"Is this really the best song the committee heard???" wrote musician and radio host Noy Alooshe, one of the song's vocal critics. Now, the question shifts to the Eurovision community, its bloggers and fans.
Before the song's release, Israel was ranked seventh on betting sites. Now that it has been premiered, it has climbed to third place, trailing Sweden and Austria. While rankings remain fluid, as not all songs have been revealed, the rise suggests confidence in Israel’s entry.
However major betting site EurovisionWorld saw the song receive a 3.7-star user rating — lower than the Netherlands’ 4.6 stars (ranked fifth) and Sweden’s 4.5 stars (ranked first).
“Yet through everything she and her friends went through and still suffer from, this song is now her anthem. Wow. Yuval and this song are now going to represent her country in Eurovision. I just saw this video and heard her voice and these lyrics and it was truly moved. I decided to share it as I have a feeling it doesn’t just represent her but so many of the kids who I’ve had the honor of meeting and getting to know over these last few years.
“It’s the spirit of Yuval and this song that is so inspiring. In the face of loss and pain and despair, she and her friends have chosen to rise again and dance again and love again. That is the spirit of Nova. That is the spirit of the Israelis. Great job Yuval. Amazing song. Good luck.”
As expected, YouTube has been flooded with reaction videos to the song. Some creators referenced last year’s boycott by certain content creators who refused to cover Israel.
"Israel doesn’t make things easy for us. I don’t need to say much — we know Yuval can sing. This is a powerful song with a strong melody. I love the multilingual approach and how she delivers it — bravo, Israel," Eurovision blogger Henrik Larsson noted.
“This could reach the top five. I don’t think they’ll win because people still have mixed opinions about Israel, but they’ll go far. I can't wait to hear this live. Yuval Raphael is stunning — this is how you do a ballad. Quality."
In another reaction, blogger KJ Avelino said: "I love it. Great song, great message, great vocals."
Blogger Pedro Rivas echoed: "This song carries such a powerful message," but added that in Oslo he sees only Palestinian flags at protests with no Israeli flags in sight.
"This is the world we live in. We can change only so much but it’s frustrating to hear this beautiful song, something so special she’s doing for those she lost and for all Israelis who lost loved ones, while the world looks away," Rivas wrote. He predicted that Israel wouldn’t win for political reasons but noted there are "better songs this year."
The BeansX21 YouTube channel praised the song’s message, language mix and the phrase "New day will rise" but said it doesn’t stand out much, calling it a "Hurricane 2.0" — another powerful ballad likely to reach the top 10 but not the most memorable.
The song’s official Eurovision video had garnered 230,000 views within 12 hours. Portugal’s entry released the same day, had 172,000, while Sweden’s — considered the frontrunner — had surpassed 800,000.
