Noa Kirel is the first artist for Eurovision 2023!
It did take a month to finalise everything but Noa is the Israeli artist for next year's contest. Not only have the Eurovision delegation returned to an internal selection (mainly due to necessity, given that no broadcaster came forward with a selection process show for 2023) but they have also been rewarded (eventually) with one of the biggest stars in Israeli music at the moment. 41 singles, 2 MTV Europe awards plus a lot of tv exposure will give everybody confidence that Israel will not be missing out on the 2023 Final and that five years is a reasonable length of time since their last Eurovision win to go for the next one! Noa's discography includes hip hop, K-pop, EDM and draws on national an international influences.
If the delay in accepting the place to sing for Israel in 2023 is due to Noa and her team sorting out any issues about songwriting, stage direction and promotion now, rather than six months down the line, we could be looking at a very professional Israeli package next year, an entry that suits her strengths and that will be tailor made to appeal to an international audience.
If you are one of those speculative gamblers, Israel could be worth a punt now on at least an each way bet, given that Sweden and Italy are always short odds and that Spain and the UK have joined then after their success in Turin. As for Noa, you have already heard two of her tracks on the show - "Pouch" that reached #7 in Israel from show 205 and her new track "Pantera" that opened this week's show:
Here is the playlist to go with that...
"Pantera" - Noa Kirel
"Touch My Fire" - Javine
"Hasta La Vista" - Olexandr Ponomaryov
"Why Do I Always Get It Wrong" - Live Report
"No One" - Maja Keuc
"Euphoria" - Loreen
"O RAPAZ" - Simão Oliveira
"Fairy World" - Alinur Khamzin & Beknur Zhanibekuly
"Huilumies" - Vesa-Matti Loiri
"Diva" - Dana International
"Heroes" - Måns Zelmerlöw
"Lane moje" - Željko Joksimović
"Don't Panic" - Liquid Gold
"Crazy" - Raya
"Sand" - Molly Sandén
"Innocent Love" - Robin Bengtsson
"MeloDrama Queen" - Nanne & Lina Hedlund
"die b4 u" - Montaigne
"Femme Fatale" - Kasia Moś feat. Jarecki x Mateusz Krautwurst x Waldemar Kasta
"All In" - Amanda Tenfjord
"Soulmate" - Intelligent Music Project
"Lost In The Shadows" - Michela
"Bilio" - Loza Mostra
Chances are that she will release at least a couple more tracks in the run up to Eurovision in addition to her actual entry, something that I cannot see being released much before March next year. A very exciting first artist to be confirmed for Eurovision 2023, wherever that may be...
So there you go, seven left - they have all met the basic requirements for hosting Eurovision (big enough arena, airport nearby, enough hotel rooms and transport links). These cities now have to expand on this and show why they are the best place to host Eurovision 2023 - how they make the show 'Ukrainian enough' will be a big box to tick, especially as this will be a unique Contest with the winning nation not able to host despite wanting too, compared to other Contests hosted away from the winning nation in the past, where they didn't want to. I will keep you up to date here on LET ME BE THE ONE as to what is happening with the hosting process - chances are that we may see one or two fall away before the final decision is made.
Two new members of the LMBTO Eurovision Facebook Group got a bumper crop of songs on the show - first were their favourite Eurovision entries : Maja Keuc with "No One" for Mitchell and Loreen's "Euphoria" for Andrew...
Then their favourite National Final songs in the form of Liquid Gold's "Don't Panic" for Andrew and "Crazy" by Raya for Mitchell! Hope you enjoyed hearing those on the show. The other involvement from the Facebook Group was in choosing the favourite entry from Serbia & Montenegro - a very short history from 2004 & 2005, with the winner being:
Željko Joksimović almost produced a debut winner for his new nation in 2004 and most fans agree that "Lane moje" is the quintessential Balkan ballad, which probably explains the result:
It is moments like this that confirm why I love focusing on the music that I do - how else would I catch a concert almost totally in Swedish otherwise? Molly is a superb entertainer, has a massive following and provides great Swedish material - isn't it about time that Sweden tried out at Eurovision in their own language again? Molly could be the artist to do that...
Neck and neck for Jenny and Gisela at the moment...
Any love out there for Marta, Marian and Susanne?
Can your vote make the difference?
Listen in next week to find out!