Tonight: Israel decides for Eurovision 2024 with the final of HaKokhav HaBa

Tuesday, 06 February 2024

• Tonight Israel will be selecting their Eurovision 2024 representative with the final of HaKokhav HaBa, the talent show that is used as the selection formula for Malmo. 

  As was the case between 2015 and 2020, the singer who will perform the Israeli entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is being selected through the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa, produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Media Group, and broadcast on Keshet 12 as well as online via mako.co.il.

  The shows are hosted again by Assi Azar and Rotem Sela and feature a judging panel composed of Assaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon (2005 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Ran Danker, Itay Levi and Eden Hason.

   

  The process so far

  Preliminary casting rounds started in late July 2023 and ended on 10 September 2023 at Pavillion 2 of Expo Tel Aviv (Eurovision Song Contest 2019 venue), where candidates were judged based on an a cappella performance of two songs of their choice.

  Qualifiers from the preliminary casting phase proceeded to the auditions proper, held in Jerusalem. Candidates were required to get a score of at least 70% of the votes from the judges and a focus group in order to advance.

  The following phase, aired in segments on 31 December 2023, consisted of a shortlisting round, where the artists receiving a "yes" vote from all six judges automatically qualified and the others were chosen among those who had received four or five "yes" votes. 14 artists were shortlisted, namely:

  • Lian Biran
  • Eden Golan
  • Arik Sinai
  • Yehuda
  • Saado
  • Shai Tamino
  • Ido Bartal
  • Mika Moshe
  • Jonathan Bitton
  • Mika Kertis
  • Dor Shimon
  • Or Cohen
  • Gal Kafri
  • Moria Angel
  • Orel Ravid

   In the top 14 round, the votes of the judges and an audience determined one contestant to be eliminated from each show, ultimately coming down to the top five. In the first show of the semi-final, the votes of the judges and the audience determined one qualifier to the final. In the second show, the remaining four artists performed, and one of them left the competition.

  It has all come down the final quartet which see the following artists competing in this evening's show: 

  Dor Shimon - "Hayiti BeGan Eden"
  Eden Golan - "I Have Nothing"
  Mika Moshe - "Naari Shoveh Elay"
  Or Cohen -"Pri Gankha "

  On 5 February, a special broadcast was aired featuring performances by guest artists and the finalists, each of whom announced which song they would perform in the final; a public vote, held via the Mako app and determining 10% of the results, was opened on the same day.

  You can watch the show also online on mako.co.il.