Noam Bettan, Israel’s 2026 Eurovision contestant, takes a stroll across some scenic sites and goes on a journey through the country’s musical history in a charming new video just released by KAN.
Bettan, who is representing Israel with the upbeat song “Michelle,” which he will sing in Hebrew, French, and English at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna in May, was filmed for the clip dancing to excerpts from Israel’s four winning Eurovision songs, before bursting into a few bars of the 2026 song.
The clip opens with a panoramic view of the Tel Aviv coast, then zooms in on Bettan in front of a street mural that depicts Izhar Cohen, who won Israel’s first Eurovision in 1978 with the playful tune, “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” which was performed by Cohen’s group, Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta. He dances in front of the mural as the song plays. It became a worldwide hit and was recorded by artists from around the world in many languages. A Thai version was recently used on the soundtrack of HBO’s The White Lotus.
Next, the video moves to Jerusalem, and Bettan dances to “Hallelujah,” the 1979 Eurovision-winning song by the group Milk and Honey, which featured Gali Atari. Standing in front of a mural of Atari, he pretends to hand her an anemone, a flower that looms large in Israeli pop music history because of Shoshana Damari’s hit song, “Kalaniot,” Hebrew for anemones.
After that, he heads to Acre as “Diva,” the song by Dana International, the first openly transgender Eurovision contestant, who won the competition in 1998, is played. International is depicted in a wildly colorful mural, surrounded by parrots. Two elderly women jump up from their seats in a café and dance with him.
Finally, to pay homage to Israel’s fourth and most recent Eurovision win, “Toy” by Netta Barzilai in 2018, he travels to Haifa. The song plays as he stands next to a juggler in front of a mural of Barzilai, as cable cars travel above the city’s hilly skyline with the Mediterranean in the background.
At the end, he is seen outside the KAN headquarters in front of a mural of himself and sings “Michelle,” which is about a love affair that didn’t work out. Hebrew titles say, “Now it’s Noam’s turn to make history on the biggest stage in the world.”
Bettan will perform in the first Eurovision semi-final on May 12, which will be broadcast in Israel on KAN 11.
Source:
www.jpost.com
