World Song Contest

The 14th edition of the World Song Contest started on April 15th 2006. 34 countries showed their interest, a number which usually led to a qualifying round. But a new rule was taken, and all countries competed in a final. It was more exciting during the live coverage with 6 countries receiving at least 100 points, but also harder for voters to decide to which songs they were going to vote.

Among the entries, one of them probably received a lot of attention. Japan made its debut in this edition, and it's always a pleasure to welcome countries from other continents than Europe or America. This led to a great first try with a thrid position. But if new countries joined, others just didn't take part. Poland and Austria were missed for the originality they usually bring to the contest.

The Eurovision Song Contest season was in its crucial week when the results were revealed. It's not a surprised that some players tried to see the popularity of some of this year's ESC participants. The final results were not really optimistic. Lordi for Finland came last and Keith Camilleri, member of the Swiss band six4one, didn't reach the top 20 for Malta.

Russia was ready for a 4th victory but Israel, which wasn't seen as a favourite by several participants, surprised everyone by taking the crown. Only two points seperated the songs, but they were enough for Shiri Maimon and Lean She'Lo Telchi to give a first victory to Israel.

* When there's a tie, the difference is made by the number of votes received by each country, or if it's not possible to decide a winner, by the number of 12 pts received (and so on untill we can make the difference)...

Shiri Maimon was born on May 17, 1981, in Haifa, Israel. From the age of four, she knew that she wanted to be a singer, even without knowing the true meaning of the word. She was an active member of her family’s ‘entertainment team’ – singing and dancing on every possible occasion. The microphone was one of her first ‘toys’ and being on stage is one of her most vivid memories of her childhood. In 1991, aged ten, Shiri had her first ‘professional’ appearance on stage when she sang a well-known song of that period in the annual children’s ‘Festigal’. During her school years Shiri was a member of Haifa’s youth ‘group’, appearing at a variety of different functions. At the same time, Shiri worked on developing her ‘stage presence’, taking guitar and keyboard lessons as well as jazz dancing. In 2000 Shiri was called up for her National Service, and was invited to join the Air Force Entertainment Group traveling the length and breadth of the country to entertain the troops. After the Army, Shiri decided to move to Eilat which is Israel’s major ‘tourist’ town and, as a result, a source of employment for many singers and dancers in the hotels and clubs. She worked there for a year as a singer and dancer. In 2003 Shiri auditioned for ‘A Star Is Born’, Israel’s version of ‘Pop Idol’. She was voted into 2nd place, gained tremendous popularity with the public, and was one of the few artists to be signed to a recording contract by Helicon Records. As a result of being ‘discovered’ through the ‘A Star Is Born’ competition, Shiri was invited to join the team of presenters of ‘Exit’, a daily television program in which she interviews people and discusses subjects that are of interest to youth. Shiri also had a lead part, singing and acting in the children’s musical ‘Mamamia’. Shiri is currently working on her first album. November 2004 saw the release of the first single – ‘Until You Understand Me’. The second single is ‘The Silence That Remains’, the song which was selected to represent Israel in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. She burst into spotlight after the contest. In September 2005, Shiri released her self titled debut album, which contains 12 tracks. Today, Shiri Maimon is one of Israel's hottest stars, as she continues to rise to greater stardom.