Only 2 nights on from its opening show this season and we’re back in Israel this evening for the second show of their Eurovision national selection for 2018, The Next Star.

Tonight sees the second instalment of the Israeli national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, The Next Star.

Known as HaKokhav HaBa throughout the country, this evening will see another set of artists auditioning in the hope of qualifying to the next stage of the competition.

A short teaser was released via the official Next Star Facebook page this morning, with a small glimpse at an opening introduction of an already-known artist within the Eurovision world. Recognise this familiar face?

How to watch

The Next Star 2018 will air this evening at 20:00 CET (21:00 local time) on the following channels:

• Keshet 12
• Live webcast via mako.co.il

The show

Assi Azar and Rotem Sela returns as hosts of tonight’s show, in which a further selection of acts will compete for the votes of both the public and judges, looking to advance through to the upcoming stages of the contest.

This year’s Next Star judging panels consists of the following 4 members:

• 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

With the judging panel each having a 10% say in the final outcome of the artist’s audition, each bidding act will need to receive at least 70% of the ‘Yes’ vote in order to advance in the competition.

This year sees a new twist in The Next Star, meaning that if an artist fails to reach 70% of the ‘Yes’ vote by the end of their performance, the 2 hosts will have the right to save that artist and put them through to the next stage of the selection.

The Next Star 2018 will continue next Tuesday on the 7 November at 20:00 CET (21:00 local time).

Israel at Eurovision 2017

Last year saw Israel’s third artist selected via The Next Star representing their nation at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.

Winning the selection was Imri, who went on to fly to the host city of Kyiv and compete with his entry I feel alive.

Qualifying from the second semi-final, Israel received a total of 39 points in the Grand Final of the contest, finishing in 23rd position.

Will you be watching the second night of The Next Star this evening? Who would you like to see competing in the competition?