“HaKokhav HaBa” – Episode 3: Four more contestants passed the first audition and continue in the program. The successful contestants are: Aviad Klein, Amit Sade, Tamir Vaknin, and the collaboration of Red Band with Moran Aharoni.

The third episode of the reality show “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2025” (The Next Start), which will select Israel’s representative for the next Eurovision, aired tonight. We witnessed five auditions, with four contestants successfully passing and advancing to the next stage with the support of the judges and studio audience. One of them could potentially represent Israel at the Eurovision in May.

The judging panel remained consistent, featuring Assaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon, Eden Hasson, Ran Danker, and Itay Levi. Each contestant needed to surpass a 70% threshold of votes, with each judge contributing 10% of the vote.

Aviad Klein

Aviad Klein, a 25-year-old accountant from Rishon LeZion, is also a composer who has written for several well-known Israeli artists. This is his first time performing as a lead singer. Aviad chose to sing “When We Were Young” (originally by Adele), which symbolizes for him the encouragement he received from his close friend Eden Ben Rubi, who was tragically murdered at the Nova party by Hamas terrorists. Ben Ruby pushed Aviad to participate in this show. Aviad brings tenderness and strength to the stage, with a unique voice and excellent delivery. He has great potential to surprise us this season!

Eden told Aviad: “I think this is the best performance I’ve heard today and in recent shows. You can hear that you are a music producer and that you work in music because you took this performance and worked on it surgically. You checked exactly what works in Adele’s performance and only took that from it, and I really appreciate you for that.” Assaf added: “The dynamics here are a matter of emotion, and you were at 100 from the start, which sometimes blocks the listener a bit. Your power is clear. Your last note, that cracked one with a bit of raspiness that you controlled and brought consciously… how fun!”

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

Amit Sade

Amit Sade, 23 years old from Be’er Sheva, works in customer service. Amit shares about a difficult time when she struggled with weight issues, and after surgery, she feels much more confident in herself. She served in the army as an observer in Kisufim and strives to maintain joy for those observers who were kidnapped and murdered. She chose to sing “Scars to Your Beautiful” (originally by Alessia Cara). She has a rare voice! She sounds like one of those international pop-soul singers who succeed around the world! She is captivating and full of charisma. An excellent audition!

Eden said: “You are an amazing singer; you have an incredible tone. Towards the end, when you saw that the screen went up, you missed a note but aside from that you’re amazing. You need to be focused, and when you’re focused there’s nothing stopping you.” Shiri summarized: “Because you’re such a crazy singer, you have this insane output with a sound we’re not used to hearing here. Throughout the entire song, you hold it together incredibly well. I want you to play around with your voice a bit more because you can do anything!”

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

Mika Veltman

Mika Veltman, a 17.5-year-old high school student from Ramat Hasharon, was a professional rhythmic gymnast in her childhood and was even on the Israeli national team. About a year and a half ago, she discovered her singing abilities. Mika chose to sing “Lose Control” (originally by Teddy Swims). She has a special voice; she sings well but personally felt that this song lacked drive and grit in her vocal tone. Perhaps her song choice was not ideal?

Itay said: “The song choice was super excellent; however, the performance was a bit strange for me at times—it even startled me a little. I think it’s just a bit early for you; you’re not quite accurate enough yet. I believe you’ll acquire the right tools along the way, and I wish you great success.” Shiri thought differently: “I think your song choice wasn’t good; it made it hard for you to understand how to approach it because you were very tense from the start, and even when you reached high notes you did it beautifully but throughout the song you weren’t accurate.”

Assaf Amdursky, Eden Hasson, and Itay Levi voted against her. Mika received 52% and does not advance to the next stage.

Tamir Vaknin

Tamir Vaknin from Bat Yam shares that he was once a troubled child who struggled with controlling his emotions. Later on, he got caught up in arrests and rehabilitation centers for at-risk youth. He has experience performing on small stages like nightclubs and home parties. He chose to sing “Ir Namal” (originally by Eyal Golan). Tamir brings Mediterranean party vibes to HaKokhav HaBa’s stage with his confident and precise voice.

Ran said: “You simply have the voice of a phenomenal singer. You sing so beautifully and accurately; everything is there—just everything.” Assaf commented: “You sing very beautifully; you’re gentle, and your personality is captivating. You sing very similarly to Eyal Golan since you chose one of his songs. If you succeed later in choosing songs that surprise us—songs that take you somewhere where I would be convinced you’re a special singer with your own taste—you’ll win much more than my vote. I think you have tremendous potential.”

Assaf Amdursky voted against him. Tamir received 81% and advances to the next stage.

Red Band and Moran Aharoni

Red Band, an Israeli puppet band formed in 2005 by Ari Pepper, Micha Domman, and Ami Vizzel, combines unique music with comedy. The band includes puppet characters like lead singer Red Orbach, guitarist Poncho, and keyboardist Lefty, having appeared on their own television show called “Red Band”. Over the years, they have performed across Israel as well as on international tours, covering rock songs and American folk tunes.

Joining them is Moran Aharoni, a singer-songwriter who participated in Season 4 of “Kochav Nolad” (A Star is Born). After about 14 years she participated in “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2020”, where she was eliminated in the semifinals. In both shows, Aharoni stood out due to her wide vocal range, leaving heart-wrenching performances behind her.

For their audition, they chose to sing “Human” (originally by Rag’n’Bone Man). What can be said about this performance? It’s a group of professionals who sound amazing together—they truly complement each other! Will they reach the final? How will their duet of a singer with puppets be received on Europe’s big stage? It’s hard to know…

Keren said: “I think this is genius! Each one of you is simply an amazing singer; bringing Israel like this—with this roughness and humor—is just brilliant. I’m thrilled you’re here.” Assaf disagreed: “We’re talking about two singers who are wonderful in their potential; however, this performance was really not good for either of them. This combination didn’t work well together—it felt very mediocre.”

Assaf Amdursky voted against them. Red Band and Moran Aharoni received 82% of the votes and advanced 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.