Hovi Star

Hovi Star
Star in 2016
Background information
Born	(1986-11-19) 19 November 1986 Haifa, Israel
Origin	Israel
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Voice Actor, Host
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2006-present
Website	hovistar.com

Hovi Sekulets during Kokhav Nolad (2009)

Hovi Star (Hebrew: חובי סטאר‎‎) is the stage name of Hovav Sekulets (Hebrew: חובב סקולץ‎‎; born in Haifa, Israel^[1] on 19 November 1986), an Israeli singer^[2] who represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016^[3] with the song "Made of Stars".^[4]

Career

Sekulets was born in Haifa. At 6, he started in music career by attending auditions for children in Israel. During his obligatory military service, star was a member of the IDF Band for three years.

In 2009, he took part in season 7 of Kokhav Nolad, the Israeli version of Idol competition broadcast from May to August 2009 as Hovi Star, and finished seventh overall. In the same year Star also took part in the "Children's Song Festival" in Israel with his self-composed song "Little boy, big boy".

The following year he was invited back to Kokhav Nolad to present 'Star Live' - a behind the scenes show about the series for online platform MAKO, and also appeared as an expert guest on 'Ha Boker Shel Keshet' to comment on the participants.

During this time he continued his music career with various releases such as "Playing dangerous" and "Boyfriend" before deciding to take a break from music for a year outside of Israel. On return to his homeland, Hovi released "W.S.I.L." and began touring with music groups and solo acts all over the world for the next three years, performing in many countries worldwide. As a songwriter, Star has composed for other Israeli singers such as Liel Kolet ("Red Lines"), Or Bar ("Sorry", "Glass Doll", "One Hug Too Many"), Megior Biton ("Girls' Night") and Barak Tamam ("Live").

He has also been a voice actor in a number of Hebrew dubbed versions of film releases, including: Lego, Inside Out, Lucky Duck, Frozen Fever, My First Dragon 2, Paddington Bear, Maya the Bee, Batman, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Nut Job, Geronimo Stilton, CJ The DJ, among others.^[5]

Eurovision Song Contest

In 2015, he took part in HaKokhav HaBa La'Eirovizion, the selection process for choosing the Israeli representative to Eurovision Song Contest winning the show's title. He represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm with the song "Made of Stars."

At Eurovision, Star performed fourth in the second semifinal on May 12 and qualified to the final in seventh place. In the Grand Final on May 14, Star performed from position #7 and finished #14 overall - seventh on the professional jury voting, receiving 12 points from Germany.

Personal life

Star is a trained hairstylist and makeup artist. He is openly gay.^[6]

In April 2016, he reportedly suffered a homophobic incident in Moscow airport while he was on a tour to promote his Eurovision entry. Star said Russian border police officers tore up his passport, laughed at him and humiliated him presumably for being gay and for his attire and makeup.^[7]

Discography

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

1. ↑ "Bio - hovistar.com". www.hovistar.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14. 
2. ↑ Mako: התעוררתי ככה בבוקר (Hebrew)
3. ↑ Paul Jordan. "Hovi Star to represent Israel in Stockholm". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 4 March 2016. 
4. ↑ Mako: יש לנו זוכה: חובי סטאר ייצג את ישראל באירוויזיון בשוודיה (Hebrew)
5. ↑ "Bio - hovistar.com". www.hovistar.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14. 
6. ↑ Gallagher, Robyn (10 April 2016). "Hovi Star at Eurovision in Concert: "I'll serve it, bitch"". Retrieved 12 April 2016. 
7. ↑ Israel Eurovision entrant ‘suffers homophobic incident at Russia airport’, Metro, 23 Apr 2016.
8. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Hovi Star". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung). 

External links

• Official website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hovi Star.

Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 to 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Artists 1970s Ilanit Kaveret Shlomo Artzi Chocolate, Menta, Mastik Ilanit Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta Gali Atari & Milk and Honey 1980s 1980 Hakol Over Habibi Avi Toledano Ofra Haza 1984 Izhar Cohen Moti Giladi & Sarai Tzuriel Lazy Bums Yardena Arazi Gili & Galit 1990s Rita Duo Datz Dafna Dekel Sarah'le Sharon & The Shiru Group 1994 Liora Galit Bell 1997 Dana International Eden 2000s PingPong Tal Sondak Sarit Hadad Lior Narkis David D'Or Shiri Maimon Eddie Butler Teapacks Bo'az Ma'uda Noa & Mira Awad 2010s Harel Skaat Dana International Izabo Moran Mazor Mei Finegold Nadav Guedj Hovi Star
Songs 1970s "Ey Sham" "Natati La Khayay" "At Ve'Ani" "Emor Shalom" "Ahava Hi Shir Lishnayim" "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" "Hallelujah" 1980s 1980 "Halayla" "Hora" "Khay" 1984 "Olé, Olé" "Yavo Yom" "Shir Habatlanim" "Ben Adam" "Derekh Hamelekh" 1990s "Shara Barkhovot" "Kan" "Ze Rak Sport" "Shiru" 1994 "Amen" "Shalom Olam" 1997 "Diva" "Yom Huledet (Happy Birthday)" 2000s "Sameach" "En Davar" "Nadlik Beyakhad Ner (Light A Candle)" "Milim La'Ahava" "Leha'amin" "HaSheket SheNish'ar" "Together We Are One" "Push the Button" "The Fire In Your Eyes" "There Must Be Another Way" 2010s "Milim" "Ding Dong" "Time" "Rak Bishvilo" "Same Heart" "Golden Boy" "Made of Stars"
(Note: Entries scored out are when Israel did not compete)