropriate? What is exactly inappropriate in this?
Michael being gay has nothing to do with the awful crap -bag of song he sings
I mean basically the whole song attitude and performance is based around it so i’d like to beg to differ. Only thing missing for the performance on the eurovision stage is a deathdrop in the last minute with the camera crew filming the reaction of a few men in makeup gagging at what they just saw. It’s really not his fault though. He performs the hell out of it but y’all cant deny the xfactor crew was just like ‘o feminine queer gay? Here, have this song without any musical qualities or subject except for being gay’. This will be… Read more »
I am not even surprised by the downvoting and the backlash I received here. I am only going to paste the lyrics of his song here: ‘I’m shameless and I’m spotless and I’m flawless (…) Going for the things I should and maybe I’m ferocious’ Is it what we want the society to think of us? To think that we are just self-righteous people with high ego? And then think about the message that was sent in 2014 by Conchita Wurst. I veery much prefer the lyrics and meaning of HER song. She underlined what LGBTQ community needs to go… Read more »
You know what, people are allowed to have fun without you gatekeeping how society thinks we should be perceived. Your hot take screams insecurity.
Thank you for your psychological review of my comment, very much appreciated. Do not forget that not everybody who is gay in Europe or anywhere in the world can live freely and comfortably in their skin. Some things are not helping homophobia and this song is one of the things that are feeding it. This is how it works, I am sorry for being frank – this song is not going to help anyone and It is going to cause a wave of homophobia in more conservative countries. People tend do generalise, ok he is having fun and I am… Read more »
So the appropriate thing for LGBTQ rights is to only present gay people who “pass”? Who aren’t too effeminate or bold or confident, so not to offend the homophobes?
Gay people can be a lot of things and sing about a long of things, there’s no one cookie-cutter message that we all need to project to the world. A fun-loving, confident, sassy and talented guy can sing a fun and sassy song, and it doesn’t make him the “wrong kind of gay”, because there’s no such thing.
this performance alone delayed same-sex marriage becoming legal in israel by another decade
We finally have a song worse than Bulgaria…well done Israel
Not a fan of this one.
The song feels unmemorable. Non qualifier vibes for me.
Katy Perry – Swish Swish .
You didn’t have to organise a competition lasted for weeks for this song in the end.
and Marionette by Sia is original?
And Lady Gagas Guy
I think trying to build a character has been the first priority and not the song itself. Trying to fit all the high notes and runs in 3 minutes makes it very hard to listen. Overall it feels very forced and fake. Only a really amazing staging could save this song but what we saw here was kind of boring too.
This is actually really good. Campy and over the top. I think it will do really well. Great vocals btw.
Not my cup of tea however on the night, drunk… it’ll be fun ? I can imagine this becoming peoples guilty pleasure
Great stuff Israel! We needed that. Similar to Spain- a split decision but unlike Spain, he is the public’s chive. He is so charismatic and nice and the song is actually his personal anthem of overcoming all the people that have tried to put him down just because who he is (very similar to what’s going in the comments section here).
I wish him all the best and he will get my vote, no doubt!
Can we select Inbal internally next year!!
This selection method is bad
How about sending Ran Danker? 🙂
he’s a dreamboat but he’s too good, no?
Disgusting comments by poor people..only in here, all of the reactions love this song and the performance.
agreed, he’s the total package, like Chanel. I bet the same hypocrite glad that Chanel won.
Good singer, great attitude, mediocre song, catchy yet recognizable beat, bottom line qualifier placing around 20th place in the final.. His performance may put some eastern voters off, but who am I kidding, Conchita Wurst charmed them too but IM is not in the same league as Phoenix..
Phoenix is considered generic in 2022…..how time flies.
Great choice Israel! For me Eli had the best song but Michael had the total package and was in his “element”. I knew this song would be polarizing and attract lots of criticism, especially from Eurofans – but remember Netta, polarizing can be good. There IS a crowd for this and Michael will get votes, I’m sure of it. If there is such a thing as an “X-factor for Eurovision” Michael has it with this song – it is ENTERTAINING. Eurovision needs artistic songs like Italy’s this year but it also needs songs like this: Fun, catchy and campy without… Read more »
Some of the comments here are beyond shameful. It is absolutely legitimate to dislike the song, but wishing the singer get sick?! Calling his entry an insult?!
Really?
What has become of the ESC community? So much poison. So sad.
Chill! For heaven’s sake, chill!
Enlighten us please, Mother Theresa.
If me wanting the atmosphere here to be more respectful and less poisonous makes you cynically call me Mother Theresa, then be my guest.
And people who said those things are gay people. That’s the saddest part.
uh we don’t know who’s who on the internet, those people reminds me of the ‘I’m gay but….” crowd. Who’s most likely to clutch their pearls at this song? Hmm…
I didn’t read all the comments, but I noticed some years ago, that the ESC fan community is getting more poisonous against each other when somebody likes/dislikes any song and they have different opinion. Of course, it does not apply to everyone.
You’re right. People react as if someone had cursed their mother. At the end of the day Eurovision is entertainment, fun, colors and laughs. Instead of enjoying it people have turned it into an ugly battlefield. Why?
Yes, you are totally right. Everyone has a different taste of music, and people should accept it.
This drop beat reminds me, actually sounds just the same, as the beat in Katy Perry’s Swish Swish Bish… like it’s literally the same beat, they didn’t even try to hide it. He gives too much sas for such underwhelming somg.
The others aren’t that original either. Marionette is very Sia.
I love it! The performance is clearly dividing opinion and and may well be topping the league in the competition camp stakes so far, but why shouldn’t Michael be allowed to interpret his song in any way he likes and he does it so well. He’s a confident performer, sounds amazing, looks great and that cheeky wink gets an extra point from me. Plus I thoroughly enjoyed the song, bonus! Great choice Israel.
Nooooo never boooooo
He’s a good vocalist, but this song is unlistenable. I had to stop after 30 seconds, I couldn’t take more… This deserves a NQ.
This really sounds like the debut single of a RPDR contestant written as part of a songwriting challenge.
you wish. Drag Race alums never had a song this good. IM is what I wish Adam Lambert would do but never did.
I’m proudly gay, but all this yaaas kween, okuuurrrr mawma, vogue betch, rpdr lipsync for your life fantasy is not the reason to support him… Song is just absolutely terrible and unlistenable.
so if a drag queen sings it, you’ll love it? what a hypocrite.
dude, that’s literally not what he said
Unpopular opinion, I think the picked song is great. We need these fun happy entries, that’s what makes Eurovision. Michael has great stage presence, compared to him other finalists lacked charm.