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Kobi Marimi was named the winner of the Israeli reality show Rising Star on Tuesday night and will represent the Jewish state at the Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv in May.
Marimi easily beat the other three finalists, Katria Pouch, Rotem Shefi and Maya Buskila, who placed second, third and fourth respectively in a joint vote by the public and a panel of judges.
Marimi hopes to lead Israel to a second consecutive victory after the victory of Netta Barzilai and his song "Toy" last year, which brought the contest to Israel for this year's final to be held on May 18th.
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Marimi, a 27-year-old from Ramat Gan, has been a favorite of judges, but not always of the public. Even though he was rejected in the quarterfinals, he was brought back with a "savior of life".
He fueled the final with a series of impressive covers such as "Always" by Bon Jovi and "Let it be" by The Beatles.
A professional committee of Kan's public broadcaster, who is organizing the event, will choose a song for him in the next two weeks.
Kan congratulated Marimi and said in a statement that he was certain that he would succeed in "replacing the shoes of Netta Barzilai".
"We are working day and night to make the next Eurovision the most spectacular event ever held in Israel and in the history of the competition and we have no doubt that Kobi will bring us the double, so that immediately after the end from the final on May 18, we can start working on Eurovision for the next year, "said Kan.
Tel Aviv, which was chosen as the host city, also congratulated Merimi for illuminating the town hall of his name.
Congratulations Kobi Marimi, @IsraelThe representative of @eurovision 2019 in #Tel Aviv! Good luck@kaneurovision #EurovisionTelAviv #Dare dream pic.twitter.com/u7JtDjCNc3
– Tel Aviv (@TelAviv) February 12, 2019
While Marimi was a strong candidate, most of the audience's attention was focused on Rotem Shefi, who finished third.
Known as Shefita, she covered a selection of alternative rock clbadics ("Lithium" by Nirvana, "Pink" by Aerosmith, "Karma Police" by Radiohead, for example), and Hebrew with an Arabic accent.
Shefita, or Shefi, is 100% Jewish. She was born and raised in the northern city of Carmiel. His style has been criticized. Many accusations have accused him of appropriating Arab culture and comparing it to the blackface formerly used by white actors in the United States. to channel African-American characters.
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