Former Israeli Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai gives advice to Noa Kirel, says winning isn’t everything

“The performance will stay with you for the rest of your life.” Netta Barzilai, who won 2018 Eurovision, gives advice to Israel’s 2023 nominee, Noa Kirel.

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

Israeli singer Netta Barzilai, who won the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, told Ynet she spoke to Israel’s representative in this year’s singing competition, pop singer Noa Kirel, and told her not to focus all her energy on taking home the trophy.

“I told her, ‘winning Eurovision is not the most important thing,’” said Barzilai, who won competition with her song Toy. “This performance will stay with you for the rest of your life.”

The 30-year-old added that she told Kirel, 22, to pay more attention to her performance in terms of “how much energy you manage to bring, how much intimacy you manage to create with yourself and with the audience, and how much of your character you manage to infuse into this moment.”

“Winning is made up of a thousand and one things, like political timing,” Barzilai continued to say. “The Eurovision is just one of the many wonderful things you’ll do. Life is built on highs and lows. Our careers are a crazy roller coaster ride. If it’s all highs all the time, it will be boring as hell.”

Kirel’s first performance in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, the United Kingdom, will take place on Tuesday night during the semi-finals. She will sing her new English-language song Unicorn, which Barzilai praised as a “very powerful song.”

“And Noa is an amazing performer,” the Bassa Sababa further told Ynet. “I’m looking forward to her performance, to see what she will do on stage and how it will look.”

The grand finals of the Eurovision Song Contest will take place on May 13 and Barzilai will perform a new song as a guest artist alongside musicians from other countries.

EurovisionEurovision Song ContestNetta BarzilaiNoa Kirel