Imri Ziv has triumphed over stiff competition to win a place at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. He will represent Israel in May.
For ten weeks, Israeli TV viewers have been voting to pick ‘The Next Star for Eurovision’. The final of the talent show aired tonight. Ziv competed against three other acts.
The live show featured two ‘duels’ – with singers paired up to battle for a place in the final. Judges picked, and then in an extra cruel twist, saved one additional performer. Another sing-off took out one more hopeful.
Imri Ziv and Diana Golbi made the final round, when viewers picked their winner. It was Imri’s (not at all camp, honestly) interpretations of songs first made famous by Beyoncé and Kelly Clarkson that clinched it.
Imri is no stranger to the Eurovision stage, having performed backing vocals in the last two contests.
Details of the song will follow before the middle of March.