Israel Kdam for Eurovision 2009 (Israel)

Israel : Noa & Mira to Moscow with Einaiych Israel have selected their entry for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest this evening during a special Kdam Eurovision show this evening. Noa & Mira Awad will go to Moscow with the song Einaiych (There Must Be Another Way). Back in January, Israeli broadcaster IBA announced the selection of world renowned Israeli singer Noa (Achinoam Nini), together with the Arab/Israeli artist Mira Awad as the duo who would represent Israel in this years contest in Moscow. This evening in Jerusalem, Noa & Mira Awad performed four songs in a live televised national selection called Kdam Eurovision 2009 hosted by Eden Harel. The show began by an introduction to the juries.In the week prior to the national selection, the public have been allowed to vote by SMS and internet for their favourite song. In this evenings show, the voting was mixed between SMS, Internet and jury votes. The songs were presented as follows :- Kol Shniya - (Second Chance) 32 points Na'amin Bachalom - (Faith in The Light) 72 points Bo'i Lirkod Iti - (Will You Dance With Me) 84 points Einaiych - (There Must Be Another Way) 112 points After the performances, Israeli president Shimon Peres addressed the viewers by saying that he appreciated the work that Noa and Mira Awad are doing for the people and for peace. He also paid tribute to Noa as being "The Voice of Israel". The public televoters preferred the song Bo'i Lirkod Ti as their favourite, but the jury preferred Einaiych and the combination of SMS, internet and jury votes are highlighted above. Israel finished in ninth place last in last years contest with Boaz Mauda and his song The Fire In Your Eyes. Noa and Mira Awad will participate in the First Semi-Final of this years Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday May 12th in Moscow. Israel have won Europe's favourite TV show on no fewer than three occasions. Firstly Izhar Cohen and Alphabeta won in Paris in 1978 with the song A Ba Ni Bi. Israel then retained the title on home soil in Jerusalem in 1979 when Milk & Honey triumphed with Hallelujah. Almost two decades later, Dana International won the 1998 contest in Birmingham in a thrillingly close finish ahead of the United Kingdom and Malta with the song Diva.

Tonight at 20:45 CET, IBA will air the KDAM Eurovision 2009 national final. Four songs will be presented for the internally selected artists Noa (Achinoam Nini) and Mira Awad. The official Eurovision site of IBA will launch a live webstream at that time so we will all watch the show. They are going to sing 4 songs as follows: Kol Shniyah (Every Moment) – Second Chance Lehamin Bachalom (To believe in the dream) – Faith in your light Boi Lirkod iti (Come and Dance With Me)-Will you dance with me? Eineich (Your eyes) – There must be another way This is the first time that the songs will be sing in Hebrew, Arabic and English and that an Israeli Arab is going to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest. This evening, the Kdam Eurovision show will take place in Israel, where the chosen artists Noa and Mira Awad will perform four songs, one of which will go on to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow in May. After a few months of specualtion in Israel, it was announced back in January by the national broadcaster IBA that Noa and Mira Awad would represent their country in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Noa, (real name Achinoam Nini) is Israel's leading international concert and recording artist. She was born in Tel Aviv in 1969, but lived in New York City from the age of two. She returned to Israel alone at age 17 and studied music at the Rimon School where she met her long term writing partner Gil Dor. Noa has frequently collaborated with Arab and Palestinian artists from around the World in the past, and has also performed with leading artists such as Sting and Stevie Wonder. Mira Awad is a Palestinian/Israeli singer, songwriter and actress. She was born in 1975 and lives now in Tel Aviv. Mira also attended the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2002 she worked with Noa on her album Now. She is in the final stages of recording her debut album. Mira Awad will be the first ever Arab/Israeli singer to represent Israel in Europe's favourite TV show. Four songs will compete in tonight's Kdam Eurovision programme and the format will be in the same tradition of the last years, where Noa & Mira Awad perform four songs to the public. All songs will be performed using a combination of three languages, these being Hebrew, Arabic and English.This year 60% from the votes will come from a specialised committee, and 40% from SMS and Internet. The chairperson of the professional committee will be Yoav Ginai, writer of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest winner Diva and who also happens to be broadcaster IBA TV's Channel 1 Head of Entertainment. The competing songs are as follows :- (English titles in brackets) Kol Shniya - (Second Chance) Na'amin Bachalom - (Faith in The Light) Bo'i Lirkod Iti - (Will You Dance With Me) Einaiych - (There Must Be Another Way) Israel finished in ninth place last in last years contest with Boaz Mauda and his song The Fire In Your Eyes. Israel will participate in the First Semi-Final of this years Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday May 12th in Moscow.