Israel's 2025 Eurovision Singer Yuval Raphael Wants Anthem 'New Day Will Rise' to Send Her Message of Hope 'All Over the
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Raphael is a survivor of the Oct. 7, 2023 Nova Festival massacre in Israel, which was part of a surprise attack in which Hamas raiders murdered more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 250 men, women and children. That assault that set off the now year-and-a-half-long war between Israel and the militant group, which the Gaza Health Ministry reports has resulted in the deaths of more than 53,000 Palestinians and the displacement of more than one million civilians. (Before talking with Billboard, per competition rules, Raphael’s team stressed that the singer could not answer questions about her escape from the Nova massacre or comment on the war in any fashion.)
The singer won her spot at Eurovision by coming out on top in Israeli reality talent show Hakohav Haba (Rising Star); her uplifting anthem, “New Day Will Rise,” is her first professional effort after a lifetime of singing in her bedroom. “In my heart I knew that it was going to happen and I used to imagine big stages… but now, doing it professionally feels like a dream come true,” she tells Billboard in a WhatsApp chat.
She sings the song in French, Hebrew and English, the latter because, she says, English is an international language she thinks will help audiences connect with the lyric. “I wanted the message to be out there and understood,” she says of the soaring track on which she sings, “New day will rise, life will go on/ Everyone cries, don’t cry alone/ Darkness will fade, all the pain will go by/ But we will stay, even if you say goodbye.”
Looking for a spot in Saturday’s (May 17) finale, Raphael says the song’s strong message of hope will connect with audiences, pointing to the chorus line about crying as the key to its emotional punch. “Crying is not a bad thing, it’s a way of expressing your emotions and letting everything out instead of keeping it inside,” she says. “And crying with someone else or someone that relates to your grief is something that is so healing… hopefully they’ll take the message of embracing each other and bringing hope to each other.”
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/israel-2025-eurovision-singer-yuval-180123297.html