Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

Last updated

Israel in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2021
Eurovision Song Contest 2021
CountryFlag of Israel.svg  Israel
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song:HaShir Shelanu L'Eirovizion
Selection dateArtist: 22 March 2020
Song: 25 January 2021
Competing entry
Song"Set Me Free"
Artist Eden Alene
Songwriters
  • Noam Zaltin
  • Ido Netzer
  • Amit Mordechai
  • Ron Carmi
Placement
Semi-final resultQualified (5th, 192 points)
Final result17th, 93 points
Participation chronology
◄202020212022►

Israel was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Set Me Free", written by Noam Zaltin, Ido Netzer, Amit Mordechai, and Ron Carmi, and performed by Eden Alene. The Israeli participating broadcaster, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), internally selected Alene to compete in the contest after she was due to compete in 2020 with the song " Feker Libi " before the event's cancellation, with a national final, titled HaShir Shelanu L'Eirovizion ("Our Song for Eurovision"), held to select her entry for 2021.

Contents

Background

Prior to the 2021 contest, Israel had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-two times since its first entry in 1973. [1] Israel has won the contest on four 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, in 1998 with the song " Diva " performed by Dana International and in 2018 with the song "Toy" performed by Netta Barzilai.

Since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Israel has failed to reach the final six times. In 2005, Shiri Maimon gave the country its tenth top five result, finishing fourth. Having failed to qualify for the final for four consecutive years (2011–14), Israel reached the final for the first time in five years, with Nadav Guedj finishing ninth in 2015, and the country has participated in the final every year since. Israel's fourth victory came when Netta won the 2018 contest in Lisbon, with the song "Toy". The following year, when the contest was held in Tel Aviv, Kobi Marimi represented the country on home soil with the song "Home", finishing twenty-third with 35 points in the final.

Before Eurovision

Artist selection

On 22 March 2020, Kan confirmed that Eden Alene would be kept as the Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, [2] and in December 2020, it was revealed that the song that Alene would represent Israel with in Rotterdam for 2021 would be selected through a national final called HaShir Shelanu L'Eirovizion ("Our Song for Eurovision"). [3]

HaShir Shelanu L'Eirovizion

On 16 September 2020, Kan opened a public song submission window for interested songwriters to apply, with a deadline set for 15 October 2020. [4] 220 submissions were received, which were subsequently evaluated by a professional committee consisting of Ofri Gopher (Director of Kan Music Stations), Roi Dalmadigo (Editor of Kan Gimel), Tal Argaman (DJ and music editor at Kan 88), Alona Kedem (Editor of Kan 88 and Kan Gimel), Tali Katz (Head of Delegation for Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest) and Michael Weisberg (CEO of Aroma Music) that selected nine songs for the competition. [5] [6]

After previous reports that the national final would consist of three live shows of four songs each, [7] it was revealed the winning song would be selected over two rounds of online voting through Kan's official website. In the first round, demo versions of the nine competing songs were released on 2 December 2020 and the public was able to vote until 13 December. [8] The two songs with the most votes advanced to the second round, and the professional committee selected an additional song from the remaining seven to advance. [9] In the second round, the three songs, finalised and re-recorded by Alene, were to be released on 18 January 2021, however the songs were officially released on 5 January after an early publication by the newspaper Israel Hayom . [10] [11] The public was able to vote for their favourite song between 19 and 25 January, and the winning song was revealed during a special televised broadcast on 25 January from the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv, hosted by Lucy Ayoub. [12] [13]

First round – 2–13 December 2020 [9]
SongSongwriter(s)PercentagePlaceResult
"Can't Stop a Hurricane"Yahel Doron, Naama Gali, Ella Doron [14] 8.9%6Eliminated
"Coming Out"Oren Emanuel, Talia Londoner, Ori Avni [15] 7.3%8Eliminated
"Flying"Mati Gilad, Dor Turgeman, Iftach Even [16] 8.7%7Eliminated
"La La Love"Yosef Bach, Gal Malka, Gil VainAdvanced
"Rise Up Today"Ariel Tuchman, Ariel Segal [17] 7.2%9Eliminated
"Set Me Free"Noam Zaltin, Ido Netzer, Amit Mordechai, Ron CarmiAdvanced
"Shoulders"Zohar Barzilai, Adi Rotem12.1%4Eliminated
"Spilling Magic"Itay Shimoni, Nadav Aharoni [18] 10.4%5Eliminated
"Ue La La" Niv Cohen, Meital Cohen, Noy Eisen, Aline CohenAdvanced
Second round – 19–25 January 2021 [13]
SongPercentagePlace
"La La Love"17.2%2
"Set Me Free"71.3%1
"Ue La La"11.5%3

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. 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. For the 2021 contest, the semi-final allocation draw held for 2020 which was held on 28 January 2020, was used. Israel was placed into the first semi-final, which was held on 18 May 2021, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. [19]

Semi-final

Eden Alene performing during the 1st Semi-final Jury Show ESC 2021 Rotterdam 1st Semi Jury Show Israel.jpg
Eden Alene performing during the 1st Semi-final Jury Show

Once all the competing songs for the 2021 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Israel was set to perform in position 12, following the entry from Belgium and preceding the entry from Romania. [20]

On May 18, the day the semi-final was held, Israel qualified for the Grand Final. During her performance, Alene hit the highest note ever sung in the Eurovision Song Contest, reaching B6 whistle note.

Final

Israel performed 3rd in the grand final on 22 May 2021, following Albania and preceding Belgium. The song has received 93 points at the close of voting, finishing 17th overall.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with a diversity in gender and age represented. The judges assess each entry based on the performances during the second Dress Rehearsal of each show, which takes place the night before each live show, against a set of criteria including: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. [21] Jury members may only take part in panel once every three years, and are obliged to confirm that they are not connected to any of the participating acts in a way that would impact their ability to vote impartially. Jury members should also vote independently, with no discussion of their vote permitted with other jury members. [22] The exact composition of the professional jury, and the results of each country's jury and televoting were released after the grand final; the individual results from each jury member were also released in an anonymised form. [23] [24]

Points awarded to Israel

Points awarded by Israel

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Israeli jury: [23] [24]

Detailed voting results from Israel (Semi-final 1) [25]
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
Juror AJuror BJuror CJuror DJuror ERankPointsRankPoints
01Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 2411111265
02Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 146101188315
03Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 3564356112
04Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 677876592
05Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 713121591312
06Flag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia 15141510121514
07Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 1210146111113
08Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 1133421056
09Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 13158969274
10Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 9111313510183
11Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 5355247101
12Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
13Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 1181112101211
14Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 109914151447
15Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 81247137438
16Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 42221438210
Detailed voting results from Israel (Final) [26]
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
Juror AJuror BJuror CJuror DJuror ERankPointsRankPoints
01Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 8611898312
02Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 13242321172123
03Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
04Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 7412625620
05Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 5863447210
06Flag of Malta.svg  Malta 9345116565
07Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2292012161619
08Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 19202219202218
09Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 25252525252525
10Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 20101723181715
11Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 1114111256
12Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 10127131211101
13Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 23192124212324
14Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 1121189101421
15Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 24222422232414
16Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 1211101481274
17Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 1551620610117
18Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 6231321083
19Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 2145101374112
20Flag of France.svg  France 372253838
21Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 416147159292
22Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 21171515141911
23Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 18131317221822
24Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1718811191547
25Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 142391671313
26Flag of San Marino.svg  San Marino 16151918242016

References

  1. "Israel Country Profile". EBU . Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  2. "Eurovision 2021: Eden Alene will sing for Israel". Wiwibloggs. 22 March 2020.
  3. "Israel: Eden Alene's Eurovision 2021 song will be chosen on January 25". Wiwibloggs. 3 December 2020.
  4. Lee Adams, William (7 October 2020). "Israel extends Eurovision 2021 submission deadline after Eden Alene reportedly receives just 70 songs". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  5. Granger, Anthony (16 October 2020). "Israel: Around 220 Songs Submitted For Eurovision 2021". Eurovoix. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  6. Granger, Anthony (19 October 2020). "Israel: Selection Committee Meets To Select Eden Alene's Selection Songs". Eurovoix. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  7. Agam, Lauren (19 July 2020). "A song for Eden: Reports say Israel will adopt a 16-song selection process for Eurovision 2021...with multiple rounds". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  8. Gallagher, Robyn (2 December 2020). "Israel: KAN reveals the nine shortlisted songs for Eden Alene, as online vote opens". Wiwibloggs . Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  9. 1 2 "כאן אירוויזיון". Facebook . KAN. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  10. "האזינו: כל שירי הקדם אירוויזיון בביצוע המלא". ישראל היום (in Hebrew). Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  11. "כאן". Facebook . Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  12. Granger, Anthony (4 January 2020). "Israel: Final Versions Of The Three HaShir HaBa L'Eurovizion To Be Revealed on January 18". Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  13. 1 2 "כאן אירוויזיון". Facebook . Kan. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  14. "ACUM - Artists and Works Search". Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel . Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  15. "ACUM - Artists and Works Search". Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel . Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  16. "ACUM - Artists and Works Search". Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel . Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  17. "ACUM - Artists and Works Search". Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel . Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  18. "ACUM - Artists and Works Search". Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel . Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  19. Groot, Evert (17 November 2020). "2020 Semi-Final line-up to stay for 2021". eurovision.tv. Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  20. "Semi-Final running orders revealed". Eurovision.tv. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  21. "Voting–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  22. "Fairness–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. 21 February 2018. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  23. 1 2 "Juries in the First Semi-Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  24. 1 2 "Juries in the Grand Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  25. 1 2 3 "Results of the First Semi-Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 "Results of the Grand Final of Rotterdam 2021". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.