Kochav Nolad - The Finale

They're down to 3 finalists on "Kochav Nolad", the Israeli version of "American Idol": Michael Kirkilon, Shir Biton, and of course, Yehuda Sa'ado.

If you ask me, these were among the worst contestants of the season.

True, I'm behind a few weeks, so I haven't yet seen the performances that shot them to the top. But I've never been thrilled with any of them.

Shir Biton sings very nicely, but there's nothing that sets her apart from all of the other females we've seen this year. Still, see easily won every contest she's been in. Why? Kasanya Zamskov, Ariella Edvi, and especially Merior Shachar are much better, in my opinion. I was very sad to see Merior go. Her smile alone could make you melt.

Michael is a recent immigrant to Israel from the Ukraine, and I wonder if he won some sympathy points for that. They even flew his little old grandmother to Israel so she could be with him during this exciting time. Yes, he can sing, but I don't think he's on par with people like Harel Moyal, who won last year.

Finally, Yehuda Sa'ado. I've never understood Israel's fascination with him. True, I'm not the world's biggest Mizrachi fan, and he sings in that style. He CLEARLY does not have the best voice, but he's definitely the favorite here. Are they voting for him because they're Mizrachi fans? Are they voting for him because he's "dati" (an observant Jew)? Or are they voting for him because he's NOT your typical "star"?

The Israeli public has spoken, but I really have to question their choices.

Anyway, the finale is on August 29th. Sa'ado has smashed the competition every time he's been involved in a vote, so I fully expect him to win it all. In any event, it should be interesting to see a Shomer Shabbat music star in Israel. It's not the kind of thing you see every day...