| "Hallelujah" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byMilk and Honey | ||||
| from the album Milk & Honey With Gali | ||||
| Language | Hebrew | |||
| B-side | "Lady Sun" | |||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:27 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Composer | Kobi Oshrat | |||
| Lyricist | Shimrit Orr [he] | |||
| Producer | Shlomo Zach | |||
| Milk and Honey singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 1979 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artists |
| |||
| As | Milk and Honey | |||
| Conductor | Kobi Oshrat | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 1st | |||
| Final points | 125 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (1978) | ||||
| "Halayla" (1981) ► | ||||
| Official performance video | ||||
| "Hallelujah" onYouTube | ||||
"Hallelujah" (Hebrew:הללויה) is a song recorded by Israeli bandMilk and Honey with music composed byKobi Oshrat and Hebrew lyrics written byShimrit Orr [he]. Itrepresented Israel in theEurovision Song Contest 1979 held inJerusalem, winning the contest.
"Hallelujah" was composed byKobi Oshrat with Hebrew lyrics byShimrit Or [he].[1] In 1978, Oshrat originally submitted the song to thenational selection theIsraeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA) organized to select its song and performer for the23rd edition of theEurovision Song Contest. The song was rejected as "the selection committee did not think 'Hallelujah' was strong enough". It was also rejected by song festivals in Chile and Japan.
However, in 1979, IBA accepted the song for itsnational selection for the24th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, where it was intended to be performed by the bandHakol Over Habibi. Hakol Over Habibi, nevertheless, declined the opportunity to sing it because the lead singer Shlomit Aharon declared she did not want to go to Eurovision.[2][3]
After they decided to withdraw the song, the national final producers wantedGali Atari to perform it instead. The groupMilk and Honey was then formed especially for the national selection around Atari, giving her the company of the three male vocalists Shmulik Bilu, Reuven Gvirtz, and Yehuda Tamir, so that the group had the same number of singers and gender composition as Hakol Over Habibi.[4] The song only narrowly won the national Israeli selection with 63 points, only two more points than "Ein li ish milvadi", performed byTzvika Pick, –later internationally known as the composer of1998 Eurovision winning song "Diva"–.[5] It became theIsraeli entrant –and Milk and Honey the performers– for Eurovision.
In addition to the Hebrew original version, they recorded the song in English –with lyrics by Shimrit Orr–, French –with lyrics by Michel Jourdan and Shimrit Orr–, and German –with lyrics byFini Busch [de]–.[6]
On 31 March 1979, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at theInternational Convention Center inJerusalem hosted by IBA and broadcast live throughout the continent. Milk and Honey performed "Hallelujah" tenth on the night –entering the stage one by one rather than all together–, followingWest Germany's "Dschinghis Khan" byDschinghis Khan and precedingFrance's "Je suis l'enfant soleil" byAnne-Marie David. Kobi Oshrat conducted the event's live orchestra in the performance of the Israeli entry.[7]
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At the close of voting, it had received 125 points, placing first in a field of nineteen, winning the contest.[8] AsSpain had been leading on the penultimate round of voting, this was the first time the winning song had come from behind to clinch victory on the final vote. The last jury to vote was the Spanish one, who gave the contest to Israel, relegating "Su canción" byBetty Missiego to second position.[9]
This was the fourth occasion on which the host country had won the contest –Switzerland,Spain andLuxembourg had achieved the feat before this– and there have since been two more such occasions to date –Ireland winning once inMillstreet and once more inDublin–. The song was succeeded as contest winner in the1980 contest by "What's Another Year" byJohnny Logan forIreland.
Israel could neither host nor compete in Eurovision in 1980, which was scheduled for the same day asYom Hazikaron, Israel's Memorial Day: the festivities of the event would clash with the somber tone of the day, which is marked in Israel with memorial services, two minutes of silence, and large numbers of visitors at military and civilian cemeteries. It returned to the fold for the1981 contest with "Halayla" by Hakol Over Habibi.
On 22 August 1981, Milk and Honey[a] performed their song in the Eurovision twenty-fifth anniversary concertSongs of Europe held inMysen.[10] On 29 May 1999, in theEurovision Song Contest 1999 held in Jerusalem all the contestants performed the song after the winning reprise as a tribute to the victims of thewars in the Balkans.[11] On 22 October 2005, in the Eurovision fiftieth anniversary competitionCongratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest held inCopenhagen, Atari performed the song as part of the interval acts.[12] On 31 March 2015, in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary concertEurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits held inLondon,Anne-Marie David performed the song as part of the closing medley.[13] On 18 May 2019, in the 'Switch Song' interval act during the grand final of theEurovision Song Contest 2019 held inTel Aviv, Atari –who had refused to sing with her former Milk and Honey teammates– performed the song accompanied byConchita Wurst,Måns Zelmerlöw,Eleni Foureira, andVerka Serduchka.[14][15] The television specialEurovision: Europe Shine a Light, aired on 16 May 2020 throughout Europe, features Atari performing the song in an emptyOld City of Jerusalem as a Zoom-style sing-along with finalists of theJunior Songfestival2018 and2019.[16][17]
In 2018, to celebrate Israel's 70th year of independence, theIsraeli Ministry of Culture and Sport released an updated version of the song. This version was sung by Atari and pop superstarEden Ben Zaken and was performed in Jerusalem at the official state ceremony.[18]
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] | 15 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] | 4 |
| Finland | 1 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[21] | 1 |
| Israel (IBA) | 1 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] | 8 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] | 6 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[24] | 1 |
| Spain (Spanish Singles Chart) | 22 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] | 1 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] | 2 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[27] | 5 |
| West Germany (GfK)[28] | 11 |
The husband-and-wife singing duo ofSteve Lawrence andEydie Gorme released the song in early 1979 onWarner Brothers Records. The song was a modest hit on theadult contemporary chart, and the couple also performed it onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. They also recorded a live version which was released onApplause Records in 1982.
In 1987, Oshrat's composition was covered byMarika Gombitová,Karel Gott andJosef Laufer [cs], and recorded under the title "Hrajme píseň" ("Let's Play a Song") inCzechoslovakia. As atrio (featuring solo part performed byCzech actressVěra Galatíková), the song was presented on November 1, 1987, and with alternate lyrics byZdeněk Borovec [cs] during the pre-filmedlive showAbeceda: G+L created byČeská televize.[29][30]
There is also an undocumented Polish version by Eleni Tzoka, recorded under title "Alleluja miłość twa".
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest winners 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| English albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Soundtracks | |
| Other albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Singles | |
| B-sides | |
| Airplay singles | |
| Related articles | |
