If ever a Eurovision entry shouted ‘fan favourite’ then this year it’s Israel's Toy performed by reality show champ Netta Barzilai. The production has an overlay of several musical genres and it possesses the mood and mighty chorus that has made it the holy grail of entries among the type of die-hards for whom the Contest is beyond an annual distraction. The fans, however, hardly ever select the winner, which makes one speculate whether Israel might be in for another disappointment.
Having said that, there has been nothing quite like this at Eurovision before and for many observers the song has come out of left field and punched them between the eyes. While it might be loved by the hardcore fans, it has really become a 'take it or leave it' entry, polarising opinion among those who have had the chance to hear it.
Following the chicken clucks at the intro (yeah, really!), Toy becomes a current, memorable creation. Netta has a potent, offbeat voice while her reality experience should equate to a solid television performance.
What perhaps cannot be underestimated is the lyrical content. It appears to have been picked up by the #MeToo movement which is currently riding the crest of a wave. Add to that Netta's (sometimes outrageous) appearance and anything is possible once a wider voting audience has seen the entire production.
Ultimately, Israel's position seems quite precarious. Netta's vocal looper is gone; the instrument that helped get her to Lisbon has had to be discarded on the orders of the EBU. As a result, backing singers provide that vocalisation, sterilising the overall impact of the song. Rehearsals so far seem pretty underwhelming, so I wouldn't say that Jerusalem 2019 is necessarily a foregone conclusion.
However, as much as I dislike Toy, it's obviously got a lot of support and will definitely be in the mix on May 12.
Eurovision 1979: Milk and Honey ft. Gali Atari representing Israel
"And our twelve points go to..."
Hallelujah: The Single
It was the last day of March 1979 when, for the first time, the entire Eurovision Song Contest entourage arrived in Jerusalem for the broadcast of the competition from the city's International Convention Center.
As is routine, the baton had passed to the previous year's winner to host the Contest. Thus, on the back of Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta's victory, the honour fell to Israel.
Not surprisingly, political pressure from around the Muslim world was placed on Turkey to withdraw from the Contest - even though the country had chosen its entry: Maria Rita Epik with 21. Peron singing Seviyorum. Eventually, Turkey decided to quit while Malta and Yugoslavia declined to return. As a consequence, the number of participants was pegged back to nineteen.
Of those nineteen, the UK's voting position was seventeenth and, as such, could potentially swing the result one way or the other. Norway had just voted, generously awarding 10 points to the UK - as well as a fifth maximum score of 12 points to Israel's song, Hallelujah. However, it was Spain's Betty Missiego who led the scoreboard at this stage (by a mere six points) with just three countries left to vote - one of which was Spain itself.
With the scores so close, the 1979 voting was to become one of the most tense of recent years and the UK's results were to add yet another layer of tension to the proceedings. The British jury had decided that Israel would receive its 12 points - pushing Hallelujah to 107 - while Spain's Su canción was awarded 5 points, bringing it to 106.
1979: Israel captures Eurovision victory
Austria's verdict put even more cats amongst the pigeons, when their votes separated Spain from Israel by one point yet again. Only this time Spain was leading - and was also about to have the final say.
Even though both Portugal and Israel were erroneously awarded ten points during this exciting final phase, it was actually Hallelujah which received 'dix points' from Spain.
Indeed, it was Portugal which was in receipt of SIX points; Spain had unwittingly shot itself in the foot and had handed the victory to Israel for the second consecutive year.
Six sets of 12 points had helped in the win; the UK's coming as the last part of a late triumvirate following similar determinations by Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden and Norway.
Of course, Hallelujah has since become a classic of Eurovision, helped in no small part by its highly memorable melody which sent it high into the music charts of many countries across Europe.
The UK's 12 points translated into a Number 5 British hit and a chart run of eight weeks - easily beating the Number 42 peak of the UK's entry that year by Black Lace: Mary Ann.
The UK's Top 3 in 1979
Israel: Milk and Honey ft. Gali Atari: Hallelujah - 12 points
Israel, two-time victors at the Eurovision Song Contest, have had a torrid time over recent years trying to make the leap from semi-finalists to finalists.
Last year, an energetic performance by Nadav Guedj brought the country back to the top tier of the competition. Now, the baton has been passed to Hovi Star to continue this process of recovery with the song Made of Stars.
Star, real name Hovav Sekulets, has come to Eurovision via a now-familiar route: the TV reality show. Having taken part in Israel's version of Pop Idol in 2009, he graduated to HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion in 2015 - the vehicle for naming the Israeli representative at the Eurovision Song Contest.
A public vote decreed that he would travel to Stockholm with his version of Made of Stars - originally a somewhat bland, ugly duckling of a song which has recently undergone a deserved, major revamp.
In a previous life, the song was something of a flat, unremarkable composition - a situation which the Israelis soon recognised. In mid-March a final version was released and the revision was striking. Sweeping strings were added to give the track an orchestral touch and these now dovetail nicely with Hovi's soaring vocals. The new structure allows the young singer to take what is now an uplifting ballad to a new level, making the chorus even more memorable than before. A swan is born.
The only problem is that this chorus - or at least the title - is locked in for most of the duration of the song. While some repetition is necessary for a Eurovision entry, Made of Stars relies much too heavily on certain phrasing and towards its climax the resulting tedium is extremely apparent.
Whether voters and juries will switch off mentally before it finishes is another matter. Previously superior Israeli entries have failed to impress and stumbled at the semi-final stages and Made of Stars is certainly no better than those. With a tough semi-final draw, Israel will need all the votes it can get and, at best, Hovi Star is very much a borderline qualifier.
The title, Golden Boy, has been known since late February, but we had to wait until Thursday evening to hear the full version of the song that will be performed by Nadav Guedj at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.
Israel selected its representative for the competition through a reality show entitled HaKokhav Haba (Rising Star) which ran from December to mid-February. Four artists battled it out in the final, but it was 16-year-old (yes, really) French-Israeli singer Guedj who won the ticket to fly the flag for Israel in Vienna.
Unusually, the country's entry will be performed entirely in English, having been written and composed by Doron Medley, who has also worked with notable Israeli singers such as Eyal Golan and Omer Adam. Via Guedj, he brings to the Contest a refreshing break from the monotonous collection of languid ballads that have so far plagued this year's Eurovision.
Golden Boy is a lively, party tune that will effectively wake up Vienna and get it dancing, although one might be forgiven for thinking that the differing elements of the song have been hastily stitched together. It begins as if Nadav is about to launch into another ubiquitous ballad, but the mood suddenly changes and we are transported to the dance floor à la Justin Timberlake.
The Timberlake moves are dumped fairly rapidly as the song moves into a catchy chorus that reeks so boldly of Middle Eastern spices that one can almost taste them. It undulates between these two melody structures as Nadav Guedj's vocals follow suit, at times sounding as if he is an over-zealous local tour guide ushering foreigners into a small-town Israeli street market. By the song's end, he has almost led everyone back into Allez Olla Olé territory.
But, will this upbeat approach prove successful with the televoters and the juries? If done well, the voting public generally love this kind of frivolous dance anthem, but the juries tend to butcher them as a matter of course. Such an outcome may lead to a fifth consecutive dismissal at the semi-final stages for Israel, leaving the country in a precarious position as a future Eurovision participant.
It would be harsh, then, to see Israel out of the Final yet again, despite fielding some reasonable entries since 2010. This is another one - a feelgood track which deserves to be heard for a second time on the Saturday. While it's probably not this year's winner, it is full of Eastern promise!
There are several songs in this year's Eurovision that could be hits without the benefit of the competition and Same Heart by Israel's Mei Feingold is one of them.
Up until now, Miss Feingold's claim to fame has been her third place finish in Kokhav Nolad, Israel's version of Pop Idol. She has also successfully ventured into musical theatre, gathering a couple of respectable awards along the way. However, Mei's voice lends itself to the soft rock genre and this is probably why she has found fame in her homeland as lead singer with the rock band, Limozina Express. But is there any hope that the good people watching and listening to the Eurovision Song Contest this year will vote for this rock chick? If there is any justice, they should. It's been a long time coming, but Israel look to have produced a song in Same Heart that is deserving of the win.
It manages to combine all that is good in rock, pop and dance music, stretching the singer's stunning voice better than almost all among the contestants this year.
The lyrics move swiftly between English and Hebrew (language changes have been something of a problem previously in determining Eurovision winners) but Ms Feingold's vocals seem to give just as much meaning whichever language she chooses to sing in. But will she match the power of the studio version live in Copenhagen? Having seen a couple of her Pop Idol performances on video, I can't imagine she will have a problem at all.
My belief is that there will be no surprises with Israel this year and that Mei's rocker sensibilities will see her through to the final. Same Heart is my dark horse of 2014 and the song and Mei Feingold's performance should wow audiences in the grand final.
Malmö will be welcoming Moran Mazor to the Eurovision stage where she will be singing the Eurovision entry for Israel, Rak Bishvilo (Only For Him : רק בשבילו).
Moran will be seeking Israel's first win since Dana International did the trick in 1998. However, my feeling is that this ballad will find little favour with the voting public.
It's moody, if not a little over dramatic. And while there is no problem with entering a song in Hebrew, there is very much a language disconnect for those who do not understand the lyrics. Moran has a strong voice, although at times it seems she's overdoing it somewhat. It becomes all too fraught and angst driven with no discernible hook to draw the listener in.
A good singer, but a so-so song that has no real hope of making it out of its semi-final. Once heard, easily forgotten. 5/10
Israel performs in tenth place in the second semi-final on May 16.
Last night, Israel was the first of the three remaining nations to decide on their song for Eurovision 2010.
After singing a selection of four songs and following a combined televote/jury vote, vocalist Harel Skaat will be singing Milim (Words) in Oslo in May.
Suddenly, all bets are off as the reaction to the Israeli entry has been very positive amongst the Eurovision community.
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