Music Monday
Today’s theme is “international performers”.
How timely! Eurovision was held this week …
Let’s talk about the woman who finished in second place: Yuval Raphael.
When Hamas attacked the Nova music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Yuval Raphael went from dancing with friends to hiding in a bomb shelter.
After attackers broke into the shelter and started shooting partygoers, Raphael played dead, then lay beneath bodies for eight hours until she was rescued.
That experience, Raphael told the Israel Hayom newspaper earlier this year, changed her outlook on life. “When I was there, I realized that everything could be over in a moment, and you don’t want your life to end without experiencing it,” she said. Not long after the attacks, Raphael said, she resolved to follow her long-held dream of becoming a professional singer.
Now, Raphael, 24, is representing Israel at Eurovision with “New Day Will Rise,” a ballad in which she sings, over twinkling piano, “New day will rise / Life will go on / Everyone cries / Don’t cry alone.”
Here’s a snippet of the Eurovision performance:
You can find the full performance on Facebook:
If you can’t access the Facebook post, here’s the video she submitted:
More
Israel’s Yuval Raphael said in the early hours of Sunday that she felt as though she had “won at life” after finishing in second place overall at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, and first in the public vote.
In an interview with the Kan public broadcaster minutes after receiving the results, Raphael initially appeared lost for words, telling the broadcaster frankly, “I don’t know how to react to the situation.”
“I feel like we’ve won at life,” she said, laughing briefly. “I don’t know how to explain it. I’ll be grateful for this situation every day of my life, I’ll be grateful for our nation every day of my life.”
“All I wanted to do was bring honor and pride to this country, to make them proud, to give them a small second of peace amid all the madness,” she said, referring to the ongoing war in Gaza, triggered by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault.
Taking a moment to reflect, Raphael said that there is “no real victory” like the victory that Israel will experience when the remaining 58 hostages are recovered from Gaza.
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I listened to both this and the winner (Wasted Love) after I read your post. Because I don't have Peacock, I was unable to watch the finals live. It's disgusting what activists did while Raphael sang and yet she kept her composure. May she go on to a marvelous career.
ReplyDeleteShe is amazing, isn’t she?
DeleteWow, what a story and she is super talented. Thanks for sharing her music. I will keep tabs on her career.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing opening story you shared with us! Thank you for sharing it as well as this talented young lady. Raphael has a lovely voice. I think she will do well in the industry if she secures the right financial backing. I didn't watch the episode because I'm short on time but I appreciated the introduction. May Israel know peace and the hostages returned soon! Have a boogietastic week, Robin! xo
ReplyDeleteShe has a great voice...
ReplyDeleteShe has an amazing voice and disgusting that protestors were allowed in. Let them be in that horrible predicament that this singer was in and see how they would handle it.
ReplyDelete