Rumour has it… Mei Finegold will represent Israel?

With the National Final season well and truly in full swing, rumours are rife about who will represent who (Geri Halliwell for the UK just as an example), as we’ve documented in two previous editions of the “Rumour Has It” series and yesterday, slightly cast aside as we all were watching the Robin Thicke-esque TEO sail  through the Belorussian NF, we have an artist being internally selected for Israel.. *almost*. So what would we think if the rumour is true and Israel do indeed send Mei Finegold?

Will Mei be the one to sing for Israel in Denmark?

Like I said at the top of the article, it was rumoured that Mei Finegold was going to represent Israel in Copenhagen and thanks to our friends at ESC United, we have a chance to fully dissect the recent happenings in Israel regarding her possible selection and the probability of Mei going for the country to Denmark!

So. On Thursday, a special committee made by Israel’s national broadcaster, IBA, decided that 31 year old Mei Finegold should represent Israel at Eurovision in a mere four months. The singer came to prominence through Kakhov Nolad in 2009 she finished in 3rd place. Here she is performing “Hallelujah” (no, it’s not the song that won Eurovision in 1979, it’s the other one) at the semi-final of the show in Hebrew:

It’s clear that as soon as you hear Mei’s singing voice, it’s instantly recognisable. The song, although being a ballad, suits Mei’s voice quite well. She definitely accumulated a fan following after that performance! The fact that such a raspy, rock voice can sing such a powerful ballad so beautifully just shows that she could take on any song she’s given. Recently, she’s starred in numerous theatre productions and has even released a studio album two years ago. This song, ‘Pictures’, was released in August 2012 and this is a good track in her own original music:

Once again, it’s a ballad, but it’s a rock-ballad that suits her voice and this would be the sort of song I would love to see her sing in Copenhagen.. if she goes. For Mei to actually represent Israel at Eurovision, she’ll need to get permission from her record label and sign an official contract – a process that’s expected to be completed within the next few days, according to the IBA.

So it’s expected that she will indeed represent Israel once everything is confirmed, but what about the song? Well, Mei and her team will select 3 – 4 songs, some of which will be submitted by the Israeli public and others by her team. These songs will go into a National selection where the public will decide which song will go to Copenhagen by televoting. If these plans are indeed true, then we will have yet another artist that will be going to Eurovision, but as nothing is completely finalised, there is still a small chance that another artist may be selected to represent Israel (maybe one of our recommendations maybe?), but judging by how much the IBA have done recently, I have a feeling that it will indeed be Mei Finegold that will represent Israel in May.. but we have a few days left, so anything can happen? But what do you think?

Your views:

What do you think of the fact that Mei Finegold may be the one to go to Copenhagen?

Do you think Mei would do Israel justice?

Marco Muntean from Romania: I like her, with a great song would be perfect for Israel 😀

Jack Cuffe from the United Kingdom: She would be an great choice – her voice is amazing, but she will need the right song.

Svana Lístí Agnarsdóttir from Iceland: I think she’d do well in Eurovision if she goes. I don’t know Hebrew, but she sings well in it. Let’s hope she does it though!

So it seems that people are all for Mei representing Israel, given she has the right song.. well we’ll see how that goes when she’s confirmed as the official artist of Israel and the song plans are finalised. But what do you think of the “rumour”? Do you think Mei would be the best choice for Israel? Feel free to tell us what you think by commenting below!

P.S. A mere three hours after this article was posted, the IBA officially confirmed Mei Finegold will indeed represent Israel in Copenhagen. Good luck Mei!