Yuval Raphael from Israel with the title “New Day Will Rise” on stage at the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in the Arena St. Jakobshalle. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect

Yuval Raphael’s majestic performance of the song “New Day Will Rise” earned Israel second place in the famed Eurovision competition that took place over the weekend in Switzerland. Here are the five reasons why the song placed so high:

1. Raphael’s voice: Raphael was vocally flawless, beginning the song in a soft tone, and building gradually until belting out the chorus with some raspiness thrown in and perfectly navigated trills.

2. Versatility: Raphael performed the song beginning in English, going to a bit of French, and throwing in some of her native Hebrew, and sounded authentic and on point in all languages.

3. Well-Constructed Song: The lyrics were powerful beginning with “And even if you say goodbye, you’ll never go away/ you are the rainbows in my sky my colors in the grey …”

In contrast to the melancholy verse, the chorus is uplifting: “New day will rise life will go on/Everyone cries, don’t cry alone/Darkness will fade all the pain will go by/But we will stay even if you say goodbye.”

While it is understood the lyrics refer to the attack of October 7, there is no specific reference to it and the song has universal appeal to resonate with people upset about any conflict or any loss.

4. Performed With Great Poise Despite Hate From Antisemites: Even if one doesn’t like Israel, to boo or have jeers against Raphael, who survived the attack at the Nova Festival on October 7,  shows someone has no class.

CNN outdid itself, managing to show anti-Israel bias in a music article, as its writer Rob Picheta wrote that Israel was the 20th best song (despite placing second). He called Hamas a “militant” group rather than a terrorist group. Rather than give the song an iota of credit, he wrote that the song is weaker than last year’s by Eden Golan. I disagree. But the point is in his “analysis” of 26 songs by respective countries, only did Israel get such a critique that it was musically worse than the previous year. Raphael was unfazed by the haters  — she carried on amazingly despite the pressure and the harassment, and it’s a credit to what Raphael is made of.

5. Emotional Impact: A majority of the Eurovision songs were dance tracks that were instantly forgettable. Besides having a powerful voice, Raphael’s delivery made the audience feel an emotional connection. The song is easily relatable, and Raphael’s vocals made me cry. A quick look at YouTubers evaluating her song showed people from different countries all agreeing on the song’s emotional resonance and power.

Should Israel have won Eurovision? Obviously, I think so — but I also would have been surprised if there was a fair result. Austria took first place with “Wasted Love” by JJ More, which I didn’t like. The song that came in third, “Espresso Macchiato,” would have been well suited for “Saturday Night live” but not any real music competition. Ukraine’s “Bird of Pray” by Ziferblat deserved much higher than ninth place.

It was great to see Israel once again stand out for artistry, creativity, and musical excellence, and while it should have taken the top spot, second place in such a competition is extremely impressive.

The author is a writer based in New York.