Despite the relaunch of the IBA in the upcoming year, Israel is willing to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. However, financial problems might still be an obstacle to entering the competition in May. Yona Wiesenthal, the Director General of the IBA, pointed out that negotiations with the EBU regarding the reduction of the participation fee are still ongoing.
Even though the participation is not ensured, it has been announced that the radio station 88 FM will be responsible for selecting the Israeli representative for Vienna. Today, three artists that are now shortlisted by the editors of the radio station were revealed. They are Marina Maximilian, Ester Rada and Asaf Avidan – all established artists in the Israeli music scene. 88 FM will approach those three artists in the aforementioned order.
Let’s take a look at the three potential entrants!
1. Marina Maximilian
Marina Maximilian was the runner-up of the 5th season of Kokhav Nolad (Star is Born). Since then she’s been working on both her musical and acting career. She has previously collaborated with the Israeli 2008 representative Boaz Mauda.
2. Ester Rada
In 2013, Ester Rada released an EP titled Life Happens which has been fairly successful throughout Europe – she even performed at the renowned Glastonbury Festival. Currently Ester Rada is working on her debut album.
3. Asaf Avidan
The third pick of 88 FM is also the most famous one – Asaf Avidan has released three albums and had a major hit with Reckoning Song. He is known for his unique voice which has been compared to Janis Joplin’s.
Do you want to see one of those three artists for Israel next year? Let us know in the comments below or join the discussion on our forum!
Source: Primetime News Israel
Israel: Marina Maximilian says No | ESCunited.com
September 30, 2014 at 16:00
[…] As previously reported, the radio station 88 FM will be responsible for internally selecting the Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna. The appointed Eurovision team came up with three preferred artists as Mei Feingold’s successor: Marina Maximilian, Ester Rada and Asaf Avidan. They are supposedly approached by the radio station in this order. […]