Yuval Raphael Will Represent Israel at Eurovision 2025!

photo: Tal Givony

Yuval Raphael has been chosen to represent Israel at Eurovision 2025. The contestant secured first place in the show “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2025” after winning the hearts of both the judges and the audience at home. The song she will perform on the Eurovision stage will be selected by a committee and revealed in March.

Yuval Raphael has been selected to represent Israel at Eurovision 2025, which will take place in Basel on May 13, 15, and 17, with hopes of securing Israel’s fifth win in the competition. She earned first place in the television show “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2025” after performing the songs “Dancing Queen” (By ABBA) and “Writings On The Wall” (by Sam Smith) . Raphael secured the top spot in both the judges’ vote and the audience vote at home.

First Round

Daniel Weiss

Daniel opened the grand finale with “Let It Be” by The Beatles. He wore a blue jacket and pants, barefoot on stage, with an LED wall behind him showing cracks, accompanied by eight backup singers. It was a calm opening to the grand finale. Daniel’s nervousness was evident during the performance. He displayed impressive vocal abilities. Towards the end of the performance, there was a key change, and only then did he seem to “explode” and deliver an excellent rendition of the song.

Daniel received 12 points from Keren, Ran, Shiri, and Assaf, and 10 points from Eden and Itai. In total, Daniel received 68 points from the judges.

Moran Aharoni and Red Band

Moran and Red performed “Be Still My Love” in the first part of the finale, a partially English-translated version of Ricki Gal’s “Heyi Shketa”. The singers wore sparkly outfits, appearing on a restaurant set on stage with three backup singers sitting at a table beside them. It was refreshing to hear Moran sing in Hebrew, and they might be planning to mix languages at Eurovision as well. Their voices blended beautifully this time, and Moran was particularly impressive with her high and powerful voice, though there were a few inaccuracies (likely due to the understandable excitement).

Moran and Red received 12 points from Keren, Shiri, Eden, and Itai, and 10 points from Shiri and Assaf. In total, the singers received 68 points, currently tied with Daniel Weiss.

Valerie Hamati

For the finale, Valerie chose to perform “Kshe’at Atzuva” (When You’re Sad), originally by Amir Benayoun, with an added Arabic section to the song.
Valerie wore a silver-black dress with a giant sparkling chandelier spiral beside her. She’s an incredible vocalist and performs the song amazingly. There’s no doubt her voice could stand out greatly in Europe. Beside her were string instrument players, and she held the stage alone without any backup singers (rightfully so). The Arabic parts she added to the song are moving even without understanding the words, and the high notes she reaches are heart-stirring. The best performance so far in my opinion, without a shadow of a doubt/

Valerie received 12 points from all judges. In total, Valerie received 72 points (the maximum score), and she’s placed first in the table.

Yuval Raphael

Yuval concluded the first stage of the finale with “Dancing Queen”, originally by ABBA but in a ballad version. Yuval wore a purple dress, with a large circle behind her. At the beginning of the performance, Yuval’s nervousness was evident and she wasn’t very accurate. As the performance continued, Yuval opened up and was very moving, but the “explosion” came very late, and in my opinion, it wasn’t one of her strongest performances of the season.

Yuval received 12 points from all judges, which currently places her in first place along with Valerie, with 72 points.

At the end of the first round, 70% of the audience votes and 30% of the judges’ votes were weighted. The eliminated contestant at this stage is Daniel Weiss. Yuval Raphaeli, Valerie Hamati, and Moran Aharoni and Red Band continue to the second and final round.

Second Round

Moran Aharoni and Red Band

Moran and Red began the second round with “Purple Rain” originally by Prince. Red starts the performance statically, hidden by the backup singers. Then Moran emerges from the judges’ table towards him and flirts with the camera. There’s no doubt she’s an incredible vocalist. She completely “opens the throttle” and burns the stage with her voice. Towards the end, Red opens a dialogue and the song begins to develop, move, and intensify. An excellent performance, particularly showcasing Moran’s abilities.

Yuval Raphael

In the second stage of the finale, Yuval performed “Writing’s On The Wall”, originally by Sam Smith. Yuval wore a black dress with a white ornate gate behind her. Yuval is accompanied by string instrument players, and in my opinion, the song choice is much more successful than “Dancing Queen” which she performed in the first round. This is definitely a finale performance, powerful and larger than life, and I want to believe that a song in this style will be chosen if Yuval is the one to represent us at Eurovision.

Valerie Hamati

At this stage, Valerie chose to perform “Imagine”, originally by John Lennon. Valerie wore a sparkling white dress with mirrors and lamps behind her. And so is the singer herself, full of light and hope. A stunning and moving performance that brings out the Arabic elements from Valerie’s home, along with the hope from Lennon’s lyrics. At the end of the performance, backup singers join Valerie, and then they perform the song a cappella.

Judges’ Voting

Shiri Maimon

8 points – Valerie Hamaty
10 points – Moran Aharoni and Red Band
12 points – Yuval Raphael

Keren Peles

8 points – Moran Aharoni and Red Band
10 points – Valerie Hamaty
12 points – Yuval Raphael

Ran Danker

8 points – Moran Aharoni and Red Band
10 points – Yuval Raphael
12 points – Valerie Hamaty

Eden Hason

8 points – Moran Aharoni and Red Band
10 points – Valerie Hamaty
12 points – Yuval Raphael

Assaf Amdursky

8 points – Valerie Hamaty
10 points – Moran Aharoni and Red Band
12 points – Yuval Raphael

Itay Levy

8 points – Valerie Hamaty
10 points – Moran Aharoni and Red Band
12 points – Yuval Raphael

 

Summary of scores after judges’ voting

Yuval Raphael – 70 points
Valerie Hamaty – 56 points
Moran Aharoni and Red Band – 54 points

Televote

Yuval Raphael – 87 points
Valerie Hamaty – 55 points
Moran Aharoni and Red Band – 38 points

First place – 97 points
Second place – 88 points
Third place – 80 points

The Total Score

First place Yuval Raphael – 157 points
Second place Valerie Hamaty – 111 points
Third place Moran Aharoni and Red Band – 92 points

Hosts and Judges

Assi Azar and Rotem Sela will host the 11th season. As most of you probably remember, Assi Azar hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019, which took place in Tel Aviv. The judging panel includes Assaf Amdursky, Ran Danker, Shiri Maimon, Keren Peles, Itay Levi, and Eden Hasson – all returning from last season, which crowned Eden Golan as the winner. The season expected to conclude in early February.

Collaboration Between ‘Kan’ and ‘Keshet’

On July 23rd, we revealed that the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) and the commercial TV Broadcaster ‘Keshet’ agreed to continue their collaboration for Eurovision 2025. The agreement allows for the continuation of the popular program “HaKokhav HaBa“, which will select Israel’s representative for the competition to be held in Switzerland. This will be the eighth time the two channels collaborate in selecting the Israeli representative for Eurovision.

Impressive Ratings and Past Success

The success of the program is also evident in its impressive viewing figures. The last season of “HaKokhav HaBa” was the most watched since 2019, with exposure to 3.3 million viewers on television alone. The broadcast of the Eurovision 2024 grand final also achieved impressive viewing figures, with 1.129 million television viewers – 36.8% viewing rate, and a 62.9% viewing share. At the peak of viewing, during Eden Golan‘s performance, 1.709 million viewers watched the broadcast, representing 53.6% of households in Israel.

Challenges and Expectations

Despite the success, the last Eurovision was not without challenges. The political and security tension following the war in the Gaza Strip was strongly felt behind the scenes of the competition. However, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation hopes that next year will pass more peacefully.

The decision to continue the collaboration with Keshet also stems from economic considerations, allowing the KAN to save on the heavy costs involved in preparing for the competition.

The continued collaboration between Kan and Keshet promises the continuation of a successful tradition of selecting Israel’s representatives for Eurovision. We can only hope that the chosen representative will continue Israel’s tradition of success at Eurovision.

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.