The upcoming edition of Rising Star 2017 will kick off on 2 January. It was announced today by Keshet, the broadcaster which produces the show as well as the Israeli entry for the Eurovision Song Contest since 2015.

Rising Star is an artist selection and so the Israeli entry is expected to be known only after the winner will be announced. All shows are pre-recorded except for the final, which will be live. The program is broadcasted on Channel 2.

The decision on which will advance to the next stage in each show is all in the hands of the audience during the recording, and the expert jury which is made of four artists:

Harel Skaat – represented Israel in Eurovision 2010 with Milim

– represented Israel in Eurovision 2010 with Milim Keren Peles – shortlisted to represent Israel in Eurovision 2009

– shortlisted to represent Israel in Eurovision 2009 Asaf Amdurski – ex-husband of Michal Amdurski who participated in Kdam 2001 and 2005

– ex-husband of Michal Amdurski who participated in Kdam 2001 and 2005 Static & Ben-El Tavori – Israel’s currently leading pop act. Their song Barbie is the most watched Israeli videoclip on YouTube, with nearly 34M views.

The winner during the final will be decided by app voting.

Rising Star brought the Eurovision glory back to Israel, breaking a four years failure to qualify to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest; Nadav Guedj finished 9th in Vienna with Golden boy while Hovi Star took Made of stars to the 14th place in Stockholm.

Nadav Guedj singing Mirrors by Justin Timberlake in one of the Rising Star 2015 stages

It is easy to follow Rising Star on the show’s officially Facebook and Website (both in Hebrew)

Stay tuned to ESCToday for more news regarding Rising Star and Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017!