Image Credit: Shahar Arbiv
In 2022, X Factor Israel was the format used to select the nations Eurovision artist.
In the end, Michael Ben David won by 1 point over Eli Huli, and will now head to Turin to perform his song ‘I.M’. Discover more about him & what we think his chances are below.
Who Is Michael Ben David?
Michael Ben David was born on July 26th 1996 to a Georgian-Israeli father & Ukrainian mother. He has been on the musical career path since he was a child, taking vocal and dance lessons before studying at the Beit Zvi School of Performing Arts.
In 2021, he auditioned for X Factor Israel, in which he was mentored by Eurovision 2018 winner Netta. After a successful run in the live shows, he along with Eli Huli, Inbal Bibi & Sapir Saban all made it to the song selection of the show (Hashir Shelanu L’Eurovizion). Each performed two songs, and one was selected to go through to the final. Michael performed ‘I.M’ and ‘Don’t’, with ‘I.M’ winning not only the selection, but also the entire show a week later. It was then revamped ahead of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.
Israel did threaten earlier in April a potential withdrawal situation if they couldn’t get the security they needed to travel to the contest, however it seems now like that issue is resolved.
How Well Will Michael Do At Eurovision?
Right now the general opinion is that Israel may struggle to qualify. For a country that has become known for its strong 7 year qualification streak, they won’t be looking to lose it anytime soon.
The lyrics of ‘I.M’ are one of the main issues that people have taken with it, as they have been described as ‘basic’, ‘cliché’ and also that they sound like they could’ve been part of a song from a RuPauls Drag Race challenge. However, there has been some appreciation for the continuation of Israel’s ‘year drops’ in their songs – Michael’s ‘2022 let’s seal the deal’ follows on from Eden Alene’s ‘2021 degrees’ line in ‘Set Me Free’.
I’m shameless and I’m spotless and I’m flawless
Verse 2 of ‘I.M’
Always take it up ’cause I’m a winner, I don’t want less
Going for the things I should and maybe I’m ferocious
Making you the one I want and I’m not even topless (Be cautious)
It’s going down for real
Twenty twenty-two, let’s seal the deal
(Middle East) Is the new sex appeal
Bam, bam, this is how it feel
‘I.M’ performs second in Semi-Final 2, after Finland’s ‘Jezebel’ by The Rasmus & ‘In Corpore Sano’ by Konstrakta from Serbia. With Finland’s band being well known, and Serbia’s entry not being the conventional ESC song, could this lead to Israel being forgotten? There’s a possibility of it happening.
However there are some positives. Michael is a charismatic performer and always brings the energy to the stage when he’s singing to a crowd. Israel also usually manage to provide good staging concepts that elevate their weaker entries, so it wouldn’t be a shock if they do the same this year. They weren’t expected to qualify by many fans last year, but did make it to the final, so I don’t think Israel can be written off this year just yet.
Listen to Israel’s 2022 entry below!
What do you think of ‘I.M’? Let us know in the comments!
