Harel Skaat is an Israeli singer who rose to fame in his homeland after finishing as runner-up on the talent show "Kokhav Nolad".
Born to a Yemenite-Jewish and Iraqi-Jewish household, he won a children's singing competition at age six. Throughout his youth and adolescence, he appeared in festivals and TV shows and led singing bands at home. When he had to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces, he sung with the communication band, where he met and befriended the singer-songwriter Dor Daniel. After his service, he attended Beit Zvi, a college specializing in the performing arts, where he received several prestigious scholarships and released a single.
In 2004, he participated on Kokhav Nolad, where he emerged as a fan-favorite, getting high scores throughout the season. In the finale, he sung the song "Hinenny Can" , originally sung by Yehoram Gaon, which topped the Israel Music Channel's charts. When he ended up placing second overall, it caused much controversy throughout Israel and led to a subsequent rivalry.
Nevertheless, he consistently performed in Israeli festivals, including for the ten-year anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. IN 2006, he released his self-titled debut album. Despite getting mixed reviews from critics, he ended up getting platinum status. Two years later, Skaat released a second album, Dmuyot. The IBA selected him to be Israel's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, yet due to conflicts between the broadcaster and his record company, he dropped out.
He was selected internally to represent his home country at the 2010 contest in Oslo with the song Milim, where he successfully qualified for the final and finished in 14th place.
Today, he still releases music and is a judge on HaKokhav HaBa, the former Israeli selection show. He performed during the final look segment of the 2021 Miss Universe competition in Eilat.
