The (first part) of the third heat in the Israeli talent show HaKokhav HaBa gave us five qualifiers and one withdrawal. Rinat Bar shocked the audience and announced her withdrawal from the competition.
The first part of the third heat in Israel was broadcast on 14 January 2018 and consisted of two rounds: in the first round six of the remaining twelve contestants were paired in duels. From each duel, the performer with the higher score advanced to the next stage of the competition. In the second round the remaining three contestants would have had to perform one more song and the contestant with the lowest score would have got eliminated.
However, following her performance Rinat Bar announced her withdrawal from the competition. Therefore the remaining two contestants – Shay & Gilad and Riki Ben Ari – automatically qualified for the next stage without Riki Ben Ari performing. On Sunday the 21th of January, the remaining six other acts will perform in a similar show.
Results of heat 3 in Israel
Duel 1 – Rinar Bar (50%) – Howie Danao (82%)
Duel 2 – José Steinberg (82%) – Shay & Gilad (36%)
Duel 3 – Ravit Batashvili (76%) – Riki Ben Ari (56%)
Repechage – Shay & Gilad (50%), Rinat Bar (49%, withdrew), Riki Ben Ari (did not perform, but qualified)