The
Spin
After changing several times it's mind about national
selection scheme and failing to collect decent amount of application Israeli
channels IBA and Channel 2 have confirmed that Boaz Mauda will represent
country in Eurovision 2008. Out of 450 entries, Israeli broadcasters IBA
and Channel 2 hand-picked 5 songs for Boaz Mauda, who will represent the
country at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. In a televised show, the
public chose The Fire In Your Eyes as Boaz' song for Belgrade.
"We didn't have time for a national final, decision was hard, but
we came to the solution - to open the contest for song selection. Keshet
offered Boaz as he has won the majority of the votes in "Kohav Nolad",
and he was the natural candidate. Last year we've spent a lot of time
to invite artists for national selection, but most of them, like Harel
Skaat, Maya Buskila, Ninet Tayeb and David Broza, all rejected to go to
ESC. So we had to choose the one who willing to tale part", explained
Yoav Ginay, head of Entertainment broadcast of IBA.
Mauda, a 20-year-old soldier, the man with the butter voice and the muscular
forearms, won the latest season of the "Pop Idol - A Star is Born"
(Kohav Nolad, Israeli Pop Idol) with 50% of 900 000 submitted votes. During
the contest he was nicknamed "Yemenite Cowboy" because of his
job as a goat herder in his home village of Eliyakim. Interestingly that
he has got to the show by complete accident, signed up to auditions by
a friend. From zero to hero, the new idol is the epitome of the new Israeli
man, the rising star which shines in Israel, is soon to shine over Europe.
Boaz sings since the early age of 5. Going to the synagogue accompanied
by his father, the young boy amazed the family when he sang the Jewish
prayers. Since then, Boaz's goal was to become a professional singer -
and moreover, his secret fantasy was to represent Israel in the Eurovision
Song Contest, and to sing for all of Europe. When he performed in the
TV talent show "A Star is Born", Boaz amazed the judges with
his wide vocal range. Soon after, the whole country fell in love with
the voice of the Yemenite nightingale, often refered to as the 'Israeli
Joselito', and Boaz became a leading nominee and a favorite for the crowd
at home. Boaz has touched and moved the hearts of thousands when he dedicated
the winning song to his mother. Handicapped since she gave birth to Boaz,
she chose his life over hers in a total act of heroism.
Boaz's mother is the young singer's private symbol of persistance and
willpower and his family will accompany him to Belgrade, as a fountain
of strength and inspiration. A family guy, Boaz lives with his parents
and 2 siblings in an agriculture cooperative in the middle of Israel.
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