“HaKokhav HaBa” – Episode 1: The new season kicked off tonight. Five contestants passed the first audition and are moving on to the next stage. The contestants who advanced are Daniel Wais, Ido Malka, Renana Boaziza, KLÉR, and Nati Livian.

The new season of ‘HaKokhav HaBa‘ for Eurovision 2025 launched tonight with its premiere episode. The show promises music and talent that will bring some joy to all Israelis during these challenging times. At the start of the episode, the hosts Assi Azar and Rotem Sela covered Eden Golan‘s journey leading up to the Eurovision competition, after which she performed a short segment of her song on the ‘HaKokhav HaBa’ stage.

This season, judges Assaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon, Eden Hasson, Ran Danker, and Itay Levi will evaluate the contestants. Each contestant must achieve at least 70% of the votes, with each judge contributing 10% to the total score.

The premiere episode continued with six auditions, during which five contestants successfully passed the first audition, thanks to the support of both the judges and the audience in the studio. One of them could potentially represent Israel at Eurovision 2025.

Nati Livian

25 years old from Ra’anana, son of an American mother and an Italian father, raised in a Chabad family. He served in the IDF in a military band. He chose to sing “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” (originally by Whitney Houston), transforming the well-known song into a pop ballad. Nati has a unique and soothing voice with excellent vocal precision, marking an excellent start to the new season! He appears to have a promising future ahead in this competition!

Itay Levi remarked: “I got chills when I heard you. You have the whole package; you are an amazing singer, you stand well on stage, and you look good. I think you are in the best place in your life, and that is reflected in your singing.” Assaf concluded: “You surprised me a lot; you are an amazing singer. You mentioned having extensive experience in a military band, but there is not a trace of that style in your performance. You are very focused on your style. You could hold yourself with a bit more confidence and authority; other than that, you are wow.”

Everyone voted in favor. Nati received 93% and moves on to the next stage.

KLÉR

At 22 years old from Tel Aviv, she is a songwriter and composer coming from rap and hip-hop backgrounds. An adopted child from Georgia, she was adopted by a mother of French descent, creating a strong emotional bond between them. KLÉR chose to sing “Love On the Brain” (originally by Rihanna). She possesses a powerful voice that holds well throughout Rihanna’s unforgettable song. KLÉR has both low and high notes necessary for performing this piece and exhibits star quality alongside subtle mannerisms reminiscent of major pop stars worldwide.

Shiri stated: “I’m glad you came to us because you already have experience and you navigate exactly where you need to be, and you did it effortlessly; even your outfit was relaxed as if saying ‘wait till you see what I bring!'” Keren added: “I wanted to tell you that you reminded me of this year’s Swiss Eurovision winner, and if this is how you sound while singing it, then I think you’d fit perfectly into Eurovision.” We wonder about any connection between Nemo from Switzerland and KLÉR because we couldn’t find any link in their musical styles or singing.

Everyone voted in favor. KLÉR received 96% and advances to the next stage.

Renana Boaziza

nana, 29 years old from Sderot, arrived at the audition with her one-year-old daughter and her friend. She is a teacher who works with children with special needs and shared that on October 7th, she was eight months pregnant when her husband was called up for reserve duty in the army. Renana performed “Nigmar” (originally by Idan Amedi). She has a soft caressing voice that is very moving; she expresses the song extraordinarily well—her facial expressions truly speak volumes. Additionally, Renana’s small vocal embellishments are quite impressive. An excellent audition! She definitely deserves to move on—but does she fit Eurovision? The fact that Renana believes in keeping Shabbat likely emphasizes her desire for exposure through this platform rather than aiming for the Eurovision stage in Switzerland.

Keren was so moved she cried: “You delivered an accurate, amazing performance; your song choice was heartfelt, and you carried it with dignity—you deserve to be here. I would like you to represent me at Eurovision.” Ran added: “You are here on a mission. Part of our healing involves singing from the heart and exposing it. The moment you’re standing here giving us this image from a film I imagined your husband writing home while fighting—it’s moments like these that bring us closer together.”

Assaf voted against her. Renana received 82% and moves on to the next stage.

Tali Kuper

Tali, 17 years old from Ashdod, is a singer-model-dancer. Tali participated in “The Voice” Ukraine and “The Voice” Russia. Together with her sister Emily Kuper, she participated in the show “Israel’s Got Talent.” Tali emphasizes that she must stand on the Eurovision stage and refuses to cooperate with comparisons to Eden Golan. Tali shares that she is influenced by pop and R&B styles. She performed the song “Lose Control” (originally by Teddy Swims). I left feeling quite confused after her audition. On one hand, Tali showcases impressive vocal abilities—so much so that I’m quite sure it’s playback—but on the other hand, many aspects didn’t work well; her singing felt very flat with lots of shouting that didn’t evoke any feelings from me. Was it just not the right song? Should she advance? Yes. Was it perfect? No.

Assaf said: “You are a good singer with great skill and presence; you come across beautifully on screen—everything seems present here—but there’s need for balance; that’s something acquired with more experience. Another year on stage. A bit more experience working with a microphone, hearing yourself recorded.” Shiri summarized: “I think you didn’t receive proper guidance; I believe you’ve come into a show that’s perfect for you; I’m disappointed that my friends didn’t give enough points for you to advance so we could work with you because your potential is enormous.”

Assaf and Ran voted against her. Tali received 66% and does not advance to the next stage.

Ido Malka

Ido, 26 years old from Ramat Hasharon, is a musician who sings pop music with his band. He serves in reserve duty with Golani Brigade and released his original song “Psikhopat” after his service, which went viral on TikTok. He shares that his dream is to represent Israel at next year’s Eurovision. In his audition, he performed “Psikhopat.” Ido has immense talent—a rough yet powerful voice—and he exudes strong confidence as he literally burns up the stage. The song he wrote and performed during his audition was excellent but had slight issues with vocal precision; it’s intriguing what Ido has prepared for us in upcoming performances!

Shiri Maimon declared: “We saw here a musician—a crazy performer—a top singer—a star! You’re there! You draw the band along with you! It was fun watching you.” Eden added: “Every step you take is full of charisma; you’re an incredible vocalist—your movements are amazing; this is one of the best auditions this season as well as last season.”

Everyone voted in favor. Ido received 94% and moves on to the next stage.

Daniel Wais

Daniel, 29 years old from Kibbutz Be’eri, was a quiet child who began playing guitar at an early age. Daniel and his family experienced terrifying scenes following Hamas terrorists infiltrating their kibbutz. That morning he lost contact with his parents during early hours only to find out after a week-and-a-half that his father, Shmuel Wais, was murdered at their kibbutz while his mother Yehudit was kidnapped and killed during captivity by Hamas in Gaza. Music helps him heal from these traumatic experiences over the past year. Daniel performed at a state ceremony marking one year since the massacre; he chose to sing “Ani Gitara” (originally by Beni Amdursky), which his father loved dearly. Daniel has a high clear voice—his singing caresses gently—with good dynamics making it an emotional performance that brought tears to many eyes—the best performance of the night! Will we see Daniel representing Israel at Eurovision while sharing about his painful experiences from October 7? Perhaps!

Daniel left all judges moved and tearful. Keren Peles said: “Thank you for going through such terrible experiences; we still have families waiting for their loved ones who are missing—sorry for everyone going through this ordeal; hopefully—it depends on your future performances—but hopefully you’ll represent Israel at next year’s Eurovision.” Ran Danker shared: “The first thing we tried doing was holding onto everything tightly saying ‘we’re strong.’ Your pain is alive but you’ve also brought tenderness.”

Everyone voted in favor. Daniel received 97% and advances to the next stage.

HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision

In preparation for Eurovision 2025, it has been decided by Israel’s public broadcasting corporation (KAN) to continue its collaboration with Keshet 12 in selecting Israel’s representative for next year’s Eurovision contest. This partnership between Keshet and the corporation has enabled Israel to achieve six consecutive qualifications for finals—most notably when Netta Barzilai won first place with her song “Toy,” bringing Eurovision back to Israel.

Israel in Eurovision 2024

“Hurricane” is the name of the song performed by singer Eden Golan, who was chosen to represent Israel after winning the tenth season of “HaKokhav Haba“. Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 194 points, and in the grand final reached fifth place with 375 points. In the public vote, Israel came in second place, just 14 points behind the first place.

This is the second consecutive time that Israel has reached the top five, an achievement it had not attained since its streak of successes in 1998-1999.