Israel

Izabo

About Quick Facts MembersRan Shem TovShiri HadarJonathan LeviNir Manzur Founded1989 Nationality🇮🇱 Israeli National SelectionInternal selection 2012 In EurovisionYear City SongTime (2012) Biography Izabo was an Israeli band. Izabo was founded in Petah Tikva in 1989. Their original line-up consisted of Ran Shem Tov, Shiri Hadar, Nir Graf and Tamir Muskat. In 1994, they released their first album titled “Movie Maker”, along with three singles. This album is often omitted from Izabo’s chronology and songs from it are never played in live concerts. The band’s line-up changed following the release of the album and again in 1997, with the final line-up, which remained for 19 years, consisting of founders Shem Tov and Hadar, as well as Jonathan Levy and Nir Mantzur. Their sophomore album, “The Fun Makers”, was released in late 2003 and received highly positive critical acclaim, with the songs “Morning Hero” and “Cook Me” achieving major radio success in Israel. Several months later, Izabo signed on to Sony BMG, through which they released their British debut, “The Morning Hero EP”. The release was accompanied by a concert tour during which Izabo performed in England, Scotland and the Netherlands. Izabo collaborated with a large variety of artists, on stage and in studio, from singer-songwriter Ahuva Ozeri to choreographer Ohad Naharin. Izabo’s collaboration with Shotei Hanevuah produced the single “Hu”, which won the Music 24’s “song of the year” award. Their third LP, “Super Light”, was released in July 2008. On March 26, 2012, Izabo released an EP titled Summer Shade. The EP included the 2012 singles “Summer Shade”, “On My Way” and “I Like It”, the band’s final singles under the name Izabo. In early February it was revealed that Izabo had been chosen by a group of mass communications and music industry experts to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The song, Time, has verses in English and choruses in Hebrew. They did not progress past the semi-final round. On May 21, 2012, they released the album “Life Is on My Side in the UK”, through 100% Records. In 2016, Nir Mantzur and Jonathan Levy left the band, and the band changed its name to Cherie and Renno. Two years later, Cherie and Renno released a self-titled album. The album is Cherie and Renno’s first album, and the fifth in the band’s history.On October 24, 2022, the band returned in it’s former line up with a comeback concert. In November of the same year they performed at the Israel Music Showcase Festival in Jerusalem. On 28 February 2023 they released a brand new single”Midnight Chains”. In May they teamed up with Ilan Peled for a new single, “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough”…. yes, a Michael Jackson cover. Entries Time Country🇮🇱 Israeli Year2012 LanguageEnglishHebrew LyricsRan Shem TovShiri Hadar MusicRan Shem TovShiri Hadar Backings– Results Semi Points: 33Position: 13Running order: 10 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/-uy4ggnLzKI?si=VqmK1KMNcnOBJAsR

Amir Haddad

© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameLaurent Amir Khifla Khedider Haddad Born20 June 1984 Nationality🇫🇷 French National SelectionInternal Selection 2016 In Eurovision2016 Stockholm SongJ’ai cherché (2016) Biography Laurent Amir Khalifa Khedider Haddad was born in Paris in 1984, into a Sephardic Jewish family originally from Tunisia and Morocco. The singer has a disability from birth, deafness; he only hears with his left ear. After living in Sarcelles, in Val-d’Oise, his family made went to live in Israel when he was 8 years old. Since that age, he has used his middle name, Amir, as his usual first name. Amir rose to fame in Israel in 2006, reaching the final of Kokhav Nolad, the Israeli version of Pop Idol. After this, Amir Haddad began studying dentistry, in parallel with the continuation of his musical career. In 2011, he released his debut album, “Vayehi”, which he recorded in 2008 and wrote with musician Omri Dagan while they were still students. The album included the Hebrew version of Patrick Bruel’s “J’te l’dis encore”, as well as a collaboration with DJ Offer Nissim, covering the 1991 hit “Désenchantée” by Mylène Farmer. In August 2013 he participated in The Voice, la plus belle voix. As one of the four finalists, he finished in third position. After the end of the show, Amir participated in the compilation “Forever gentleman 2” in which he performed the song “Le Soleil de ma vie” with Camille Lou. On February 29, 2016, France 2 announced that Amir would represent France at the 61st Eurovision Song Contest with the song J’ai cherché”. He finished sixth in the competition. “Au coeur de moi”, the album including “J’ai cherché”, was released two weeks before, on April 29, 2016. It will became triple platinum. On November 6, 2016, during the MTV Europe Music Awards, he received the trophy for best French artist. On November 12, 2016, during the 18th edition of the NRJ Music Awards 2016, he won two awards: Francophone Revelation of the Year and Francophone Song of the Year for “J’ai cherché”. He was part of Les Enfoirés, a group that annually gives charity performances, from 2017 to 2019 and then 2021. He also commented the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 for France 2. A few days later a duet with the group OneRepublic was released, called “No vacancy”. On August 25, 2017, “États d’amour”, the first single from his third album “Addictions” was released. The album itself came out on October 27, was released. The album was certified triple platinum disc, Amir participated in the French dubbing of the American animated film Lego Ninjago, the film with the song “Higher. In 2019, Amir announced a break in his career on social networks. However. in 2020, he was a juror in the show Good Singers. In the same year, he starred in the film Adorables. On October 16, 2020, his third studio album, entitled “Ressources”, was released. He collaborated with the singer Sia on the title “1+1”, which was released on July 13, 2021. In 2021, in the show of The Voice All Stars, Amir came to support Jenifer as a coach. From April 26, 2022, he played tge role of Alfred Nakache, nicknamed the swimmer from Auschwitz at the play Sélectionné. Entries J’ai cherché Country🇫🇷 France Year2016 LanguageFrenchEnglish LyricsAmir HaddadNazim Khaled MusicAmir HaddadNazim KhaledJohan Errami BackingsFred d’AngeloDelphine ElbéLars HäglundIvan Pavlak Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 257Position: 6Running order: 11 https://youtu.be/-aLPsiyavcU

Hovi Star

© EBU About Quick Facts NameHovav Sekulets Born19 November 1986 Nationality🇮🇱 Israeli National SelectionHaKokhav HaBa La’Eirovizion 2016 In Eurovision2016 Stockholm SongMade of Stars (2016) Biography Hovav Sekulets (born in Kiryat Ata in 1986), known by the stage name Hovvi Star, is an Israeli singer, actor, composer, writer, voiceover and presenter. Hovi studied at the religious youth village, near Kfar Hassidim, until the age of 14. In the 10th grade, he decided to drop out of school in order to release an album, so after this didn’t work out, he returned to school a year later. He did his military service in military bands. About six months before his release from the IDF, he auditioned for the seventh season of the reality show Kokhav Nolad, and was accepted. After being eliminated from the show in tenth place, he returned to the program using the “Lifebuoy” mechanism, and finally finished in seventh place. Immediately after “Kokhav Nolad”, he participated in “The Children’s Song Festival 2009” with the song “Little boy, big boy”, which he wrote and composed together with Assaf Aberbuch. On January 29, 2010, he appeared at a fundraise for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and sang Ilanit’s song “Bashana Nehsah” in his own arrangement. In 2010, he hosted the show “Kokhav Live”, which followed the contestants behind the scenes of “Kokhav Nolad 8”, and at the same time presented a column on Kokhav Nolad in a morning show. In June of that year, he appeared at the opening event of the Pride Week in Tel Aviv. In 2016, he participated in the reality program HaKokhav HaBa La’Eirovizion. As part of a collaboration with the Israel Broadcasting Authority, the program was designed to select Israel’s representative for Eurovision 2016. Hovi Star won the contest and represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song “Made of Stars”. In the Grand Final of the contest, Hovi reached a 14th place. Hovi Star played roles in children’s plays “Little mermaid” and “Aladdin”. On 3 March 2019, Hovi Star made a comeback with a new song, “Silver spoon”. In January 2020 he opened a new YouTube channel called Mr. Star. He published cover versions of songs on the channel. In 2021 he released a new single in Hebrew. Entries Made Of Stars Country🇮🇱 Israel Year2016 LanguageEnglish LyricsDoron Medalie MusicDoron Medalie BackingsMatan AgamiAlmog KapachImri ZivJennifer CohenAmir Ner-Goan Results Semi Points: 147Position: 7Running order: 4 Results Finals Points: 135Position: 14Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/SS5TB2XUdgs

Moran Mazor

© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts NameMoran Mazor Born17 May 1991 Nationality🇮🇱 Israeli National SelectionKdam Eurovision 2013 In Eurovision2013 Malmö SongRak Bishvilo (2013) Biography Moran Mazor is an Israeli singer and actress. Mazor was born in the city of Holon to a Jewish family of Georgian origin. In an interview, she mentioned that her parents immigrated to Israel from Georgia in the early 1970s. Mazor performed her military service between 2009-2011 in the Air Force band. In 2011, she participated in the first season of the reality show Eyal Golan Koreh Lecha (Eyal Golan Calls You) and won first place. Approaching her first album, Mazor released the singles “Tabit Bi”, “Nasikh Sheli”, “Khoderet le’Levakh”, “Ani Kan” and “Alenu.” In 2013, Mazor was selected in the pre-Eurovision to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song “Rak Bishvilo” Mazor competed in the semi-finals, finished in 14th place, and did not qualify for the competition’s final. On April 25, 2018, Mazor released a new single called “Kima’at Me’ohavim” In 2018, Mazor was cast in a leading role in the musical “Zeh Ani” by Maor Zaguri, based on the songs of Eyal Golan. She played the role in 2018 and 2019. On March 13, 2019, she released a single called “Rak Otkha”. The melody of the song was from the Turkish series “Hakalah me’Istanbul” which Mazor acquired following her new single. It was followed in April 2020 by the song “Ruach Ba’ahayamah”. In 2021, in the middle of the Corona crisis, she was part of a campaign to get attention for Eran, an organisation that offers psychological help by phone and via internet. In July of that year, she released a new single, “Ein Lekha Musag”. On 29 March 2022, Moran’s new single “Sheva” was released. In September of that year she performed at the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York. In May 2023 a new single, “Kuli Ahava” was released. Entries Rak Bishvilo Country🇮🇱 Israel Year2013 LanguageHebrew LyricsGal Sarig MusicHan Harari BackingsAvia ShoshaniDaniel SkaatChen Metzger-Eder Results Semi Points: 40Position: 14Running order: 10 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/BjbcD72OaI4?si=KbrI2GqIQxixtpn3

Netta Barzilai

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameNetta Barzilai Born22 January 1993 Nationality???????? Israeli National SelectionHaKokhav HaBa L’Eurovizion 2018 In Eurovision2018 Lisbon SongToy (2018) Biography Neta Barzilai is an Israeli singer-songwriter, musician, songwriter, composer and DJ. Barzilai was born, raised and educated in Hod Hasharon. At the age of three months, she moved with her family to Nigeria, due to her father’s work, and at the end of the period she returned to Israel. She took an electronic music course at the Rimon School of Music and in 2016 performed the song “Selfie Destruction Blues” with Tomer Katz at “Electrimon”. From September 2017, she was a participant in the show HaKokhav HaBa L’Eurovizion, which she won in February 2018. For the Eurovision Song Contest, Doron Medalie and Stav Berger composed the song “Toy”. She was the immediate favourite at the bookmakers and managed to win Eurovision. On May 30, 2018, Barzilai won the ACUM Award for Outstanding Achievement in the International Arena. On February 1, 2019, the song and clip “Bassa Sababa” was released On May 10, she released the song “Nana Banana”. Barzilai began appearing around the world between Pride Parades across Europe and hosting programs in the United States. The record was set when Neta appeared in China on October 19 in front of hundreds of millions of television viewers and tens of thousands in the audience. In November 2019, she released the theme song of the show Pop Up Music 2, “We have the power”, together with Omer Adam, Moshe Peretz and Rotem Cohen She later released a duet with Omar Adam “Beg”. In February 2020, Netta released the song “Ricki Lake” and 3 months later the song “Cuckoo”. The latter premiered at Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light, the alternative show for Eurovision 2020. She performed with the song “Iggy LOVE” at the Proud Youth Awards where she was chosen as the Inspirational Artist of the Year 2020. She also appeared in the comedy film The Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. On June 25, 2020, Barzilai’s EP, called “Goody Bag” was released. In September, a cover version of the song “Balav Ehad” was released, which she recorded together with Sarit Haddad. In June 2021, the joint song by Netta with Static and Ben-El Tavori, “Zero Effort”. On August 6, 2021, the Russian band Little Big released the single “Mustache”, featuring Netta. In October of the same year, she released the single “CEO”. Its first under the American record label Disney Music Group. On April 6, 2022, Neta’s song “I Love My Nails” was released. As of May 2022, Barzilai is ranked 9th on the list of the most played Israeli artists on Spotify, with about 1 million monthly listeners. Out of 12 Israelis who have passed the threshold of one million listeners, Barzilai is the only woman on this opening list. Entries Toy Country???????? Israel Year2018 LanguageEnglish LyricsDoron MedalieStav Berger MusicDoron MedalieStav Berger BackingsLilah AmarAvshalom ArielMaayan BukrisSheyna HeidiDanielle Mazuz Results Semi Points: 283Position: 1Running order: 7 Results Finals Points: 529Position: 1Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/84LBjXaeKk4

Nadav Guedj

© Elena Volotova/EBU About Quick Facts NameNadav Guedj Born02 November 1998 Nationality🇮🇱 Israeli National SelectionHaKokhav Haba 2015 In Eurovision2015 Vienna SongGolden Boy (2015) Biography Nadav Guedj (born November 2, 1998 in Paris) is an Israeli singer and actor. When he was three years old, his family moved to Israel and settled in the village of Neve Yamin. When he was 13, his parents divorced, and a year later, he moved with his mother and brother to live in Netanya. He served as a vocalist in the band “Tza’irei HaSharon,” the representative band of the city of Netanya. Guedj enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in November 2016 and was assigned to an army band in the Education Corps. In December 2014, Guedj became known for the first time when he started participating in the second season of the reality show Hakokhav Haba, the show in order to select the contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest. The prizes for winning the show included an air conditioner, an iPhone 6, a one-year communication package, and representing Israel at Eurovision 2015, held in Vienna, Austria. He performed the song “Golden Boy”. The song received over twenty million views on YouTube and reached the top spot twice on the Israeli Media Forest chart, as well as ranking third in the 100fm chart. In the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, he finished in 9th place out of 27 countries. In August 2015, Guedj filmed the music video for the song “Summer Together,” written and composed by Doron Medalie. The video was funded by Coca-Cola’s Summer Love events. In the same month, he released his third single, “Good Vibes,” written and composed by Ruby Feier and Guedj himself, with musical production by Yanon Yahel. The song reached the top spot on the Israeli Media Forest chart. In November 2015, Guedj released his fourth single, “Jump,” which he composed together with Ruby Feier. In March 2016, he released the ballad “Make You Mine.” Later that year, he released his debut album, self-titled “Nadav Guedj.” In December 2017, Guedj released his first Hebrew-language single, “Ulai nidaber” which he also composed with Kfir Ben Salman. On August 19, 2018, he released his second single from his second album, “Ma at omra”. In July 2019, he released the single “38 Ma’alot” which is also the theme song from the movie “Full Gaz” directed by Kobi Mahat. Guedj also appeared as an actor in the film. In November 2019, he released his fourth single from his second album, “Lirkod”. Acting Career Guedj started his acting career in 2019 when he joined the cast of the third season of the youth series “Kadabra” in the role of Adi Gaon. In the same year, he played the role of Didi in Kobi Mahat’s film “Full Gaz” In 2021, he had a guest role in the sequel series. On 29 September of that year, his song and video “Auto plastic” was released. Entries Golden Boy Country🇮🇱 Israel Year2015 LanguageEnglish LyricsDoron Medalie MusicDoron Medalie BackingsHananel EdriImri Ziv DancersDor RaybiTomer TenenboymAdam Cohen Results Semi Points: 151Position: 3Running order: 9 Results Finals Points: 97Position: 9Running order: 3 https://youtu.be/-w-2K9U8UIs

IMRI

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameImri Ziv Born12 Septemer 1991 Nationality???????? Israeli National SelectionHaKokhav HaBa l’Eurovizion 2017 In Eurovision2017 Kyiv SongI feel alive (2017) Biography Imri Ziv is an Israeli singer, actor and voice actor. He was born, raised and educated in Hod Hasharon, where he attended Hadarim High School. In his youth, Imri Ziv studied music in high school and joined the “Tze’irei Hod Hasharon” band. He did his military service in the Education Corps. In 2012, he competed in the first season of the reality show The Voice Israel. He proceeded to the battle rounds. He appeared at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest as a backing singer by Nadav Guedj. A year later he was at the Eurovision stage again to perform with Hovi Star. In 2017, he won the final of the fourth season of the reality show HaKokhav HaBa l’Eurovizion and was chosen to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest. Ziv performed the song “I Feel Alive”. He was ranked 23rd in the final. In 2017 and 2018, Ziv has been the replacement for Harel Skaat in the character of Marius, in the musical Les Miserables. In 2018 he participated in the first season of Ninja Israel VIP and finished in fourth place. On 3 March 2019 Imri released a new single called “Imrico”. He performed in Eurovision related shows in Amsterdam and Madrid. He has been a brand ambassador for several brands. In January 2020 Imri was able to perform in Shanghai. In June of the same year, he was part of the Eurovision Home Concerts during the COVID19 lockdowns. Ziv served as a narrator in the Hebrew version of the film “Trolls”. Entries I Feel Alive Country???????? Israel Year2017 LanguageEnglish LyricsDolev RamPenn Hazut MusicDolev RamPenn Hazut BackingsTomer TenenboymIdo GevaAlmog KapachAlon SharrAdam Cohen Results Semi Points: 207Position: 3Running order: 18 Results Finals Points: 39Position: 23Running order: 1 https://youtu.be/YapnW_zfWJk

Kobi Marimi

© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameYa’akov Marimi Born08 October 1991 Nationality???????? Israeli National SelectionHaKokhav HaBa 2019 In Eurovision2019 Tel Aviv Song2019 Home Biography Kobi (Yaakov) Marimi is an Israeli singer and actor. Marimi was born, raised and educated in Ramat Gan. In his youth he studied at Ohel Shem High School, majoring in theater. He began singing from the age of 13. When he was in high school he was a rejected child, when his overweight problem significantly affected his life. Prior to his enlistment in the Israel Defence Forces, he was not accepted into a military troupe and later, after passing the first stage of the entrance exams for the IDF Theater, he chose not to continue with the admission process. After his release from the IDF, he lost 50 kilograms, and began studying at the Nissan Nativ acting studio. After graduating, he starred in the play “Every living thing needs”, and appeared in the role of Natan the Gazan in the musical “Messiah Now” in the Musical Festival 2017 in Bat Yam. For this role he won the Promising Actor award at the same festival. In June 2018, Marimi participated in a children’s musical. Marimi participated in the sixth season of the reality show HaKokhav HaBa L’Eurovision. In the final he reached first place. Following the victory he represented Israel at the 2019 Eurovision in Tel Aviv. During the show he said that he suffers from audience fear, both as an actor and as a singer. On February 20, 2019, the song “Home”, was chosen as his Eurovision song. Kobi ended up 23rd out of 26 participants in the final. About two weeks after the Eurovision final, Marimi began rehearsing for the play Spring Awakening, which premiered in August 2019 at the Habima National Theater. On September 12, Marimi’s debut single called “Yalla Bye” was released. It topped the Israeli charts. On January 26, 2020, he released the song “Lo levad”. In 2021, he released the first single from a forthcoming debut album, “Yotze mize”. On March 22, 2022, he released the song “Shot dakavt”. Entries Home Country???????? Israel Year2019 LanguageEnglish LyricsOhad ShragaiInbar Wizman MusicOhad ShragaiInbar Wizman BackingsOfree IsraeliYossi MarkLera AxelrodLiron Nathan LevoMaayan Bukris Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 35Position: 23Running order: 14 https://youtu.be/uCdS42uCqP0