Today the first rehearsals for Eurovision 2023 continue in Liverpool. Countries rehearsing on Day 2 include Israel, Azerbaijan, Czechia, The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Armenia, Romania, Belgium, and Cyprus. The first to rehearse today is Israel’s Noa Kirel.
Noa’s first rehearsal
The first to take to the Eurovision 2023 stage at Liverpool Arena in Liverpool today was Noa Kirel. Noa will be competing in this year’s competition with her entry “Unicorn” following her internal selection by the Israeli public service broadcaster Kan.
Following Noa’s first rehearsal a clip of what went on was posted on the official TikTok account of the Eurovision Song Contest. The clip showed Noa before and after she took to the Eurovision stage for the first time, as well as giving us some insight into how well her first rehearsal went.
What did we learn about Noa’s staging?
Photo: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
As reported by the Eurovision 2023 liveblog, it is light show o’clock for Noa Kirel and “Unicorn”. Noa, who is supported by five dancers dressed in black and pink, starts out in a massive box lit with LEDs, before moving on to strobe lights and rotating camerawork. And, of course, Noa provides a choreo show during the dance break that involves losing some clothes plus a big pyrotechnic finish.
What we thought of Noa’s first rehearsal
After Noa’s first rehearsal Tim gave his initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw.
Who is Noa Kirel?
Noa is already an established artist in Israel at the age of 22. She has received the MTV Europe Music Award for best Israeli act each year since 2017. She is known for not only being a singer but also as an actress, dancer and television host.
Her success was kick-started following the release of her first song ‘Medabrim?’ in 2015, which was followed up with more songs featured on Youtube and played on Israeli Radio. By the end of 2016, she won the award “Singer of the Year” at the Israeli Kids’ Choice Awards. She has featured in films and has be a judge on TV Talent show in Israel including the ‘Israel’s Got Talent’.
In the summer of 2021, Noa released her first international single ‘Please Don’t Suck’. Later on that year she opened Miss Universe 2021 with ‘Thought About That’.
Noa’s Eurovision track ‘Unicorn’ was written by Doron Medalie (who co-wrote ‘Toy’ 2018’s winning song), May Sfadia and Yinon Yahel.
Israel’s Eurovision Journey
Israel has a long and wealthy history in the Eurovision Song Contest, making their debut in 1973 with Ilanit and “Ey Sham”. Their first entry scored 97 points, placing 4th. Israel has since gone on to win the Contest on four separate occasions – in 1978, 1979, 1998 and 2018.
Michael Ben David represented Israel in Turing during the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song “I.M.”. At the close of voting, Israel finished in 13th place, scoring 61 points and therefore, not qualifying for the final.
What do you think of “Unicorn”? Can Noa Kirel bring Eurovision back to Israel? Let us know your thoughts! Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming/EBU
