Hallelujah 2012 contestants
'Jewish Idol' performers in Israel for competition finals
Hallelujah 2012, global singing competition for Jewish youngsters, is back for second year in a row
Some 30 young participants representing Jewish communities from around the world have come to Israel in order to compete in Hallelujah 2012 the global singing competition for Jewish youngsters.
The finals will take place on Thursday August 18 in Ramat Hasharon and the jury will be headed by Yoram Gaon, Chairman of the 'Association for Fostering Israeli Music Among Jews' and Israel's top musicians.
Jewish Idol
Eitan Glickman
After practicing for months, 12 finalists selected out of 290 contestants from all around the world hit the stage as part of 2011 Hallelujah song contest
The final event will feature a live performance. In addition, the 3 first place winners will divide a sum of $14,000 among them, record a song, and carry out live performances in Jewish communities around the world.
The contest was resurrected last year after a 20 year break and will be continuing the tradition this year.
Hundreds of young participants, ages 18-30, who took part in the competition, chose to perform in either their native language or in Hebrew in front of a camera, the clips were then uploaded to YouTube.
30 finalists, representatives of communities in Uzbekistan, Australia, Uruguay, Ukraine, Argentina, USA, Brazil, Georgia, Mexico, France, Kazakhstan, Canada, and Russia arrived in Israel on July 26.
For four weeks they will travel across the country, practice for the competition with assistance from song arrangers and musicians; meet with IDF personnel in the cultural division, and with the Rimon School of music. They will then face the final event before a live audience in Ramat Hasharon.
Hallelujah 2012's finalists
The public can vote for their favorite performers on the Hallelujah 2012 global singing contest Facebook page.
The panel of judges, headed by Yoram Gaon, chairman of the 'Association for Fostering Israeli Music Among Jews' and top Israeli musician's including: Judah Eder, Natan Goshen, Dudu Fisher, Tzachi Halevi, Yoram Taharlev, DJ Skazi, Yair Shragai, Amikam Kimelman, and association director Malka Shvadron and producer Eitan Gafni.
The project is supported by the Municipality of Ramat Hasharon and the World Zionist Organization in collaboration with the Liaison Bureau, Nativ, the Education and Youth Corps of the IDF, Taglit-Birthright Israel, MASA, and Jewish radio and television stations worldwide, etc.
