ISRAEL

The Israeli Final was held on March 7th at the Broadcast TV Studios in Holon, hosted by Orna Datz & Ron Shachar. Before the final there were 4 semi-finals. The winner was chosen by televoting (50%) and an "expert" jury (50%). Moran Mazor was declared the winner with the song "Rak bishvilo" (Only for him).

The staging of the song is very static. Moran is in the centre of the stage with a piano and pianist on one side and two backing singers on the other. It all looks a bit barren and far too spaced out. It starts off dark with light blue lighting. The background is made to look like a night time sky with stars moving past. There is definitely an atmosphere about the song and performance. Moran, who is dressed in a rather tight and unflattering dress also appears to have comedy oversized glasses which also doesn't help the look of a serious performer.

The song is a ballad, fully in Hebrew, in a minor key with a repetitive chorus. Moran completes a very intense performance with quite a lot of vocal gymnastics. However the song doesn't really go anywhere and by the end it feels like one long chorus. This is not the happiest of numbers and is quite dark and melancholy, similar in theme to their 2010 entry which although a fan favourite did not do as well as expected.

I think there is a lot about this song which could be improved and changed, in particular in the visuals of this performance. A lot of people will like this song because it is dramatic and Moran is a bit of a diva. However I don't feel that the general Eurovision audience will connect to this at all. Yes, it may be a jury favourite, especially those with a musicals background. I personally cannot follow the song and find it a bit too painful to get engaged in. I'm not sure if this can or will qualify.

Artist - Morin Mazor

Song - Rak bishvilo (Only for him)
Music - Chen Harari
Lyrics - Gal Sarig