Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | ||||
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Country | ![]() | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Artist: Internal selection Song: Kdam Eurovision 2008 | |||
Selection date(s) | Artist: 14 November 2007 Song: 26 January 2008 | |||
Selected entrant | Boaz Ma'uda | |||
Selected song | "The Fire in Your Eyes" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Semi-final result | Qualified (5th, 104 points) | |||
Final result | 9th, 124 points | |||
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "The Fire in Your Eyes" written by Dana International and Shay Kerem. The song was performed by Boaz Ma'uda, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster Keshet in November 2007 to compete at the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia, The song Ma'uda would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2008 which took place on 15 March 2010 that featured five songs. "Ke'ilu Kan" emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from two regional juries, two thematical jury groups, a jury panel and a public vote. The song title was later translated from Hebrew to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "The Fire in Your Eyes".
Israel was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Performing during the show in position 2, "The Fire in Your Eyes" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Israel placed fifth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 104 points. In the final, Israel performed in position 7 and placed ninth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 124 points.
Prior to the 2008 Contest, Israel had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirty times since its first entry in 1973. [1] Israel has won the contest on three occasions: in 1978 with the song "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" performed by Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, in 1979 with the song "Hallelujah" performed by Milk and Honey and in 1998 with the song "Diva" performed by Dana International. Since the introduction of semi-finals to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, Israel has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final two times, including a top ten result in 2005 with Shiri Maimon and "HaSheket SheNish'ar" placing fourth. Israel had qualified to the final for two consecutive years in 2005 and 2006 prior to their non-qualification in 2007 with the song "Push the Button" performed by the band Teapacks.
The Israeli national broadcaster, Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) had been in charge of the nation's participation in the contest since its debut in 1973. IBA confirmed Israel's participation in the contest on 4 July 2007 and formalised a collaboration with commercial broadcaster Keshet for the first time in order to select the Israeli entry for 2008 through the reality singing competition Kokhav Nolad . [2] In 2007, IBA conducted an internal selection to select the artist that would represent Israel and a national final to select the song for the artist, a selection procedure that continued for their 2008 entry.
On 14 November 2007, IBA announced that the winner of season five of the reality singing competition Kochav Nolad, Boaz Ma'uda, was selected as the Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. [3] IBA previously revealed in July 2007 that one of the participants of season five's Kokhav Nolad produced by Tedy Productions and Keshet Media Group would represent Israel at the contest. [2] Together with the artist reveal, it was also announced that a national final titled Kdam Eurovision 2008 featuring five songs would take place to select his song. [3]
IBA opened the public song submission following the announcement of Ma'uda as the selected artist with the deadline on 6 January 2008. IBA also directly invited composers to submit songs for the competition. 450 submissions were received at the close of the deadline, of which 350 were submitted by the public. Five songs were chosen for the competition by a professional committee with members from IBA and Keshet and announced on 23 January 2008. Among the competing composers was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, Dana International. [4] [5] The members of the committee were Yoav Ginai (entertainment director of IBA), Haim Hador (radio presenter), Yaakov Naveh (IBA artists representative), Tamira Yardeni (Kochav Nolad producer), Yoav Tzafir (director of Kochav Nolad), Uri Selai (editor at Tedy Productions) and Tzedi Tzarfati (judging panel member of Kochav Nolad). [6] Prior to the final, the songs were presented on 21 February 2008 during a special presentation programme broadcast online via IBA's official Eurovision Song Contest website Eurovil, hosted by Jason Danino-Holt. [7]
The final took place over two days at the Ulpaneii TV Studios in Herzeliya, hosted by Tzvika Hadar and broadcast on Channel 2 as well as online via Eurovil and keshet-tv.com. [8] During the first show on 25 February 2008, all five competing songs were performed by Boaz Ma'uda with two performed in a duet with other Israeli singers, and the public was able to vote for their favourite song through SMS until the second show 26 February 2008, during which the winning song, "Ke'ilu Kan", was selected by a combination of the votes from six voting groups: two regional juries (14%), two thematical jury groups (14%), an expert jury of IBA and Keshet representatives (36%) and the public vote (36%). [9] In addition to the performances of the competing songs during the first show, 1973 Israeli Eurovision entrant Ilanit performed her song "Ey Sham" as the opening act, while the participants of season five's Kochav Nolad together with the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 Izhar Cohen performed as the interval act. A judging panel composed of Brotherhood of Man, Ralf Siegel, Carola Häggkvist, Moshe Datz (1991 Israeli Eurovision entrant), Nurit Hirsh, Kobi Oshrat, Michal Amdursky and Assaf Amdursky was also featured which provided feedback to the songs and selected "Ke'ilu Kan" as their favourite song. [10]
Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
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1 | Boaz Ma'uda | "Masa Hayai" (מסע חיי) | Itay Pearl | 52 | 30 | 82 | 5 |
2 | Boaz Ma'uda and Maya Avraham | "Hi'ne Ha'or" (הנה האור) | Ovadia Hamama | 64 | 20 | 84 | 4 |
3 | Boaz Ma'uda | "Bli Ahava" (בלי אהבה) | Henree | 80 | 40 | 120 | 2 |
4 | Boaz Ma'uda and Oshrat Papir | "Parparim" (פרפרים) | Doron Gal | 60 | 50 | 110 | 3 |
5 | Boaz Ma'uda | "Ke'ilu Kan" (כאילו כאן) | Dana International, Shay Kerem | 104 | 60 | 164 | 1 |
Draw | Song | Kiryat Shmona | Sderot | OGAE Israel | Kokhav Nolad judges | Expert jury | Total |
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1 | "Masa Hayai" | 4 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 20 | 52 |
2 | "Hine Ha'or" | 6 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 40 | 64 |
3 | "Bli Ahava" | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 50 | 80 |
4 | "Parparim" | 10 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 60 |
5 | "Ke'ilu Kan" | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 60 | 104 |
On 17 April, Boaz Ma'uda performed during a concert which was organised by the Keren Hayesod organisation in Amsterdam, Netherlands to specifically promote "The Fire in Your Eyes" as the Israeli Eurovision entry. [11]
It was announced in September 2007 that the competition's format would be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008. According to the rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top nine songs from each semi-final as determined by televoting progress to the final, and a tenth was determined by back-up juries. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2008, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals. Israel was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 20 May 2008. [12] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 17 March 2008 and Israel was set to perform in position 2, following the entry from Montenegro and before the entry from Estonia. [13]
In Israel, the two semi-finals and the final were televised live on IBA. The Israeli spokesperson, who announced the Israeli votes during the final, was Noa Barak-Weshler.
Boaz Ma'uda took part in technical rehearsals on 11 and 15 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 19 and 20 May. The Israeli performance featured Boaz Ma'uda performing in a silver sleeveless shirt together with five male backing vocalists in black outfits. The performance began with the performers moving from behind the stage to the center part of the stage, with the backing vocalists later joining Ma'uda from the left side of the stage to the front stage. The stage was predominately blue and red with the LED screens displaying red elements. [14] [15] The five backing vocalists performing on stage with Boaz Ma'uda were Adam Yosef, Ariel Zohar, Eran Mazor Hecht, Lior Ashkenazi and Zach Eshel. [16]
At the end of the show, Israel was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Israel placed fifth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 104 points[ citation needed ]
Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order of the final. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Israel was drawn to perform in position 7, following the entry from Bosnia and Herzegovina and before the entry from Finland. Boaz Ma'uda once again took part in dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May before the final. Israel placed ninth in the final, scoring 124 points.[ citation needed ]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Israel and awarded by Israel in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Russia in the semi-final and the final of the contest.
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Israel has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 45 times since making its debut in 1973. Israel was able to enter the contest as the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which was responsible for the event. In 2017, the IBA was succeeded as national broadcaster by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), which took charge of the country's entry the following year. Israel has won the contest four times, and has hosted the contest in Jerusalem in 1979 and 1999, and in Tel Aviv in 2019.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Together We Are One" written by Orly Burg, Osnat Zabag and Eddie Butler. The song was performed by Eddie Butler, who had previously represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999 as part of the band Eden where they placed fifth with the song "Yom Huledet". The Israeli entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2006, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The competition took place on 15 March 2006 and featured eleven entries. "Ze Hazman" performed by Eddie Butler emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from four regional juries and a public vote. The song title was later translated from Hebrew to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Together We Are One".
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "HaSheket SheNish'ar" written by Pini Aaronbayev, Eyal Shachar and Ben Green. The song was performed by Shiri Maimon. The Israeli entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2005, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The competition took place on 2 March 2005 and featured fourteen entries. "HaSheket SheNish'ar" performed by Shiri Maimon emerged as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from five regional juries and a regional televote.
The Kdam Eurovision in short known as the Kdam was the Israeli national preselection of the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition was first introduced in 1981 and ran until 2014.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Push the Button" written by Kobi Oz. The song was performed by the band Teapacks, which was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in January 2007 to compete at the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. The song Teapacks would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2007 which took place on 27 February 2007 that featured four songs. "Push the Button" emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from an eleven-member jury panel, an online vote and a public vote.
Boaz Ma'uda is an Israeli singer and songwriter. He won the fifth season of Kokhav Nolad, the Israeli version of Pop Idol, and represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, finishing in 9th place.
"Zemrën e lamë peng" is a song by Albanian singer Olta Boka, written by Pandi Laço and composed by Adrian Hila. It was released as a CD single in 2008 through Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Musically, it is an Albanian-language ballad, lyrically revolving around lovesickness and the pain of separation from a loved one. The song represented Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia, after winning the country's pre-selection competition Festivali i Këngës 46. The country reached the 17th place in a field of 25, gathering a total of 55 points. During her dark-themed show, Boka was on stage accompanied by three instrumentalists, while the LED screens displayed various violet and yellow-coloured hearts.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "There Must Be Another Way" written by Noa, Mira Awad and Gil Dor. The song was performed by Noa and Mira Awad, who were internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in January 2009 to compete at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. The song Noa and Awad would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2009 which took place on 2 March 2009 that featured four songs. "Einaiych " emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from two regional juries, a jury panel and a public vote.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Milim" written by Tomer Hadadi and Noam Horev. The song was performed by Harel Skaat, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster Reshet in December 2009 to compete at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway. The song Skaat would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2010 which took place on 15 March 2010 that featured four songs. "Milim" emerged as the winning song after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from four thematical jury groups, a jury panel and a public vote.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Ding Dong" written and performed by Dana International, who had previously represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 where she won the contest with the song "Diva". The Israeli entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2011, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The competition took place on 8 March 2011 that featured ten entries. "Ding Dong" performed by Dana International emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from three thematical jury groups, a twelve-member jury panel and a public vote.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Leha'amin" written by David D'Or, Ofer Meiri and Ehud Manor. The song was performed by David D'Or, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to compete at the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. The song D'Or would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2004 that took place on 5 February 2004 and featured four songs. "Leha'amin" emerged as the winning song after gaining the most points following the combination of a jury vote, an audience vote and a public televote.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Time" written by Ran Shem-Tov and Shiri Hadar. The song was performed by the band Izabo, which was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to compete at the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Izabo and the song "Time" were announced as the Israeli entry on 7 February 2012. The song was presented to the public on 1 March 2012.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Rak Bishvilo" written by Chen Harari and Gal Sarig. The song was performed by Moran Mazor. The Israeli entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2013, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The five show competition consisting of three semi-finals and a Second Chance round concluded with a final on 7 March 2013 that featured ten entries. "Rak Bishvilo" performed by Moran Mazor emerged as the winner after achieving the highest score following the combination of votes from a seven-member jury panel and a public vote.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Same Heart" written by Rami Talmid. The song was performed by Mei Finegold, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to compete at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. The song Finegold would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2014 that featured three songs submitted by the public and Finegold herself, which were presented to the public via the release of their official music videos during a show on 27 February 2014. "Same Heart" emerged as the winning song on 5 March 2014 after gaining 55% of the public vote.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Golden Boy", written by Doron Madali. The song was performed by Nadav Guedj. Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) collaborated with the commercial broadcaster Keshet in order to select the Israeli entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. The reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa, which was organised by Keshet, was used to select the artist that would represent Israel. Nadav Guedj emerged as the winner of the competition in a final that took place in February 2015. The song "Golden Boy" was later internally selected as the song Guedj would perform at Eurovision and was presented to the public in March 2015.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Made of Stars" written by Doron Medalie. The song was performed by Hovi Star. Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) collaborated with the commercial broadcaster Keshet in order to select the Israeli entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. The reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion, which was organised by Keshet and Tedy Productions, was used to select the Israeli entry. The fifteen show competition concluded with a final on 3 March 2016 that featured four performers who were matched with potential Eurovision songs. "Made of Stars" performed by Hovi Star emerged as the winner following a public vote.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) collaborated with the commercial broadcaster Keshet and Tedy Productions which organised the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion to select the singer. The winner of the Israeli national selection was Imri Ziv and a committee of the Israeli broadcaster internally selected for him the song "I Feel Alive" written by Dolev Ram and Penn Hazut. The song was presented to the public on 13 March 2017.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Light a Candle" written by Svika Pick and Yoav Ginai. The song was performed by Sarit Hadad, who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in November 2001 to compete at the 2002 contest in Tallinn, Estonia. The song Hadad would perform at Eurovision, "Light a Candle", was also internally selected and presented to the public on 26 February 2002 during the Meni Peer Show which was broadcast on Channel 1.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Words for Love" written by Yoni Roeh and Yossi Gispan. The song was performed by Lior Narkis who was internally selected by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to compete at the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia. The song Narkis would perform at Eurovision was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2003 that took place on 23 January 2003 and featured four songs. "Milim La'Ahava" emerged as the winning song after gaining the most points following the combination of a jury vote and a public televote. The song was later retitled as "Words for Love".
Israel originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The Israeli broadcaster Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation collaborated with the commercial broadcaster Keshet and Tedy Productions, which organisied the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion. The competition was won by Eden Alene, with a separate national final, HaShir HaBa L'Eurovizion, held to select her entry "Feker Libi". However, the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.