Harel Skaat

At the finals, Skaat sang the song "Hinenny Can" (הנני כאן, "Jerusalem, Here I Am") which was originally performed by Yehoram Gaon in the 1971 movie "Any Yerushalmy" (אני ירושלמי, "I Am a Jerusalemite").

This version of the song went on to top the Israeli Music Channel's chart for a record-setting 80 days.

Moyal's surprise win "sparked heated debate in the general public in Israel" and spurred accusations of voter manipulation by some of Skaat's fans.

The allegations, which were denied by the producers of the television program, arose in part from perceived problems inherent in the voting system, which allowed for block voting and from online betting taking place before the finals.

Both Skaat and Moyal emerged from Kokhav Nolad.

A large part of Skaat's fan base has consisted of Israel's youth.

Harel Skaat (הראל סקעת, born 8 August 1981) sometimes known by the mononym Harel is an Israeli singer and songwriter.

Harel Skaat was born on 8 August 1981, in Kfar Saba, Israel, to a family of Yemenite-Jewish and Iraqi-Jewish descent.

When he was six years old, he won a national children's festival competition entitled "A Star for the Evening – Singing Big" in his hometown and while still a child he appeared in an episode of a popular Israeli television show called Parpar Nehmad (פרפר נחמד, Nice Butterfly).

Throughout his youth, he continued to appear at festivals and television shows, and at the age of 15 he was the lead singer of both the Kfar Saba city band and his high school band.

At 18, he sang with the Israel Defense Forces' Communications Corps.

Band, where he met and became friends with singer-songwriter, Dor Daniel.

He attended Beit Zvi, a college specializing in the performing arts, where he was awarded two of the university's most prestigious scholarships for his performances in school-produced musicals, including the outstanding achievement scholarship and the Sano Scholarship.

While still in college, Skaat recorded and released a single, "Ein od Si'kui" ("אין עוד סיכוי", "No More Chance"); around the same time, he competed in a televised talent show called Ha'melech Ha'ba (המלך הבא, The Next King) along with Ninet Tayeb, (who later gained fame by winning the first season of Kokhav Nolad).

Rafael Mirila won the competition, while Tayeb finished third and Skaat finished in sixth place.

In 2005, during his second year of studies at Beit Zvi, Skaat became a contestant on Kokhav Nolad after a friend signed him up without his knowledge.

He emerged as the favorite, consistently receiving praise from the show's judges for his performances, which included his rendition of "Betoch" ("בתוך", "Inside") and the Hebrew version of the French song "Je suis malade" known as "Bdidut", ("בדידות", "Loneliness"), which he sang in the semi-finals (Ricky Gal, one of the judges on the show, said of the latter performance that it left her "almost speechless" ).

On his way to the finals, Skaat received the highest votes of each stage he competed, including the semi-final round where he defeated his competitors, including eventual winner, Harel Moyal by a wide margin.

The final show generated huge viewer interest in Israel.

He won the "Singer of the Year" from the Children's Channel three times from 2005 to 2007 and in 2007, 2008, and 2010 he was ranked number one out of Israel's Top 100 Stars by the youth magazine, Maariv Lanoar.

His debut album, the self-titled Harel Skaat, was released in July 2006.

It produced five hit singles, including the romantic ballad, "Ve'at" ("ואת", "And You"), which was the number one song of the year on both of the major Israeli year-end Hebrew song charts.

The album has been certified platinum in Israel.

He followed up the album with a concert tour, which surpassed 200 concert shows, a milestone in Israeli music.

In the period between his appearance on Kokhav Nolad and the release of his first album in 2006, Skaat appeared dozens of times on Israeli television talk shows, and at televised special ceremonies and holiday events.

In early 2008, Skaat and Hed Arzi became embroiled in a year-long legal dispute.

Shortly after the dispute was resolved, he entered into a new agreement with Aroma Music and Partner Communications and recorded his second album entitled Dmuyot (דמויות, Figures).

The album was released in September 2009 and has been certified gold in Israel.

Generally classified in the media as a pop singer, Skaat has been influenced by a wide variety of music, and his albums have featured an eclectic mix of songs, from rock to romantic ballads.

His singing and performing talents have been widely praised by critics and Israeli music industry professionals, but his albums have received only mixed reviews.

All of the songs on his official albums and EP have been sung in Hebrew, but Skaat has occasionally sung in English and French in live concerts.

In December 2009, the Israel Broadcasting Authority selected Skaat internally to be Israel's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.

He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Milim" ("מילים", "Words").

Skaat has been singing and performing in public since he was a child.

At the age of six, he won a children's song festival competition.

While still in elementary school he appeared on national television and as a teenager, he was the lead singer for both his city's and high school's bands.

During his mandatory duty with the Israeli Defense Forces, he sang in the Communication Corps Band.

Skaat's professional breakthrough came when he was a contestant on the second season of Kochav Nolad ("כוכב נולד", "A Star is Born"), a reality competition television show similar in format to American Idol, and finished in second place.

After the show ended, he signed a recording contract with Hed Arzi, one of the largest music companies in Israel.

The contest was held in Oslo, Norway, in late May 2010 and Israel placed 14th out of 39 entries.