The duel phase is already here, 18 contestants have stuck their flag in the team, and it’s just the time to stress. If you were wondering why, the point is this – every three rounds of head-to-head will lead to the separation of two of the contestants, who have already become part of the program and without a doubt also part of us. Yesterday we saw the first three duels, which from the moment they started managed to get us into a serious market.
After the audition episodes: these are the first contestants who entered the team of “The Next Star”
The first ones were Yaholum David, from Idan Raichel’s project, Vinay Ben Hamo, a repairman who should have been a part of Israeli music a long time ago. David opened the evening with Lizo’s ‘Cuz I Love You’ and set a bar of 72 percent, including two reds from Veninet songs. Yanai, who in order to pass had to overtake Yaholum, did it in a big way with 88 percent and an excellent performance of Amir Dadon’s ‘Yish in Souf’. A blue table and nothing to add – Yanai stays inside.
Kafir Tzafir, whom we remember from his kicking performances that turned heads, competed against Nevo Alon, who has the voice of the bells, who came to the audition as a surprise thanks to his mother. Although Zafarir came equipped with a teddy bear, he once again burned the stage, this time with another original song, ‘Mexico’, which he wrote about the depressed economic situation in the country. He received 81 percent from the audience and the judges along with a bunch of compliments, even from Muki who came to be a guest on the throne of judgment. Nebo responded with Liran Danino’s ‘Adayin Rik’, and finished the performance with 59 percent, and with a lot of hope to remain in the team.
- “We decided it was time for everyone to walk their own path” Statik and Ben Al Hasof
The third and last duel for the evening was between Meitav Sherman, a rocker who proved that she was physically born for the stage, and Carmi Glasner, a 19-year-old kibbutznik with fire in her eyes and big dreams. Glassner came up with a classic, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ written by Prince for Sinead O’Connor, raising the bar to 83 percent. The strange part is that Meitav, one of the most popular among the judges, won loud applause for the Jews’ ‘if at all’ and he only had three percent left to win.
So who are the two who will be eliminated from the three losers in a duel? We have no choice but to wait in anticipation for the next episode. And on a personal note – they are all talented, they are all singers, they all know the Torah, but there is no way that the rock world in Israel can give up one like Meitav. Unapologetic talent in pounds, self-confidence that even older singers wish for, and loudness that only makes you want to turn up the TV and disturb the neighbors. Sorry in advance, from now on, and hopefully until the end of the program.