“HaKokhav HaBa” – Episode 10: Five contestants passed to the next round. The advancing contestants are Oriel Haviv, Lihi Butbul, Noam Cohen, Gon Halevi, and Nitay Avraham.
Tonight, the tenth episode of the reality show “HaKokhav HaBa” aired, through which Israel’s representative for Eurovision 2026 will be chosen. So far, 45 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 Yuval Raphael, who represented Israel at Eurovision 2025 with the song “New Day Will Rise“. And Dana International, who won Eurovision 1998 with the song “Diva“.
Oriel Haviv
Oriel Haviv, 26 years old from Rehovot. He sang for the first time at age 6 during his older brother’s bar mitzvah, and there he realized this was his life’s calling. For the audition, he chose to perform the song “Tamid Oto Davar” (originally by Amir Benayoun). Oriel begins the song in a quiet and emotional manner, and in the chorus he sings higher with particularly impressive trills. He is fully deserving of advancing past the audition.
Eden said:
“You’re an amazing singer! A voice with a very, very unique tone. Wow, how stable you are in the highs! Your simplicity and innocence simply won me over”.
Assaf added:
“I think you sing very beautifully. You have a purity – I never heard you flattering for a moment”.
All five judges voted in his favor. Oriel received 92% and advanced to the next round.
Lihi Butbul
Lihi Butbul, 22 years old from Kiryat Gat. She performed during her military service with the Northern Command Band. While in the army, she began appearing at various events and parties, aiming to bring the best of Israeli spirit to the Eurovision stage. For the audition, she chose to sing the song “LeZot SheNitzcha” (originally by Eden Ben Zaken). She has a very beautiful voice and performs nice trills. It was evident that she was excited by the occasion.
Assaf opened:
“I think you have a strong voice, a very powerful presence”.
Eden said:
“An excellent singer with an especially impressive vocal toolkit, but I felt it was very hard for you – it felt very survival-like”.
Keren added:
“For me, what was missing was the stage presence. With eyes closed, you sound excellent, but when I opened my eyes, it seemed like you weren’t in the song”.
Shiri summed up:
“I’ll keep it short: you passed, you have favor votes here, but I think it wasn’t a good audition – this is a song full of emotion and I felt no emotion here”.
Four judges voted in her favor, Shiri voted against. Lihi received 74% and advanced to the next round.
Noam Cohen
Noam Cohen, 18 years old from Migdal HaEmek. She has been told many times that she strongly resembles Yuval Raphael, who represented Israel at Eurovision 2025. Noam has been singing since a very young age, her home is very musical, and that’s where her great love for music originated. For the audition, she chose to sing the song “Rise Up” (originally by Andra Day). Noam has a very unique and beautiful vocal tone; she performs the song in an extremely impressive manner—in the first chorus she missed and stumbled on the lyrics, but ultimately she composed herself and delivered an excellent performance.
Itai responded:
“It was excellent, but it could have been more powerful and stronger”.
Keren added:
“I loved you from the moment you walked in. The way you hold your body, the way you walk – I think you’ll improve astronomically from performance to performance, you’re an insane singer!”
All five judges voted in her favor. Noam received 94% and advanced to the next round.
Larry Fidler
Larry Fidler, 25 years old from Rishon LeZion. His name stems from the fact that his mother tried for 4 years to get pregnant, and his name symbolizes in Italian his mother’s success and victory, as she succeeded in giving birth to a child after 4 years of unsuccessful attempts. For the audition, he chose to sing the song “Make You Feel My Love” (originally by Adele). Israel’s Eurovision 2025 representative, Yuval Raphael, joined for the audition. Larry has a charming voice, but it seems too big for him to represent us at Eurovision.
Assaf opened:
“You have a beautiful and delicate voice, you sing accurately. However, the rawness is audible; it felt like you’re not experienced in the field, but one cannot ignore that you have a very impressive natural talent!”
Yuval added:
“I think you’re really musical; you had some truly mesmerizing trills there. It was missing a bit of emotion for me, but it was still a good performance”.
Eden, Itay, and Shiri voted against. Larry received 44% and did not advance to the next round.
Gon Halevi
Gon Halevi, 32 years old from Tel Aviv. Gon comes from the classical world, studied opera singing, completed a bachelor’s degree in opera, but ultimately concluded that he didn’t enjoy it. It felt too rigid to him; he lacked maneuverability and the ability to think outside the box. For the audition, he chose to sing the song “Tocho Ratzuf Ahava” (originally by Yishai Rivo). Gon has a very intriguing and deep voice; he approaches the song in a highly unique and different manner from the original performance. His uniqueness completely sets him apart from the other contestants!
Itay responded:
“It was perfect, perfect! I closed my eyes and saw a huge synagogue; it was a prayer, it was elegant. Simply wow!”
Eden added:
“You’re super talented, super intelligent. Musically, presentation-wise, performance-wise. There are no such things!”
Assaf said:
“I think I understood your style, and it’s not for me”.
Keren summed up:
“No doubt you have tremendous talent; you sound different from everyone else, and in the Eurovision arena, you have potential mainly thanks to your uniqueness”.
Four judges voted in his favor, Assaf voted against. Gon received 74% and advanced to the next round.
Nitay Avraham
Nitay Avraham, 25 years old from Yehud. He has been playing and singing since a very young age. Over the last two years, he has been living with his grandmother to help her with all her basic needs; Nitay uploads videos with her that go viral on social media. For the audition, he chose to sing the song “Absurd” (originally by Israe’s representative for Eurovision 1975, Shlomo Artzi). Nitay took the song to a completely different place, performing it in an Eastern version that stirred up a storm at the judges’ table! A very impressive performance with great potential. Dana International, winner of Eurovision 1998 with the song “Diva“, joined for the audition.
Dana responded:
“I must say you sing from the soul, you sing from the gut and you can feel it”.
Shiri added:
“Perfection! Truly perfect, I have no words!”
Assaf said:
“No sentence in the song was performed as the composer composed it – a little respect for the songwriting. In terms of performance, it was great and it swept people away”.
Itay summed up:
“I want to tell you that you’re an amazing singer. I was really moved, almost cried”.
Four judges voted in his favor, Assaf voted against. Nitay 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.
