Out Frenching the French! Israel 2026!

Israel has chosen Noam Bettan with “Michelle”, a multilingual track performed in Hebrew, French and English.  “Michelle” lands with a romantic, nostalgic 60s flavour and a sultry edge, wrapped around the theme of letting go of a toxic relationship. 

Noam’s dark, gravelly voice gives the song bite, the chorus is ridiculously catchy, and there’s a crazy moment where the track drops back and the vocal has to carry everything. We also look at Israel’s semifinal one running order spot and why staging may be the final make-or-break factor for a serious run at the top of the leaderboard.

#eurovision #eurovisionsong contest #eurovisionpodcast #eurovisionaustralia #eurovisionfunny

Transcript

Why Politics Shapes Song Choices

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Bonjour, good, prevent, hello, and welcome back to the Dusp Podcast. Welcome back as we continue our series as we count down all the performers at Eurovision 2026 in preparation for the big show next week. Ah, and we're only up to the eyes. I should have started this so much sooner. Now we've been taking a unique look at the acts that are getting ready for Eurovision 2026. We are not here to review the live performances. We like a little bit of mystery going into the live show. What we're doing is we're having a look at what has driven countries in the last 12 months that may have had an impact on selecting the performer and the song that they've done. Does the economic, financial, political landscape shape a Eurovision choice, or is it irrelevant? This is what we hope to discover. This is what we hope to discover as we look at what is driving the countries this year. Then we take a look at the artists they have picked, their background, and our first reactions to the songs. And do we think they have a shot? This episode, we will be looking at Israel, who have selected Noam Beton singing Michelle, Michelle, Michelle. It's actually just Michelle for Israel. It will be sung in a combination of Hebrew, French, and English. Now I think this is one country. Nobody needs to go very far to do some research to find out what has been happening in Israel over the last few years. Obviously, they are engaged in a conflict in result of the 2024 attacks that happened in October 7th. The world has strong opinions on this conflict. The people of Israel have strong opinions on this conflict. As you can see, there are those that support the ongoing conflict. There are also those living in Israel who do not support the conflict. But what I do want to talk about, and I have seen it all around me, I even see it here in Australia. There, no matter where you stand on the conflict, and you have the right to support it or disagree with it, however, harassing random members of the Jewish community is not appropriate and not okay. We are seeing growing anti-Semitism around the world and attacks on members of the Jewish community. In and we've seen it even here in Australia, and it is astounding and it is senseless and it does my head in. I don't agree with the actions of Vladimir Putin in Russia, but you know what? Yelling at the middle-aged Russian woman who emigrated to Australia 25 years ago is not going to make Russia withdraw from the Ukraine. Sletvana at the shops is in no way associated with or responsible for the conflict. And yelling at her for the actions of Vladimir Putin are not only pointless but ridiculous. We had an idiot in Australia turn up to an inquiry on the growing anti-Semitism by some in Australia. On the day they were interviewing children that had been affected, so he decided to show up out the front in a swass sticker t-shirt. Really? Really? What part do you really think Australian children are playing in any kind of conflict? I look back, it's as if we have forgotten 9-11. Of course, when those attacks occur and the planes flew into the building, people were very quick to point out not all Muslims are responsible for 9-11. And some people need to be told, it seems, not all Jewish people are responsible for or involved in the current conflict. We need to just stop the mass, random hate that comes with any and every conflict. It is just the same crises running around and around and around. We just change the characters. A 10-year-old girl in Bondi is not leading the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A 71-year-old retiree in New Jersey is not leading the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Just be bloody nice to each other. Noam or Noam. Let's go with Nom. Nom was born on the 5th of March 1998 in Israel to a French family. In 2018, he came in third place on the program. Ai or Ival. In 2021, he began working on his debut album and released several successful singles. In 2022 and 2023, more singles were released as well as his debut album, including the single Bubba, which managed to reach number three on the radio charts in Israel. And he has released further singles in 2024 and 2025. However, it was in January of 2026 when Noam won the 12th season of the program Rising Star and thus become the Israeli representative for the Eurovision song contest. Now, his entry for the contest is a song called Michelle. And what's interesting is one of the co-writers for this song is Yuval Raphael, who of course was pipped at the post last year, came second at Eurovision. She is in fact co-writer of the song Michelle. Now, as much as Juval's song did grow on me, I wasn't the biggest fan. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't think it was. Look, I'm just gonna say it. I actually preferred 2024's Hurricane by Idan Golan. Look, I have to admit, I've also, you know, sort of attached that with some feelings and it's associated with the passing of my dad, so it's a hundred percent all based on feeling that and that exceptional note she does. Impeccable. Idan, of course, came fifth, Yuval second. Mind, I would switch the two of them around, but that's just me. Now, Michelle will be son in three different languages. It features French, English, and Hebrew. Now, let's have a listen. First thought is, and it's not even just because of the French language, but the sound of this song, the feel. It's not just the use of the French language, but oh my lord, is Israel almost out? Frenching the French. This has this beautiful sort of romantic nostalgia pastime from the 60s, that sort of egg and mochari, mochari, sexy 60s, sultry vibe. Now they certainly have gone a slightly different feel that they have the last couple of years. This one, even though it is him lamenting and letting go of look, a toxic relationship that just doesn't work. It is sexy, it is sultry, and mmm, the chorusy, aw, it is so catchy. Gnome actually has a dark gravelly voice. Mmm, I love it, and it is perfect for this song. Oh, he has a dark, gravelly voice, which just works for this song. I love it. Oh, and that oh, it is definitely one of the most catchiest moments that we have seen from this season so far. Oh, and it has one of those crazy brave moments that oh has to be terrifying on the live Eurovision stage. It goes quiet. There is no music, there is no fanfare, we are simply relying on the power of his voice. Oh, the pressure to get those notes impeccably right. Oh, I have to say, this one is damn good. I think this one is definitely up at the top of the list. Is this one going through? I don't think if it's semifinal one or semifinal two, it would make a difference. This would go through. It is appearing as song 10 in the running order for semifinal one. I have no doubts whatsoever. Lock this one in. Not only is it going through to the grand final, but when we get to the grand final, I think this one is going straight up to the top, to the top of the leaderboard. But again, how staging will play out for this will be a deciding factor. I was not a particular fan of the staging for Israel last year. I felt it was quite sort of, it was quite boxed in. Let's see how they go. Hopefully, they are a bit more expressive with the staging for this one. This is one of the reasons that I do love Eurovision, is sometimes you just come across a singer and you're like, hmm, I am intrigued. I want to check out the rest of their catalogue. I love his voice. I'm curious. I am gonna start a bit of a deep dive, Noam. Of course, we have to wait until we have assessed all of the songs before we make my call. But so far, with what we reviewed, this one is definitely in my top three. Let's go! Join us for our next episode where we are going to take a deep, delicious drive straight into the delicious bowl that is Italy.