Israel: Major changes in selection of Eden’s Eurovision 2021 song

Instead of 16 songs, Israelis will only have 10 songs to vote among in the country’s search for Eden Alene’s contribution to Eurovision Song Contest 2021

The Israeli broadcaster, KAN, was supposed to upload 16 songs online this month for Israelis to vote for their eight favorite tracks that would then proceed to the live shows in February 2021, but that is no longer the case.

According to EuroMix, KAN is making substantial changes to its process of selecting a song for the Israeli contestant for Eurovision Song Contest 2021, Eden Alene.

Instead of 16 songs, KAN will only upload 10 tracks from which two will be chosen by the public through online voting and advance to the national final. One song will be picked by a jury.

Subsequently, the three final songs will compete in a live show online in February 2021, where Eden Alene’s song for Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will be chosen through internet voting.

It is unknown when KAN will reveal the 10 songs that the public can vote among.

When the Israeli broadcaster closed down for song submissions on 15 October 2020, they had received 220 songs.

A committee consisting of six people from the Israeli music industry narrowed the number of songs down to 10 based on professional criteria and on how well the song would suit Eden Alene.

Eden Alene was supposed to sing "Feker Libi" at this year's contest.

Eden Alene

Eden Alene was born in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Katamon to Ethiopian-born Jewish parents who immigrated separately to Israel during the aliyah from Ethiopia. She studied in religious schools and then attended the Hebrew University High School.

In 2018, she was enlisted to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and serves in a military band.

In October 2017, she participated in the third season of the Israeli reality show The X Factor Israel. At the first audition, she sang "Stone Cold" by Demi Lovato. In January 2018, she won the season finale.

In April 2018, she performed a song by Arkadi Duchin at the torch-lighting ceremony that opened the celebrations of the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of the State of Israel.

In December 2018, she released her debut single, "Better."