The Eurovision circus was back again to Israel tonight for the second Heat of The Next Star 2018. Twelve artists battled for the six remaining spots in the next round.

Third round completed

On Thursday night, four acts advanced from Heat 1, and this weekend 12 acts were reduced to six. The 2 nights saw six very different duels in which the higher scores advanced in the competition.

The six qualified acts are:

• Chen Aharoni
• Sarit Hativa
• Eden Meiri
• The Yamanz
• José Steinberg
• Howie Danao

Yesterday evening was characterised by the outstanding performance of Chen Aharoni, who received a total score of 81%, whilst this evening’s show saw José Steinberg receiving the highest percentage of votes with 63%.

Two wildcards selected

As well as this week’s qualifiers, along with the original 4 duel winners, 2 wildcard acts were determined who will receive a second chance in the competition.

Back in the competition are the 2 following acts: Rinat Bar and Adva Omer.

Therefore, after a long selection process, the acts bidding to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon next May are down to twelve.

The 4 judges of the Israeli 2018 national selection are:

• Static & Ben-El Tavori: Israeli musical pop group
• Keren Peles: Israeli singer-songwriter, poetess and a pianist
• Harel Skaat: Israel singer-songwriter; former representative at Eurovision 2010
• Assaf Amdursky: Israeli singer, songwriter and music producer

Which of the 12 finalists from The Next Star 2018 are your favourites? Let us know your thoughts by voting in our poll below!

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