The Next Star: Sprinting Towards the Finish Line

2024-01-15 08:18:40

Time is running out, the selection deadline is approaching – and the “next Eurovision star” is also rushing to the finish line. Due to the strict schedules (reminder: on May 11, less than four months from now, we are supposed to send our own singer to Eurovision, with a consolidated song), it seems that the “star” was sprinting towards the finish line. Two episodes a week, and in three weeks – we will have a winner. What definitely helps speed up this race is that quietly, “The Star” is returning to the original format. Instead of truncated one-hour episodes we got at the beginning of the season, we’re back to one-and-a-half hour episodes with six performances and enough time to do what “The Next Star” likes to do: waste time. But we will touch on that later.

>> The tension is at its peak: the 20 best series on your screens now
>> Family Kills: 25 Things Everyone Should Know About “The Sopranos”

The format of the episode continued last Wednesday’s episode – the duel: each of the remaining 12 contestants competes directly against another contestant. The contestant who sings first sets a threshold (in percentages), and the second has to pass it and guarantee a place in the top ten or not pass and compete for the lifeline at the end. Micah Curtis was eliminated on Wednesday’s episode, and there are now five spots left.

The masterpiece moment of the entire season. Jonathan Beaton, “The Next Star” (screenshot: Keshet 12)

The first duel included Yonatan Biton (personal favorite) and Dor Shimon. The gap between the two contestants, in my eyes, well illustrated what “The Star” aspires to do versus what it actually does. Because Beaton’s performance of Korin Alel’s “Rare Breed” was a masterful moment not only in the episode – but in this entire season. It was a spectacular performance, not only artistically but also in terms of the message it conveyed. So many times I have complained here about some who try to force our tear glands, instead of authentic emotion. “Rare Breed” did this job with much less effort. The choice of song was brave and uncharacteristic, the arrangement on the one hand recognized sadness and madness – and on the other hand left room for hope. The piece that Beaton added was the missing piece of the puzzle (including the completely incomprehensible line on Channel 12, “Let a day go by without news, that tore my country to pieces”).

It was, I think, the comment we were all looking for on the situation. Someone who will be able to touch and describe our feelings through performance in the right dose – not heartbreaking, he even had a certain amount of smile, but every word touched and managed to move something. This is the performance that the show has been looking for all season – the way to address the situation, without touching the actual burning fire. Be empathetic and be honest. In that sense, all the stars aligned in this Beaton moment. It was not for nothing that he won 92 percent, the highest percentage of support in the episode.

The audience is also a coward. Dor Shimon, “The next star” (screenshot: Keshet 12)

Dor Shimon, on the other hand, went for “Tifat Mazal”, and despite the fact that he is definitely an amazing and supreme singer, it was a somewhat embarrassing and quite obvious choice. His performance felt like a karaoke performance. He did not try to challenge the song (unlike Beaton), he left it almost as it was, a performance that could equally have been performed by any other singer from the genre that Shimon represents – the Mediterranean genre. Last time, Shimon bravely walked on a sacred cow named “Moon” of Shlomo Artzi and also managed to get something else out. This time he went for the familiar and well-known. That was enough for him to stay in the team.

Millennials are not wrong. Shay Tamino, “The Next Star” (screenshot: Keshet 12)

The second duel in the episode was between two singers who come on the same ticket – Shay Tamino, who went to “Fix You” by Coldplay; And Moriah Angel, who went for a super ambitious choice (bordering on irresponsible) and chose “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin. In general, it is impossible to come out well from such a choice – the artistic bar of the original song is so high, performed with supreme grace, that everything you do will sound less good. But every rule, as we know, has an exception. And Angel really played her.

A star classic was born. Moriah Angel, “The Next Star” (screenshot: Keshet 12)

Beyond the performance itself, which was really moving, the story behind the performance – a star-born-classic of putting an emotional human story into a song – this time hit the mark and still managed to feel authentic. Tamino, on the other hand, chose Coldplay’s millennial hit and was not bad, but also failed to reach the heights of Angel. In the end, both passed – which leaves us with the final duel, which brought together Eden Bartel and Eric Sinai.

Bartel, like Jonathan Beaton, became my favorite this season because he offered something different from the classic and paper-heavy format called “Execution on the Next Star”. Not only the very unique voice, also the mash-ups (which to the judges looked almost like blasphemy) were brilliant in my eyes, and if we’re really talking about the Eurovision, then originality is something that usually works there (and for those who try to argue with me, try to remember the last Eurovision without closing their eyes and see a dwarf playing the flute. Thank you very much, let’s continue).

Eurovision would know how to appreciate it. Ido Bartel, “The Next Star” (screenshot: Keshet 12)

This time, probably also on the advice of the judges, Bartel gave up the mash-up format (although he didn’t hold back and added a solo from another song), and went for “Sometimes” (also known by its second name, “Hawk”) by the Jewish band. The Jews is an interesting story in the history of “A Star Is Born”: as we know, one of the most spectacular moments in the show’s history was when the young contestant Ninet Teib brought a song by the band (which had not yet really penetrated the mainstream), sang “Take Me”, and brought the band back to consciousness with a song written nine years before

Real pain, you know? Ido Bartel, “The Next Star” (screenshot: Keshet 12)

Despite this connection between the Jews and the history of “Kochav”, the choice of “Sometimes” was very un-Kochavnold. “Labet” is a hard, painful, completely hardcore song – not something that tries to be nice or beautified. When Bartel sang this song, plus the section from “Not Easy”, also by the Jews, he brought to the screen a little of what “The Star” had refrained from bringing until now – and it hurt. refined. True. An outlet for the constricting feeling that has been going through us almost every day for the past few months, and until now has not come out except in small flashes.

Standing in front of him was Arik Sinai, who in the production of “The Star” heard (or at least I hope they heard) my plea to take him out of his comfort zone a little – and decided to do, of course, the complete opposite. Their answer was that Eric Sinai would perform his own song. “Farewell Song”, which Shlomo Artzi wrote for him in 1977 (and is much better known because of Artzi’s own performance, years later), was the big schtick that was supposed to take Sinai forward – it was received with applause, and I was again embarrassed.

A conservative recipe for success. Eric Sinai, “The Next Star” (screenshot: Keshet 12)

Because Arik Sinai is a wonderful performer, and because he is so good – we can give him slightly less conservative choices. You can try and use the rare tools he brings to this season – the great delivery ability, and that crazy voice to do something else besides singing Israeli oldies. But the audience, as always during difficult times in our history, wants its dose of nostalgia and Cini delivers it generously. It ended with thunderous applause and applause. It is very possible that this conservative recipe will be preserved, and maybe even bring Sinai to Eurovision. Will he bring Eurovision to Israel? I highly doubt it.

In any case, Sinai completed the top ten – and Ido Bartel, precisely after his best and bravest performance this season, went home. This choice was symbolic because it illustrated exactly the problem with the format of “The Star”, which in many cases prefers the old and familiar over the challenging and adventurous.

completely unnecessary. Assi Ezer and Rotem Sela, “The Next Star” (screenshot: Keshet 12)

One more note to finish, in our “maybe enough” corner: maybe enough of the comedic shticks? In each episode of “The Star”, perhaps as a counter-reaction to the melodramatic nature of the season’s opening, Esi and Rotem try to add some funny part, push some laugh, to try and lighten things up. It doesn’t really work, it doesn’t make anyone laugh except for themselves (and maybe a little for the judges), and it mostly takes away valuable screen time from the performers. For the thousandth time – let the music do the talking. Sometimes she is able to do the job in the best way. Ask Jonathan Beaton.