“HaKokhav HaBa” – Episode 4: Four contestants passed the audition and advanced to the next stage. The successful contestants were Dolev Mendelbaum, Esther Guedj, Nir Abdu, and Yuval Raphael.

The fourth episode of the reality show “HaKokhav HaBa” (The Next Start) for Eurovision 2025 aired tonight at 21:40. This episode featured five auditions, with four contestants successfully passing and advancing to the next stage, thanks to the support of the judges and the studio audience. One of these talented individuals could represent Israel at Eurovision, set to take place in May in Basel, Switzerland.

Dolev Mendelbaum

A 16-year-old from Irus, was born in Texas (USA) and came to Israel ten years ago. Dolev is a high school junior who has always loved music, especially pop, with Billie Eilish as his inspiration. His dream is to write his own music and share it with the world. He chose to sing “Jealous” (originally by Labrinth) for his audition. Wow, what an opening! What low and high notes! What an amazing vocal tone! A pop star was born here tonight! He has a unique voice, perfect vocal precision, and an incredible delivery of lyrics! Can we sign him up to accompany us all the way to the grand finale of the season?

Eden said to Dolev: “You sang to my soul. It went straight inside. When I try to analyze it, you have a perfect vocal color and presentation intelligence that I haven’t seen at this age. You have a certain roughness that great singers would beg to have a quarter of.” Ran added: “You really go with yourself; you are very distinctive and also kind of an alien – I mean that as a compliment. You sing with such delicacy and maturity that doesn’t suit a boy your age.”

Everyone voted in favor. Dolev received 85% and advances to the next stage. It should be noted that the audience in the studio was not impressed, with only 62% voting for him.

Esther Guedj

Esther Guedj, 27, from Tel Aviv, immigrated to Israel from Bordeaux, France at the beginning of this year. She believes she can represent Israel and bring pride to Jews living in France who will support her. Esther chose to sing “Voilà” (originally by Barbara Pravi), which represented France in Eurovision 2021 and came in second place. The song fits her perfectly! She performs it well and manages to “tell” the song effectively while impressing the judges and the audience in the studio who are not familiar with the original song. Towards the end, it was felt that she struggled a bit to hold onto the song and there were some inaccuracies. The truth? A good and impressive performance – but since I know the song well, it felt a bit like an imitation of Barbara Pravi. Esther must advance – just so we can discover how she performs other songs too. Good luck!

Shiri said: “You built the song brilliantly; well done! It was so different. You blew our minds.” Assaf voted against and said: “I loved your presence and your ability to be playful and dramatic; from a stage perspective, it was amazing. But musically, you missed too many times; it wasn’t balanced, so it wasn’t good enough to be presented at Eurovision.”

Assaf Amdursky voted against. Esther received 86% and advances to the next stage.

Nir Abdu

Nir Abdu, almost 20 years old from Pardes Hanna-Karkur, makes a living from music and performs all over the country at weddings, taverns, and parties. He chose to sing “Nishba” (originally by Haim Moshe). He selected this song after marrying his parents under a chuppah this year. Nir brings Mediterranean flair and presents it well to the audience; it sounds good! He tries hard to perform well but is very young, and his lack of experience shows; however, is that enough to represent Israel at Eurovision? I don’t think so!

Itay said: “You chose a song that has been covered thousands of times, but you are brave; you are a quality singer; you are unique, and I wish you could represent yourself in the best way possible.” Assaf said: “You can tell you know how to sing into a microphone; you know your audience. That’s not necessarily an advantage. I like singers who listen to words. For a song like this, where ‘Nishba’ repeats over and over again, you had opportunities to give some different intonation or interpretation but didn’t choose once to do otherwise. Either you’re telling me a story or you’re just a guy with a nice voice.”

Assaf Amdursky voted against. Nir received 80% and advances to the next stage.

Liel Yeshaya

Liel Yeshaya, 24 years old from Ramat Hasharon, was the babysitter for host Rotem Sela’s children. Liel studied at Rimon School of Music and has already released original material. Her dream is to perform on the biggest stages in the world. She chose to sing “Tel Aviv Balaila” (originally by Eden Ben Zaken), but right from the start it sounded a bit forced – unfortunately, it sounded strained throughout the entire song. I have a feeling Liel is an excellent singer; however, her song choice wasn’t good enough for this audition.

Shiri said: “You are musical; it’s clear you love this; I just think it wasn’t good enough. This is a crazy year, and success can come from other places too.”

Amdursky, Peles, Danker, and Maimon voted against her. Liel received 42% and does not advance to the next stage.

Yuval Raphael

Yuval Raphael, from Ra’anana, lived in Geneva during her childhood. She chose to sing “Anyone” (originally by Demi Lovato), a song about mental health crises that reflects her nightmare experienced at the Nova festival. Yuval fled Nova into a bomb shelter while Hamas militants threw grenades and fired bullets inside. Many were killed around her as she had to pretend she was dead in order to survive. What keeps Yuval going are music and advocacy for Israel. Yuval has never sung professionally before; she started performing in front of audiences only in recent months. The moment she produces her first sound – it’s so precise and soft – it blew me away! Her delivery is perfect; she expresses every single word beautifully; after what she’s experienced – it’s simply moving until tears! It seems we’ve just met Israel’s representative for Eurovision 2025! I have nothing more to add… I’m speechless!

Keren said tearfully: “I felt your cry as if you’re crying out on behalf of everyone still there (the hostages in Gaza). Come on! Do what you didn’t do on October 7th; get us out of this place! It was such a powerful performance; you delivered it as such a great singer.” Assaf concluded: “We’ve heard many contestants sing this song before; it was easy to vote against them. You sang it beautifully; you managed to bring precision while being true to yourself both small and large—being authentic without pretense or affectation—singing from your heart—it was amazing, convincing, and beautiful.”

Everyone voted in favor. Yuval received 98%—the highest score so far this season! 

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.