Better late than never the people say, a philosophy that seems to be followed by the people behind the production of The Next Star.
So, after postponements, reactions and plenty of bad luck, The Next Star – Special Edition 2023 premiered on Keshet 12 last Monday .
WHAT DID WE SAW ON THE FIRST EPISODE
The broadcast of the show started a few minutes after 22.00 pm local time, with the two hosts of the evening Assi Ezer and Rotem Sela opting for a more subdued role with minimal references to Eurovision.
Understandably, the special conditions prevailing in Israel, due to the war, did not leave the contestants unaffected.
First up on stage was Shai , a costumed contestant, who dedicated the song she performed to her murdered friend. A little later, one of the contestants appeared with a song dedicated to the abductees.
Then, the jury took over (consisting of Keren Peles , Assaf Amdursky , Itay Levy , Shiri Maimon (Israel 2005), Ran Danker and Eden Hasson ) who joined forces in Yehudit Ravitz ‘s performance of Mila Tova .
The representative of the country in 2005 took the stage once again.
This time she performed, with the help of Keren Peles and Shir Yakov , the song Coming Home which is a composition “born” in the marches held for the return of those abducted by Hamas. Among them are Shir’s father and two brothers.
THE EDEN GOLAN PHENOMENON
The impressions, however, were stolen in the end by the appearance of 20-year-old Eden Golan . Eden managed – for the first time in the history of the show – to collect an absolute 100% and at the same time rave reviews from the audience and the jury. She herself duly enjoyed it, unable to contain her excitement!
Although early, the young Israeli singer automatically becomes one of the “hottest” names of this season and sets her sights on Malmö!
For now, you can enjoy her perfomance on Monday’s episode below:
Source: [ IsraelHayom ]
One of the six judges of this year’s The Next Star is Shiri Maimon , who represented the country back in 2005 in Kyiv with her ballad HaSheket SheNish’ar . He collected 154 points from 39 competing countries finishing in a very respectable 4th place!
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube, to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in Eurovision!
Good luck, Israel!