After two and a half months of song releases, we finally have the last song to be released for Eurovision 2019! The final entry, “Home”, comes from host country, Israel, and it is sung by HaKokhav HaBa winner, Kobi Marimi.
Kobi’s song comes just under a month after he won the Israeli selection show, HaKokhav HaBa, on 12 February. One week later, it was then confirmed that his entry would be called “Home”. The song has been described as “a touching ballad that [is] perfect for Kobi’s powerful voice”.
Listen to “Home”
“Home” has been co-wrote and composed by Ohad Shragai and Inbar Vaizman and was not only premiered on YouTube, but also revealed during Israel’s live TV Awards ceremony!
Who is Kobi Marimi?
Kobi Marimi was born and raised in the city of Ramat Gan. He began singing at the age of 13 and he studied at the Nissan Nativ acting studio and appeared in many plays during his studies. In 2017, he was awarded the Promising Actor Awards at the Bat Yam Musical Celebrations for his role in Messiah Now as Natan.
Kobi took part in the sixth season of HaKokhav HaBa L’Eurovizion, despite having no previous professional experience as a solo singer. During his audition, he performed the Beyoncé song, “Sweet Dreams”, receiving positive feedback from all five judges including two past Israeli Eurovision entrants, Shiri Maimon (2005) and Harel Skaat (2010).
Kobi then made it through the shortlisting round scoring 80% for his cover of Christina Perri’s “Jar of Hearts”. Making it through this round meant that Kobi was amongst the top 20 artists. Kobi’s journey in the competition nearly come to an end in the fourth show of heats when he scored the lowest score of the show, meaning he was eliminated from the contest. After the first three semi-finals, a wildcard round was held and Kobi was reinstated into the competition, beating Osher Biton.
In the show’s final, Kobi was paired up to duel against Maya Bouskilla. Kobi won the duel with 79% to Maya’s 54%. In the show’s second round, he performed a cover of The Beatles’ “Let It Be”, where he received a total of 215 points from the jury and televotes, making him the winner and Israel’s representative on home ground in Tel Aviv.
Do you like Kobi’s entry? What do you think of this year’s entries?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.
