Israeli Broadcaster, IBA, has been looking at alternative options for their next Eurovision Song Contest representative after the record label dispute with Harel Ska'at and Hed Arzi seems unlikely to be resolved in time. It now seems that Maya Buskila is their first choice and could be announced as the next representative for the country as early as next week.

Although IBA has told esctoday.com on record that "no decision has yet been reached by the committee", Maya Buskila is one of the three artist that IBA have been considering for some time, as reported here by esctoday.com back in November here. She is known as a strong live performer and has a good vocal range.

Maya Buskila has been involved with an Israeli national final before, duetting with Harel Ska'at during Kdam 2005, where they performed a medley of Israeli Eurovision Song Contest songs.

She is 31 years old and made her music breakthrough in 2003 when she released the single Yesh Belibi Kinor (I have a violin in my heart). Her most successful hit to date is Halev (The Heart), written by Mirit Shem-Or and Tzvika Pik (Israel 1998, 2002, Ukraine 2003), and took part in the OGAE Song Contest of 2004.

Named singer of the year in 2005 by the israeli music channel, she performed in various musicals in Israel and had a main role in the film Yamim Shel Ahava (Days of love). In 2006 she released the single and the album called Shoveret Shtika (Breaking the silence).

You can watch Maya's 2005 Kdam interval performance with Harel Ska'at here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPlXcz-Eeno