Shiri Maimon reached 4th place in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with HaSheket SheNish’ar (The Silence that Remains). 14 years on, she will join the judging panel for the next season of HaKokhav HaBa (The Next Star), the show which will select the Israeli entry into Eurovision 2019!
Shiri’s announcement
The news was first announced on Shiri’s own instagram page:
For those of us whose Hebrew isn’t so great, the post says:
I’ve already started packing for New York, we’re all excited and I’m not resting and preparing for the big moment.
At the end of the month, I’m flying to fulfill a dream – playing Roxy Hart in the Chicago musical on Broadway as a guest of honour…and at the end of October, I go straight back to the shoot. Coming home, literally. I’m returning to Israel and returning the place where you all first met me.
I am very excited to tell you that I am joining HaKokhav HaBa on Keshet with my friends – Harel, Keren, Assaf, Static, and Ben-El. We’ll find the next star together.
Thanks to the network and Avi Zvi for this amazing time we’ll have together.
There are other exciting things on the agenda and I’m crossing my fingers and praying to succeed and enjoy whatever the world offers me.
Shiri Maimon – Instagram
Keshet confirms
The Israeli mass media company in charge of HaKokhav HaBa, Keshet, subsequently confirmed the news on their Facebook page.
Now it’s official: Shiri Maimon will judge in the next season of HaKokhav HaBa, alongside Keren Peles, Harel Skaat, Assaf Amdursky, Static and Ben-El Tavori.
Do you remember when she first entered our lives in Kokhav Nolad in 2003?
הכוכב הבא – Facebook
Shiri Maimon’s rise to fame
The post on the official HaKokhav HaBa Facebook page reminds us all of how Shiri Maimon first rose to fame. In 2003, she took part in the first season of the predecessor to HaKokhav HaBa, Kokhav Nolad (A Star is Born). Despite being a much-loved favourite, she was the runner-up in the contest with 28.2% of the public vote, whilst the winner (Ninet Tayeb) had 49.3%.
2 years later she took part in Kdam Eurovision, Israel’s national final for Eurovision. Despite not being the favourite to win there, she won by a landslide and went on to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. In Kyiv, she placed 4th with her emotional ballad, HaSheket SheNish’ar. This turned out be Israel’s best placing of the 00’s!
Since then, Shiri has started in several musicals, released numerous albums, and even won the MTV Europe Award for Best Israeli Act.
What do you think of this news? Are you looking forward to the next season of HaKokhav Haba? Would you like to see Shiri Maimon back in Eurovision one day?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA