Stav Vaknin is the sixth contestant to bid farewell to HaKokhav HaBa. 15 contestants remain in the race, including Agam Hazan, Tamir Levy, Alona Erez, and Noam Bettan. Full recap of Episode 21.

15 contestants remain at this stage in “HaKokhav HaBa for Eurovision 2026“. with the grand winner set to represent Israel at Eurovision 2026, which will take place in Vienna, Austria, on May 12th, 14th, and 16th.

The next stage is the “Duels”. Eight contestants were divided into pairs and faced off against one another. The contestant who received the higher score advanced to the next stage, while the loser of each duel was nominated for elimination. At the end of the evening, the judges had to say goodbye to one contestant out of the four who lost their duels.

Michael HarPaz

Michael HarPaz chose to perform the song “Ordinary” (originally by Alex Warren). It is clear that Michael knows exactly what he is doing, his extensive experience truly stands out. It was refreshing to hear him in a performance that was entirely different from his previous ones. His earlier performances seemed relatively boring and not sufficiently evolving, but this time he unquestionably delivered what we consider to be his best performance on the show so far.

Itay opened:

“I can hear all the groove, all your truth and soul. I see Eurovision. I see something precise and right”.

Shiri said:

“There are young people here going on stage for the first time, and then there is Michael, who has already been on stage for 30 years. It seems you just keep rising here in your level and your experience. And even now, when you stood there and by choice put your hands behind your back and did not move, that is a choice, and it has to come from a mature place. In short, this is Eurovision”.

Assaf responded:

“You keep improving all the time, you understand the stage, your voice is huge and powerful. Do you want to sing at Eurovision? Because you are on your way there”.

Eden commented:

“I really love the original song, and it feels like your vocal tone fits it perfectly. It felt like a loop, though; I missed a sense of flow. I expected something that would move me more and carry me further”.

Four judges voted in his favor, Eden voted against. Michael received 74%, setting the bar for Tamir — hoping he scores lower.

Tamir Levy

Tamir Levy chose to sing the song “Sex On Fire” (originally by Kings of Leon) and needed to score at least 75% to secure his place in the next round. Wow – what groove, what a performance! He truly has everything: impressive stage presence, charisma, uniqueness, and excellent vocal abilities – he simply lacks nothing. Every time, he manages to surprise again with new shades. Each performance feels interesting and distinct from the previous one. It is genuinely exciting to watch Tamir’s remarkable development throughout the show.

Eden began:

“Tamir, you are wow, you are special. You brought something I really, really trust. I feel I would be very confident if you represent us at Eurovision”.

Shiri added:

“Moving, a star, a phenomenal singer!”

Itay declared:

“This was your best performance since the beginning of the show!”

Assaf responded:

“For me, it was shouty. I understand you have been through things and you want to scream your pain out. But this constant shouting for three minutes was hard for me to digest”.

Four judges voted in his favor, Assaf voted against. Tamir received 80% and advanced to the next round. Michael stands at risk of elimination.

Agam Hazan

Agam Hazan chose to perform the song “Unicorn” (originally by Noa Kirel, who represented Israel with this song at Eurovision 2023 and finished in third place). At the beginning of the performance, the LED screens filled with holograms of Agam. She opened the song in a very beautiful and impressive way. Then came a surprising shift out of nowhere: in the second half of the song, the arrangement exploded, Agam took off her jacket and started putting on a full show. She fired up the entire hall and delivered particularly bold and impressive choreography. Agam was simply the surprise of the evening – without a doubt, this was her best performance of the season. Yes, there were moments with minor inaccuracies, but it was still an exceptionally strong and impressive performance.

Itay began:

“There were fixes here, some small things, and you were very emotional at the climax, but that emotion worked in your favor and suited you. It was beautiful, right, powerful, and precise”.

Assaf responded:

“From previous times we learned that you know how to sing beautifully. True, the dance was not perfect, but you did not work on it for three months like at Eurovision. Through the dancing you showed us another side and color of yourself. You know how to inject that energy into a room, and not many people have that”.

Keren summed up:

“The moment it really clicked for me with you was actually when you were dancing while singing. I saw a certain charm that you have specifically, and others do not”.

All five judges voted in her favor. Agam received 82% setting the bar for Stav — hoping she scores lower.

Stav Vaknin

Stav Vaknin chose to sing the song “HaSheket SheNishar” (originally by one of the show’s judges, Shiri Maimon, who represented Israel with this song at Eurovision 2005 and finished in fourth place) and needed to score at least 83% to secure her place in the next round. The performance began charmingly and emotionally, but as it went on it became somewhat monotonous and did not really develop in any direction. Something in the performance simply worked less well, perhaps due to an unfortunate song choice.

Keren began:

“You managed to do this song differently, and that is hard. I loved the dynamic where you actually went down a tone in the chorus. You look stunning on screen, you know how to carry a song excellently, and you are a discovery”.

Assaf responded:

“I think it was too similar. I did not hear any particularly interesting interpretation of your own. It just felt like a song you grew up on, that you have sung thousands of times, and now you did it once more. It was not precise, it did not feel like you had really thought about how to bring something new to the stage”.

Eden said:

“For me it was very, very beautiful, but I did not get swept away – I kept comparing it to Shiri”.

Shiri concluded:

“I think it was very beautiful, it showed a lot of respect for the song. I really hope you stay, because you still have so much more to give”.

Assaf, Itay and Eden voted against her. Stav received 54% and stands at risk of elimination. Agam advanced to the next round.

Elior Shemesh

Elior Shemesh chose to sing the song “Rehab” (originally by Amy Winehouse). Wow, this was unexpected – so different from her other gentle and kind performances. This time, Elior brought groove and uncompromising stage presence. We did miss a bigger “explosion” later in the performance, but overall it was an excellent and very refreshing rendition. The audience absolutely loved her, and rightly so – it was a great performance.

Itay began:

“I think you are a wonderful singer, and no one can take that away from you. You sing beautifully, you have a special tone, and you know how to deliver a song”.

Assaf said:

“You have all the tools, you know how to move on stage. What I feel you lack is an agenda. If I look at everyone who brought Israel victory at Eurovision, these are people with a mission, with some inner momentum”.

Keren responded:

“Next time, you need to charge your voice with something emotional and truly understand what exactly you are singing about”.

Assaf and Eden voted against. Elior received 64% setting the bar for Nave — hoping he scores lower.

Nave Levi

Nave Levi chose to sing the song “Kmo Shikor” (originally by Zohar Argov) and needed to score at least 65% to secure his place in the next round. Nave has an excellent, powerful voice that recalls some of the best Mizrahi singers, including Zohar Argov, but personally, but it feels we have had enough. Every performance of his feels the same, the first time it was great, the second time fine, but Nave now really has to diversify and step out of his comfort zone.

Eden began:

“You are a singer with a very special voice, and a huge heart that passes in a direct line through the ears to whoever listens to you”.

Itay responded:

“I think you will be revealed as even greater precisely when you step out of your comfort zone. You need to go a bit into territories that are not you and are not comfortable for you”.

Keren said:

“You are someone people connect to, you are a singer no one can overlook. I will be very, very sorry if, within the whole mix, we end up missing you. I think you are important and you have something to say”.

Assaf and Eden voted against. Nave received 62% and stands at risk of elimination. Elior advanced to the next round.

Alona Erez

Alona Erez chose to sing “Ex’s & Oh’s” (originally by Elle King). It was a real pleasure to finally see her perform an upbeat song. True, she has had stronger performances earlier in the season, but this was still an excellent rendition. There is no doubt she is one of the most unique, prominent, and best contestants we have this year. She is absolutely deserving of going far in the competition.

Keren began:

“You are simply good, there is nothing to do about it, and you sing amazingly. Maybe it was not your very best performance, but I love you so much”.

Eden responded:

“I would like to see more of an actress in you, I would like a delivery that is a bit more relaxed. That will definitely take you to the place you deserve to be in”.

Shiri said:

“We have to see what is happening in your head and in your voice also in your body, you were a bit disconnected”.

Four judges voted in her favor, Eden voted against. Alona received 80% setting the bar for Noam — hoping he scores lower.

Noam Bettan

Noam Bettan chose to sing his own song “Buba” and needed to score at least 81% to secure his place in the next round. For the first time this season, Noam began his performance while playing the piano. He approached his own song differently from the original version, starting at the piano in a calmer, less uptempo way. However, he soon rose from the piano and went back to performing the song in a way similar to the original arrangement. What a performer! He can do it all – ballads, uptempo songs – he is simply the perfect complete package for Vienna. He is quite a competitor for the title of representing Israel at Eurovision.

Shiri began:

“You perform amazingly, you sound amazing, you are precise, and you are ready for Eurovision”.

Itay responded:

“I feel like I am sitting in my living room watching the announcement of you as the Eurovision winner”.

Assaf said:

“I found it hard to come up with criticism. Your presence, your movement, your naturalness – that is something that is ingrained in you”.

All five judges voted in his favor. Noam received 96% and advanced to the next round. Alona stands at risk of elimination.

Stav Vaknin, who lost her duel to Agam Hazan, became the sixth contestant eliminated from the show.

“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.