Rising Star (Israeli TV series)

HaKokhav HaBa (הַכּוֹכָב הַבָּא; ) is an Israeli interactive reality singing competition, created by Keshet Media Group and broadcast on Channel 2 (from 2013 to 2017) and on Channel 12 (since 2017). It is the basis of the Rising Star franchise. The show is a continuation of Kokhav Nolad (כוכב נולד; ) which featured aspiring singers competing for a winning title. The program's format combines the internet, smartphone and television and is filmed live. Between 2015 and 2020, and again since 2024, the show is used to select for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Format
As the season begins, each contestant is asked to perform a well-known song in front of judges. After the song, a vote is taken among judges whether to transfer the applicant to the test stage facing the audience at home. If the judges are not sure about how to vote, the contestant is required to perform another song, and then a decision is made.

Contestants who do move forward must then sing in front of an audience. Viewers then connect with an app at makoTV and decide in real time whether a contestant passes or does not pass.

Judges also influence the test stage - all judges may support the promotion of the contestant and thereby add 8% percent if there are five judges or 10% if there are four. Once the contestant reaches 70% of votes they "pass" and the screen opens and the contestant goes to the next level. 14 singers then move on to a section where the judges and the audience at home vote. At the final stage, four singers are left and one will be elected "The Next Star".

Host and judges
Key: Previous Latest Replaced

Season 1 (2013)
This season host is Assi Azar and the co-host is Esti Ginzburg. The judges are Rita, Zvika Hadar, Muki and Rani Rahav. Eyal Golan judged the program until his suspension on 20 November 2013, and after four days was replaced by Muki.

Participants
In order:


 * George Abu Shakra – 14th Place
 * Dondit Jon – 13th Place
 * Alon Tube – 12th Place
 * Roni Israeli – 11th Place
 * Lior Peretz – 10th Place
 * Hen Levy – 9th Place
 * Inbal Bekman – 8th Place
 * Elias Melayev – 7th Place (Quit)
 * David Drey – 6th Place
 * Omer Datz† – 5th Place

Finalists

 * Rinat Cohen – Fourth place
 * Tina Ibagrimov – Third place
 * Arye & Gil Gat – Second place
 * Evyatar Korkus – Winner

Season 2 (2014–15)
The winner of season two would represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.

Participants
In order:


 * Evyatar Adir – 16th Place
 * Zadok Garamech – 15th Place
 * Almog Nasawi – 14th Place
 * Random Dogs – 13th Place
 * David Maman – 12th Place
 * Eva Al Kanrash – 11th Place
 * Asif Zilberman – 10th Place
 * Liroz Balas – 9th Place
 * Yifi and Osher Aricha – 8th Place
 * Nava Tehila Walker – 7th Place
 * Saar "Rusty" Davidov – 6th Place
 * Orit Biansey – 5th Place

Finalists

 * Avia Shoshani – Fourth place
 * Sary Nachmias – Third place
 * Iky Levy and the Rasta Hebrew Men –Second place
 * Nadav Guedj – Winner

Season 3 (2015–16)
This season was named "The Next Star to the Eurovision" The winner of season three would represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Participants
In order:


 * Alma Kalbermann - 16th Place
 * Maya Bernadski - 15th Place
 * Sharon Fartouk - 14th Place
 * Yoni Grayev - 13th Place
 * Avi Eliot Alush and Sister Shvakya - 12th Place
 * Neomi Ezran - 11th Place
 * Uriel Aharoni - 10th Place
 * Shtar - 9th Place
 * Ofir Haim - 8th Place
 * Oded Sharavi - 7th Place
 * "Velma" - 6th Place
 * Kiara Duple (Lior Cohen) - 5th Place

Finalists

 * Gil Hadash – Fourth place
 * Ella Daniel - Third place
 * Nofar Salman - Second place
 * Hovi Star - Winner

Season 4 (2017)
The winner of season four would represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The show is hosted by Yael Goldman joined by Assi Azar and Rotem Sela. The presiding judges are Keren Peles and Harel Skaat who were judges in the previous two seasons joined by new judges Assaf Amdursky and the duo Static and Ben El Tavori.

Participants
In order:


 * Yona Shabin - 8th Place
 * Hally Lewis - 7th Place
 * Ta-La-Te - 6th Place
 * Sapir Nahon - 5th Place

Finalists

 * Beatbox Element - Fourth Place
 * Julieta - Third place
 * Diana Golbi - Second place
 * Imri - Winner

Season 5 (2017–18)
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 as the Israeli broadcaster Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) for the first time collaborated with the commercial broadcaster Keshet and Tedy Productions which organized the reality singing competition HaKokhav HaBa L'Eurovizion ("The Next Star for Eurovision") to select the singer to represent Israel, while the song was chosen by a committee of the Israeli broadcaster. Four contestants reached the final, Chen Aharoni, Jonathan Mergui, Riki Ben Ari and Netta Barzilai. The season was won by Netta Barzilai, the first woman to win the series. As a result, she represented Israel at Eurovision Song Contest 2018. She went on to win the contest in Lisbon with the song "Toy" earning 529 points.

Participants
In order:


 * Axum - 20th Place
 * Tal Mizrahi - 19th Place
 * Ofir Harush - 18th Place
 * Shir Baruch - 17th Place
 * The Choice - 16th Place
 * Shir Gadasi - 15th Place
 * Jaki Gaforov - 14th Place
 * Gal Yaakobi - 13th Place
 * Rinat Bar (Quit) - 12th Place
 * Sarit Hativa - 11th Place
 * Shay & Gilad - 10th Place
 * José Steinberg - 9th Place
 * Adava Omer - 8th Place
 * Ravit Batashvili - 7th Place
 * Howie Danao - 6th Place
 * Eden Meiri - 5th Place

Finalists

 * Chen Aharoni – Fourth place
 * Riki Ben Ari - Third place
 * Mergui - Second place
 * Netta - Winner

Season 6 (2018–19)
Kobi Marimi won the show with 383 points, beating runner-up Keteryah and third-placer Shefita. Kobi represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, held in Tel Aviv, with the song "Home".

Participants
In order:


 * Wanna Wanna - 20th Place
 * Shachaf - 19th Place
 * Lior Chen - 18th Place
 * Naama Gali Cohen - 17th Place
 * Liat Eliyahu - 16th Place
 * Nitay Twito - 15th Place
 * Nave Madmon - 14th Place
 * Naor Cohen - 13th Place
 * Klara Sabag - 12th Place
 * Osher Biton - 11th Place
 * Danielle Mazuz - 10th Place
 * Tai† - 9th Place
 * Ofri Calfon - 8th Place
 * Daniel Barzilai - 7th Place
 * Avraham de Carvalho - 6th Place

Finalists

 * Shalva Band – Fifth place (Quit)
 * Maya Bouskilla – Fourth place
 * Shefita - Third place
 * Ketreyah - Second place
 * Kobi Marimi - Winner

Season 7 (2019–20)
Eden Alene emerged as the winner, however, the Eurovision contest for this year was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Alene was internally re-selected by Kan to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 instead.

Participants
In order:


 * Or Eddie - 20th Place
 * Nathan Katorza - 19th Place
 * Dana Lapidot - 18th Place
 * Oneg Israel - 17th Place
 * HaTavlinim - 16th Place
 * Linoy Akala and Gil Shapira - 15th Place
 * Nicki Goldstein - 14th Place
 * Avihu Pinhasov Rhythm Club - 13th Place
 * Omer Eliyahu - 12th Place
 * Dorel Saadon - 11th Place
 * Eden Zohar Sivan - 10th Place
 * Loai Ali - 9th Place
 * Ohad Shragai - 8th Place
 * Lali Kolishkin - 7th Place
 * Moran Aharoni - 6th Place
 * Raviv Kaner - 5th Place

Finalists

 * Gaya Shaki - Fourth place
 * Orr Amrami Brockman - Third place
 * Ella Lee - Second place
 * Eden Alene - Winner

Season 8 (2021)
For this season, the show is not used to select the Israeli representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 (The X Factor Israel received this honor instead). Instead, the grand prize for the winner is one million shekels for starting his career, similar to season 1. The cast of hosts and judges remained the same as the previous season, with Ninet Tayeb joining the judges as well.

Participants
In order:


 * Shalev Edri - 22nd Place
 * Matan Agami - 21st Place
 * Naor Ormia - 20th Place
 * Niv Shaked - 19th Place
 * Ofri Tal - 18th Place
 * Ella Lavie - 17th Place
 * Orit Shalom - 16th Place
 * David Meir Ziton - 15th Place
 * Yotal Guez - 14th Place
 * Noa Yosefian - 13th Place
 * Mira Semenduev - 12th Place
 * Adar Kagan - 11th Place
 * Maayan Bukris - 10th Place
 * Lia Shaked - 9th Place
 * Tamar Azran - 8th Place
 * Dorin Hirvy - 7th Place
 * Sahar Twito - 6th Place
 * Anael Moshe - 5th Place

Finalists

 * Shay Hamber - Fourth place
 * Matan Levi - Third place
 * Valerie Hamaty - Second place
 * Tamir Grinberg - Winner

Season 9 (2022)
In February 17, 2022, Static & Ben El Tavori retired from the show and Ran Danker replaced them. Season 9 began on July 18, 2022.

Participants
In order:


 * Eilon Shaltiel - 18th Place
 * Shiri Oren - 17th Place
 * Nevo Alon - 15th/16th Place
 * Michael Levi - 15th/16th Place
 * Shalom Sabag - 14th Place
 * Kfir Tsafrir - 13th Place
 * Talia Sol Azarzar - 12th Place
 * Zohar Yaacobi - 11th Place
 * Yam Gronich - 10th Place
 * Omer Yefet - 9th Place
 * Karmi Glasner - 8th Place
 * Yahalom David - 7th Place
 * Niv Demirel - 6th Place
 * Yanai Ben Hamo - 5th Place

Finalists

 * Libi Panker - Fourth Place
 * Meitav Sherman - Third Place
 * Nofia Yedidia - Second Place
 * Eliav Zohar - Winner

Season 10 (2023–24)
The tenth season featured a scaled-down format due to the Israel–Hamas war, which began before production on the show started. The winner was Eden Golan, who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

Participants

 * Gal Kafri - 14th Place
 * Yehuda Saado - 13th Place
 * Mika Kertis - 12th Place
 * Ido Bartal - 11th Place
 * Moria Angel - 10th Place
 * Jonathan Bitton - 9th Place
 * Orel Ravid - 8th Place
 * Arik Sinai - 7th Place
 * Lian Biran - 6th Place
 * Shai Tamino - 5th Place

Finalists

 * Dor Shimon - 4th Place
 * Mika Moshe - 3rd Place
 * Or Cohen - 2nd Place
 * Eden Golan - Winner

International versions
After the success of the Israeli series in 2013, many television stations throughout the world bought the rights and started broadcasting similar series.

The American television network ABC began airing its first series of Rising Star in June 2014 from Los Angeles. The US edition was also carried in Canada, with advertising simultaneous substitution and voting access on CTV. The show was canceled after its full 10-episode season due to low ratings in its target demographic, and extremely low ratings on the German and French versions.

Another major broadcaster RTL Television launched a German language version in Germany. But following reported poor ratings on its early shows, it announced it was bringing Rising Star Germany scheduled final forward airing an extended one-day finale between 20.15 and 00.00 to decide the winning performer, rather than completing the full 10-episode scheduled season originally planned.

The UK ITV channel bought the rights, but canceled its scheduled launch citing lower-than-expected viewership in similar launches in the United States and Germany. Canale 5 also bought the rights to an Italian version of the show, which was also canceled during development for unexplained reasons.

French television M6, with its first season, launched in September 2014 keeping the title Rising Star. The French version had a shortened season due to low ratings. The Italian television Canale 5 launched its version as Rising Star.

Other broadcasters that adapted the series include Argentine Telefe as Elegidos (La música en tus manos), Brazilian Rede Globo as SuperStar, Chinese CCTV-3, Greek ANT1, Hungarian TV2 as Rising Star, Indonesian RCTI as Rising Star Indonesia (later, MNCTV as sister channel of RCTI make dangdut version of this show entitled Rising Star Indonesia Dangdut), Portuguese Televisão Independente (TVI) as Rising Star: A próxima estrela, Russia-1 as Артист (Artist), and Turkish TV8 as Yükselen Yıldız. The Russian version of the show had a shortened season due to low ratings on the French and German versions, while the Portuguese and Brazilian versions became quickly popular, but neither lasted more than three seasons; the Brazilian version ended in 2016 after three seasons due to declining viewership. The Indonesian version is the longest-running version of the show outside of Israel.