 The first Israeli entry in the Eurovision Song Contest has been entered in 1973. Since Israel joined the ESC family, it has been seen as a dark horse straight away. There were many strong songs over the years and the Israel has often been found in the Top 10, the people in Israel love the ESC and with that passion it’s no wonder why they are so wise in choosing the right song. It’s also interesting to mention that Israeli entries have brought the typical ESC dance step within a formation on stage. This has often utilized to bring the right swing and verve into the entry. Many countries have copied that, like the wind mashine once introduces by Carola from Sweden. Israel has won three times: “A ba ni bi” by Izar Cohen and the Alphabeta (#1) in 1978, “Hallelujah” by Gali Atari & Milk and Honey (#1) in 1979 and “Diva” by Dana International (#1) in 1998. Israel mostly qualifies for the final, only if there is a weaker song they fail. The most memorable Israeli entries in Eurovision history were: “Hi” by Ofra Haza (#2), “Shara Barechovot” by Rita (#18) in 1990 and “Hasheket Shenish'ar” by Shiri Maymon (#4) in 2005. The Israeli national final is called KDAM, which is not held every year, but most times. This year there were quite strong entries, which would mostly have done well in ESC as well. At the end formerly ESC winner Dana International has the honour to represent Israel again at Eurovision. Her song simply called “Ding Dong”, which sounds similar to the winning entry “Ding-a-Dong” by Teach-In from the Netherlands 1975. The song has been composed by Dana International herself, but it’s a lot weaker than her former entry “Diva”. In 1998 there have been more discussions about her transsexuality than about her song. The ESC audience can’t be shocked anymore with something like this, so it all depends on the quality of the song and her stage performance. When formerly winners enter the ESC again, it’s always a high risk of failure, like Charlotte Perelli (Nilsson) or Niamh Kavanagh – even with good songs. Considering the fact that there is very strong Semi Final 2, Dana International must be aware that she won’t make it. The song is weaker than the others, the chorus of the song does not flourish and at the end it leaves a feeling of “where is the refrain?” , or “is this the end already?”. It’s good to have her back in the ESC, but the song is not convincing at all, no Diva 2 |
Participant(s): Dana International
