Israel’s ‘Golden Boy’ Makes Eurovision Finals

By Anne Cohen May 22, 2015

For the first time in five years, Israel has made it to the Eurovision finals.

16-year-old Nadav Guedj on Saturday night in Vienna, as he battles 19 other qualifiers for the big title.

His song, “Golden Boy,” is marvelous. I wanted to hate it. Really, I tried. But in the end, the ridiculously catchy pop tones and dance moves reminiscent of Usher circa 2003 won me over.

Israel has won Eurovision three times since 1973. The last time was in 1998, when Dana International’s “Diva” blew everyone’s socks off.

This contest isn’t Guedj’s first brush with fame. The Paris-born teen was the youngest participant in Israeli reality TV show “The Next Star,” and came out the winner in its second season. Let’s hope he brings this one home.

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

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