A few days before the grand finale of HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2025: Euromix team presents a special series of articles about the final four of “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision” This time: Why should Valerie Hamaty represent Israel at Eurovision 2025?

Valerie Hamaty, one of the standout contestants in “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2025” season, stunned everyone when she auditioned after previously competing in the show’s eighth season, where she finished second. Now, with the show once again serving as Israel’s Eurovision selection process, Valerie has entered with a single goal – to represent Israel at Eurovision 2025 and raise the flag during another challenging year in light of the ongoing war.

The singer-actress, Valerie Hamaty, previously competed in “HaKokhav HaBa” in 2021, finishing as the runner-up. Since then, she completed her studies at the Rimon School of Music and participated in the reality show “Dancing with the Stars.” Valerie is an Arab-Israeli singer, 25 years old, born and raised in Jaffa to an Arab-Christian-Orthodox family. She has released numerous songs, with hits including “Ala Bali” and “Kmo Meshuga”. She made a guest appearance in one episode of last season’s “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2024,” performing a duet of “Let It Be” with Eden Golan. Now she’s back on the show, dreaming of representing Israel at Eurovision.

Throughout the season, Valerie delivered numerous performances that amazed both the audience and judges. She tackled various challenges of “HaKokhav HaBa” once again, alongside many voices from colleagues and fans wanting to see her at Eurovision. In this series of articles, we’ll review Valerie’s journey in the 11th season of “HaKokhav HaBa,” examining her strengths and weaknesses, the critiques she received, and why she should be Israel’s representative for Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland!

A Strong Start and Consistent Excellence

Valerie arrived at her audition in disguise, but the moment we heard her unique voice, it was clear who she was. She gave a beautiful rendition of “Ruach Yam” (originally by Ofer Levi), which earned her 93% and support from all judges, who praised Valerie for her incredible voice and already envisioned her at Eurovision. From then on, it was evident that we had a very serious contender in the competition who set herself the goal of finishing first and nothing less!

A Unique Musical Journey

Since then, in every performance, Valerie has demonstrated not only an impressive voice but also the ability to deliver songs and command the stage. These skills were evident in her previous season and have been strengthened throughout her career in Israel. She repeatedly emphasized her deep desire to represent Israel on the world’s biggest stage and highlight Jewish-Arab cooperation in the country. Speaking of collaboration, Valerie proved she can deliver outstanding performances even when not singing solo. In the duet stage, Valerie delivered a moving performance of “Hurricane,” Israel’s Eurovision 2024 entry, alongside contestant Daniel Weiss, earning 95% support from all judges.

Versatility and Eurovision Potential

As befitting a singer aiming for Eurovision, Valerie continued to perform songs from the competition itself. In the “Live Band” challenge, she performed “Unicorn,” which finished third at Eurovision 2023, representing Israel by Noa Kirel, and Eurovision 2014 winner “Rise Like a Pheonix”. Valerie once again demonstrated how she knows how to take songs and make them her own, adding her identity while remaining true to herself! An impressive artist with a clear identity is undoubtedly a great choice for Eurovision, both in a regular year and in a more complex one.

Facing Challenges and Criticism

In her recent performances, Valerie faced slightly more criticism and lower results than usual, although she was always complimented on her voice and talent. In the Rita special, dedicated for legendary Israeli singer Rita, Valerie reached a result of 63% with three judges voting against her. However, the judges admitted that they had set very high expectations for her and were judging her harshly, but there is no dispute about Valerie being a strong singer, and even worthy of representing Israel at Eurovision, according to judge Keren Peles.

For her semi-final performance, Valerie chose to sing the iconic “Chomot Cheimar” (Clay Walls), aiming to convey the message that she doesn’t give up – and she did just that! Valerie impressed both the judges and the audience with a high score of 87% and full support from the judges, while performing the song perfectly and accurately. Valerie proved that she knows how to take criticism and implement it, and demonstrated her ability to fall and rise immediately afterwards. If we can rely on Valerie’s semi-final performance as a sign for the grand finale, we can safely say that Valerie is definitely one of the contestants with the highest chance of winning the ticket to Eurovision!

Conclusion

Valerie Hamaty has demonstrated throughout the season her artistic identity, incredible, unique, and deep voice unparalleled at Eurovision, and presented stage presence, song delivery ability, and above all – tremendous resilience. There is no doubt that Valerie would be a worthy representative for Israel and will bring the country great pride on the stage in Basel, with an unforgettable performance of the song she will receive if she wins “HaKokhav HaBa.”

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.