“HaKokhav HaBa” – Episode 9: Five contestants passed to the next round. The advancing contestants are Daniella Lugassy, Yehuda Ifrah, Ben-Ad Korem, Noam Azut and Gali Givon.
Tonight, the ninth episode of the reality show “HaKokhav HaBa” aired, through which Israel’s representative for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen. So far, 40 contestants have secured their place in the competition, and during tonight’s episode, five additional contestants advanced to the next stage thanks to the votes of the judges and the studio audience – One of them might go on to represent Israel in Eurovision this coming May.
The panel once again included Assaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon, Eden Hasson, and Itay Levi. Joining them this time were Netta Barzilai, the winner of Eurovision 2018, and Izhar Cohen, who won Eurovision 1978, as guest judges. Each contestant was required to pass a threshold of 70% to continue, with each judge responsible for 12% of the total vote.
Daniella Lugassy
Daniella Lugassy, 43 years old, from Arsuf. She arrived at the audition together with her children and her ex-husband. An opera singer since a young age, she has performed with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and around the world. She plans to sing in a light opera style (to familiarize the Israeli audience with the genre) and bring it to Eurovision, especially now after two opera songs have won the competition two years in a row. Shiri knows Daniella and has performed with her on stage before with conductor Gil Shohat. For the audition, she chose to sing the song “Adagio” (originally by Lara Fabian, Luxembourg’s representative in Eurovision 1988). Daniella is a European singer, and one can be impressed by her magnificent voice and vocal precision. She is very charismatic, and the camera really loves her. However, the song did not sound like “classical opera” but rather a combination of pop-opera ballad. Daniella is super talented, and it is intriguing to see what she will bring later in the season. At the end of the number, she scored 67% with an against vote from Eden and indecision from Assaf.
Assaf explained his hesitation:
“This is not how Israel will win Eurovision”.
Itay replied:
“If we had a winning formula, we would send it every year. We don’t have one. You have an amazing toolbox in your voice”.
Netta added:
“You are such an experienced warhorse, and whoever needs to be there (at Eurovision) needs to be experienced. Give it all the flair, but I drowned in your eyes”.
Four judges voted in her favor, Eden voted against. Daniella received 79% and advanced to the next round.
Yehuda Ifrah
Yehuda Ifrah, 27 years old, from Moshav Gefen. He studied in a religious high school and became secular around ninth grade. Currently, he works in renovations and represents the blue-collar category on HaKokhav HaBa. For the audition, he chose to sing the song “Hayom Kamti Sameach” (originally by Hanan Ben Ari). He takes the song in a Mediterranean style, opening with an emotional and precise vocal melisma. Yehuda expresses every word of the song. The audience and the judges responded well to the performance. The direction Yehuda took the song demonstrates his musical understanding and excellent skills.
Shiri opened by saying:
“Listen, it was a perfect audition, simply stunning, your vocal tone is so beautiful, even when you dance you don’t exaggerate the movement, it really felt like a perfect audition!”
Itay Levi added:
“You reminded me for a moment; you are a dynamite singer, you know what you are doing, you sing from very deep places, you are incredibly precise, it was a perfect performance, keep it up”.
Eden also said: “You reminded me of myself”, and later requested:
“I really want your next performances to come more gathered and not scattered here and there”.
All five judges voted in his favor. Yehuda received 92% and advanced to the next round.
Shirel Balaish
Shirel Balaish, 17 years old, originally from Paris. She finished school early after skipping a grade, scored nearly 140 on an IQ test, is active on TikTok in her free time, and is preparing for her military enlistment. She has been singing since she was young, performed in Israel and France, and was involved in theater. Shirel chose to sing the song “A Whole New World” from Disney in the French version. Shirel has a pleasant and warm vocal tone but not very large. She is very musical, but sometimes the rhythm of the song faltered a bit. She has a lot of potential but needs to gain more experience and confidence.
Assaf responded:
“Shirel, you didn’t get enough points to pass to the next stage, but in my eyes, your performance was beautiful and showed how lovely your voice is. I think you rushed a bit, a little with the rhythm, and maybe also with the age. Maybe with some stage experience and working more with musicians, you can come back and try again because you have great potential”.
Izhar Cohen added:
“You are very sweet, you’re beautiful, you have good presentation. I gave you blue because I saw you have potential; you are just very young. You have to spend a lot more time on stage to learn what it means to focus. I think you have a future, but what? Perform, perform a lot.”
Eden, Itay, and Shiri voted against. Shirel received 45% and did not advance to the next round.
Ben-Ad Korem
Ben-Ad Korem, 47 years old, from Petah Tikva. He came to the audition with his children and sister. He works as a quality engineer in the field of engineering and management. Ben-Ad chose to sing the song “Lose Control” (originally by Teddy Swims). He starts the song, and jaws drop. Wow. He has a husky and unique vocal tone that gives the song a lot of drive. Where has he been until now?! What a fun surprise! He sings the song excellently, with great confidence, holding it throughout. There were very few inaccuracies, but from here it’s only going to get better! He is a star!
Izhar opened by saying:
“Listen, you have something rare. You sing with such power, you’re not over the top, with your age and energy, you are sensitive and you convey that. Well done!”
Assaf added:
“I think it’s true, it wasn’t a perfect vocal performance, but since we know you’re not polished, or as they say, ‘rusty,’ I didn’t hear rust. There were tones of rust, but in a good way. Musically you’re there, but I want to talk about how you appear on camera. You are very minimalist in your movements and you have eyes, you work with them, you were a little cheeky. I saw the facial expressions you make while you sing; you are very aware of that and it’s very beautiful. I say give me more of that!”
All five judges voted in his favor. Ben-Ad received 92% and advanced to the next round.
Noam Azut
Noam Azut, 22 years old, from Beer Sheva. He came to the audition with his two managers, his mother, and his sister. He competed in X Factor for Eurovision in 2022 during the audition stage. He reminded Assi Azar of Mergui by his appearance and said that he enjoys dancing like him. He dreams of representing Israel at Eurovision. He sings in a Mediterranean style and appreciates the Israeli style. Noam chose to sing “Kchi Oti Letayel” (originally by Dudu Tassa) for the audition. Euromix team have known Noam’s talent since 2022. He has incredible vocal capabilities, and I’m not sure they were fully expressed in this performance. Noam chose an emotional and beautiful song, but one that did not reflect all his abilities. He is vocally precise, expresses the song well, and sometimes even reminds one of Itay Levi’s voice. Noam deserves to advance and next time should refine his song choices. Noam, you are a champion!
Shiri opened:
“I want to give a somewhat strange critique. First of all, you are an excellent singer, all polished. But there is something in the general feeling in the country that’s tired of all the masks. You came with two managers, and that gave me a feeling that you don’t need us, and the audience was not overwhelmed by the event. He’s an amazing singer, handsome, excellent, suited for this show, and can soar high. You don’t need to show the managers because it’s not interesting”.
Assaf said:
“It’s as if sometimes things are too polished, we are used to getting people who come to auditions halfway, and you came like a finished product, and it confused me. You sing very well and you look very good; maybe it was too perfect for me. I cannot find a flaw in it, excellent audition”.
All five judges voted in his favor. Noam received 80% and advanced to the next round.
Gali Givon
Gali Givon, 26 years old, from Tel Aviv. She arrived at the audition with her sisters. She works professionally as a singer and was the first Israeli signed to Universal Music. She has performed in London and L.A. and has also written songs for other singers. Influenced by pop, metal, and hip-hop styles. She returned to Israel due to the global situation which makes it difficult for Israelis abroad. For the audition, she chose to perform “Toxic” (originally by Britney Spears) but in her unique style. She is intriguing and captivating. Gali has attitude and performs the song well. Onwards to the next stage…
The performance ended with 60% and an against vote from Itay before Shiri voted.
She explained and finally voted:
“I feel she could have given double 200%, I have no idea why she didn’t. If I had voted earlier, I would have voted against, but because you depend on me, there’s no way I won’t let you pass”.
Keren added:
“Gali, I’ll say, first of all, I think you are an amazing singer. I’m sure next time she will come and ‘burn’ you, Shiri”.
Four judges voted in her favor, Itay voted against. Gali received 72% and advanced to the next round.
“HaKokhav HaBa” for Eurovision
Ahead of Eurovision 2026, the Israeli national broadcaster decided to continue its collaboration with Keshet 12 in selecting the next Israeli representative for the contest. This partnership between the broadcaster and Keshet has brought Israel seven consecutive qualifications to the Grand Final, highlighted by Netta Barzilai’s victory with the song “Toy”, which brought Eurovision to Israel.
We’ll be here throughout the entire season, reporting on all the latest news, updates, and predictions – stay tuned!
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Israel at Eurovision 2025
“New Day Will Rise” is the song performed by Yuval Raphael, who was chosen to represent Israel after winning the 11th season of “HaKokhav HaBa”. Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 203 points and finished second overall with 357 points in the grand final. Israel ranked first in the public vote but only 14th with the jury. This marks the third consecutive year that Israel has reached the top five – an unprecedented achievement.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Israel’s 48th participation in Eurovision. Israel joined the contest in 1973 and has won four times. Its most recent victory was at Eurovision 2018 with the song “Toy”, performed by singer Netta Barzilai.
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Ilay Gaist is a leading Israeli content creator and writer specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He is a well-known commentator with extensive expertise in the contest’s history, rules, and dynamics. His passion for Eurovision drives him to deliver rich, professional, and innovative content to his audience.
Ilay holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and has a multilingual background. He also engages in cultural research, with a particular focus on global culinary traditions and the evolution of local cuisines around the world.
