Yuval Raphael (; born 5 November 2000) is an Israeli singer. Having won the eleventh season of the singing competition ''

HaKokhav HaBa ''HaKokhav HaBa'' (; ) is an Israeli interactive reality singing competition, created by Keshet Media Group and broadcast on Channel 2 (from 2013 to 2017) and on Channel 12 (since 2017). It is the basis of the ''Rising Star'' franchise. The ...

'', she represented

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2025 The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 was the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Basel, Switzerland, following the country's victory at the with the song "The Code (Nemo song), The Code" by Nemo (singer), Nemo. Organised ...

with the song "

New Day Will Rise "New Day Will Rise" is the debut single by Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, written by Keren Peles and produced by . It was released on 9 March 2025 through Tedy Productions. The song represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, where it finish ...

", finishing in second place.

Biography

Raphael is the niece of businesswoman and comes from

Ra'anana Ra'anana () is an affluent city in the southern Sharon, Israel, Sharon Plain of the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel. It was founded in 1922 as an American-Jewish settlement, 1 km south of the village of Tabsur, where a ...

, Israel. She was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and grew up in

Pedaya Pedaya () is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah near Mazkeret Batya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Pedaya was founded in 1951 for Jewish immigrants from Iraq. It ...

. She spent three years of her childhood in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland. As a child, she listened to

rock bands A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

such as

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

and the

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

, and singers such as

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

and

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...

. After finishing high school, Yuval served as a checkpoint combat soldier in the

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

area with the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF). She began singing professionally in 2024. Raphael was attending the Nova Sukkot Gathering music festival in

Re'im Re'im () is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor Stream and Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Counc ...

7 October 2023 On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinians, Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 ...

, when

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

militants attacked the festival. She hid inside a Death Shelter near kibbutz

Be'eri Be'eri () is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the eastern border with the Gaza Strip, it falls under the jurisdiction of Eshkol Regional Council. In it had a population of . During the massacre in ...

with 50 other people, while sustaining shrapnel injuries from grenades thrown into the shelter. Raphael was one of 11 survivors, having hid under dead bodies for eight hours. In a speech before the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

, she described what she witnessed during the attack.

Career

On 19 November 2024, Raphael's audition for the eleventh season of , which served as the Israeli artist selection for the

, aired, where she performed "

Anyone Anyone may refer to: * Anyone (band), a band from Southern California formed in 1995 * "Anyone" (Roxette song), a 1999 song by Roxette * "Anyone" (Demi Lovato song), a 2020 song by Demi Lovato * "Anyone" (Justin Bieber song), a 2021 song by Ju ...

" and advanced to the next round with a score of 98%. She eventually progressed to the final on 22 January 2025, where she performed "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

" and " Writing's on the Wall". She dedicated her performance of the former to those killed by the Nova attack. She ranked first and was chosen to represent Israel at Eurovision, succeeding

Eden Golan Eden Golan (; ; born 5 October 2003) is an Israeli singer. Born in Israel, Golan moved with her family to Russia at age six; she began her career there by taking part in the Russian selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, and af ...

, whose appearance on the previous edition had attracted controversy as a result of her country's involvement in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. At the time of her announcement, she was living in Ra'anana. In the contest she placed first in her semifinal, and placed second overall in the Eurovision final.

Discography

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raphael, Yuval 2000 births Living people 21st-century Israeli singers 21st-century Israeli women singers Israeli expatriates in Switzerland People from Ra'anana Eurovision Song Contest entrants Survivors of terrorist attacks Israeli pop singers Israeli women pop singers