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Unicorn (song)

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"Unicorn"
The official cover for "Unicorn". The cover features Noa Kirel amongst a pink background. Kirel's shadow behind her displays a silhouette of a unicorn.
Single by Noa Kirel
Language
Released8 March 2023
GenrePop
Length2:51
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Yinon Yahel
Noa Kirel singles chronology
"Gone"
(2023)
"Unicorn"
(2023)
"Provocative"
(2023)
Alternative cover
The "Unicorn (Hope Version)" cover artwork. The artwork features a unicorn adorned with the Israeli flag amongst a black background.
Hope version cover
Music video
"Unicorn" on YouTube
"Unicorn" (Hope Version) on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2023 entry
Country
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Doron Medalie
  • May Sfadia
  • Yinon Yahel
  • Noa Kirel
Finals performance
Semi-final result
3rd
Semi-final points
127
Final result
3rd
Final points
362
Entry chronology
◄ "I.M" (2022)
"Hurricane" (2024) ►
Official performance video
"Unicorn" (First Semi-Final) on YouTube
"Unicorn" (Grand Final) on YouTube

"Unicorn" is a song by Israeli singer-songwriter Noa Kirel. It was written by Kirel, Doron Medalie, May Sfadia [he], and Yinon Yahel, and was released on 8 March 2023 through the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan). The song represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, where it finished in third at the final with 362 points.

The song addresses antisemitism, xenophobia, and feminism, advocating for diversity, empowerment, and Judaism. "Unicorn" was met with mixed reception. While praise was given towards Kirel's vocals, its complex musical composition, and strong message, criticism was levied against sounding too familiar to other songs and its perceived generic nature. The song enjoyed commercial success, peaking at number one in its native country of Israel and within the top ten of a further three countries.

Background and composition

[edit]

"Unicorn" is written and composed by Doron Medalie, May Sfadia [he], Yinon Yahel, and Noa Kirel.[1] Initially, when asked to accept an invitation to apply for Israel for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), Kirel declined the offer, stating that she "felt unsure" and felt "very nervous" over Kan internally selecting their participant for that year. However, after she realised the potential possibility of achieving international fame if she placed high in the contest, she accepted the offer.[2] After accepting, "Unicorn" took three days to write according to Medalie.[3]

According to Kirel, she chose the symbol of a unicorn because while mythological, it "is very strong and stands with its horn outward to anyone coming — and I see [Israel] as such a strong country. There’s something so innocent and pure about a unicorn, that in this period, we had to choose something that exists only in fairytales".[4] Kirel later stated that the lyrics were meant to dissipate Israel's "negative image within much of the international community."[5] The song advocates for female empowerment[6] and Judaism, with Kirel stating that she wanted to put Judaism "in the forefront [of the song], but with class."[7] In later interviews, Kirel also declared that the song advocated for "diversity and acceptance of others", denouncing xenophobia and antisemitism.[8][9] She also has stated that the song supports one to follow their own passions.[10]

In separate interviews, Medalie stated that he wrote the song to appeal to appease old and newer Eurovision fans, stating that the orchestral arrangement within the song "combines new worlds with old ones." He later added that "there are also Jewish elements that were incorporated through violins, even if it's only for us and only we will understand."[3] Medalie also expressed in a controversial statement that he wanted to create a newer narrative of Israel, stating, "Our whole case in the world is that we are hated... there was a Holocaust, but it was 75-80 years ago, we can move forward to a new narrative. It's terribly boring."[11]

The title of the song, "Unicorn", was revealed on 17 January 2023.[12] Before its release, a snippet of the song was leaked on 1 March and spread on WhatsApp and Telegram channels.[13] "Unicorn" was officially released on 8 March, correlating with International Women's Day. It premiered on Kan 11 during a special Eurovision broadcast hosted by Maya Wertheimer at the Dan Eilat Hotel.[14][15]

Music video and promotion

[edit]

Along with the song's release, an accompanying music video directed by Indy Hait [he] was released on the same day. The video was primarily recorded in Poland to better accommodate Hait, who lived in Kyiv.[7] In an interview with Kan, Hait stated that the video was intended to be an "inspiration" towards all members of society despite their differences.[16] Within the video, Kirel is shown scaling an upside-down ceiling compared to an orchestra, changes outfits numerous times, performs dance routines, and is briefly shown as a centaur.[17][18]

Promotion

[edit]
refer to caption
Kirel, Isaac Herzog, and Michal Herzog performing the "Unicorn" gesture in Israeli government publicity photos.

Kirel participated in a variety of promotions to promote "Unicorn" before the Eurovision Song Contest. Before its release, on 2 March 2023, Kan released a television teaser promoting the song and its release.[19] On the same day, Kirel launched the promotion of a TikTok dance challenge.[20] On 21 April, Kirel made a one-off appearance at an OGAE Israel fan event.[21] Six days later, Kirel made a press appearance with Isaac Herzog and Michal Herzog, the Israeli president and the first lady of Israel, respectively.[22] The day before the 2023 Eurovision grand final, Kirel released a remixed version of "Unicorn" made by Israeli DJ Rotem Mansano, a victim of the Dizengoff Center suicide bombing, to honor him and Mansano's friend who died in the attack.[23]

Numerous promotions spurred by Israeli companies and branches of international companies were made in the months leading into Eurovision. El Al, the flag carrier of Israel, offered to fly Kirel on a direct flight to Liverpool, in the process also changing their logo for the occasion.[24] El Al later partnered with Kirel's team and the British and Ukrainian embassies in Israel to host a Eurovision Gala on 20 April, with the gala featuring past Eurovision entrants and government officials.[25] The Israeli branch of Coca-Cola released products featuring Kirel's likeness, producing a special can with a facsimile of Kirel's signature on it. Domino's Pizza Israel the Strauss Group both released products featuring a unicorn to promote Kirel's song. The Israel Postal Company and city of Ra'anana, Kirel's hometown, changed their emblems to a unicorn to honor Kirel.[26][27]

Hope version release

[edit]

Months after the contest, on 19 November 2023, Kirel released an acoustic version of the song titled as the "Hope Version" in response to the Israel–Hamas war.[28] An accompanying music video was also released, featuring shots of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, pro-Israel demonstrations, and Israeli hostages held by Hamas. In a press statement given out by Kirel, she stated to Ynet that she "never thought that a few months later it would take on a completely different meaning", declaring that "In joy and sadness, we will stand strong against the world, together. Because that's the only way we will win."[29]

[edit]

"Unicorn" was used in a floor gymnastics routine by American gymnast Simone Biles in August 2023 at the 2023 U.S. Classic; the first meet for Biles since the 2020 Summer Olympics.[30]

Critical reception

[edit]

Israeli media and personalities

[edit]

"Unicorn" was met with mixed reactions amongst Israeli media outlets. The Jerusalem Post's Noa Feigenbaum declared the song to be a "powerful anthem for feminism and individuality", praising the song's lyrics, vocals, and message.[31] Time Out's Omri Feinstein wrote that the song had an "boldness that comes from its unconventional structure", describing the song as a "poppy and addictive pleasure."[32] Channel 13's Sam Messiah praised the song's mixture of multiple genres, comparing it to Netta Barzilai's "Toy", which won the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.[33] Israeli music critic Yossi Khersonsky [he] rated "Unicorn" four out of five stars, remarking that it had "clear musical characteristics of a universal hit. It sounds like it is made up of optimal mathematical patterns that set it up for success."[34] Channel 12's Dor Meir Moalem praised the song's musical composition, declaring that it was "not an easy song to digest, and that is already a good thing."[35] Numerous past Israeli Eurovision participants, including Gali Atari, Izhar Cohen, Moti Giladi, Lehakat Shiru, Dana International, and Michael Ben David praised the song.[36]

Haaretz's Ben Shalu gave a mixed review, stating that while the song in general was "generic", he wrote that it had a "nice flick-flack there, which touches both the almost contemporary pop of Sia and Rihanna and female power ballads from the 80s."[37] Ynet's Einav Schiff wrote that the song had "considerable shortcomings"; while he praised the song's mixture of multiple genres, he criticised the song for sounding too familiar to Loreen's "Euphoria" and David Bowie's "Life on Mars". He further went on to criticise Kirel's "lackluster" performance.[38] Maariv's Dudi Patimer wrote that while the musical production, lyrics, and melody were "invested", he also admitted that he was left "disappointed" by the song, writing that they were "no more catchy than a standard pop song in the usual homes."[39]

[edit]

In a Wiwibloggs review containing several reviews from several critics, the song was rated 6.58 out of 10 points,[40] earning 21st out of 37 songs on the site's annual ranking.[41] Another review conducted by ESC Bubble that contained reviews from a combination of readers and juries rated the song eighth out of the 15 songs in the Eurovision semi-final "Unicorn" was in.[42] ESC Beat's Doron Lahav ranked the song third overall, declaring it as "one of the catchiest songs of the year."[43] A ranking containing reviews from three BuzzFeed editors ranked the song third overall, earning a total of 24 out of a possible 30 points.[44] Vulture's Jon O'Brien ranked the song ninth overall, stating that the song traversed "dramatic neo-classical and playful tropical pop to thumping Eurohouse and frenetic K-pop over the course of three energetic minutes."[45] BBC's Mark Savage called the song "a fun distraction", comparing it to a Katy Perry song that had "one too many vodka & Red Bulls."[46] Kveller's Lior Zaltzman praised the song's lyrics, stating that they had a "camp, slightly confusing feel that many Eurovision songs have."[47]

Eurovision Song Contest

[edit]

Internal selection and songwriting process

[edit]

On 13 June 2022, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) announced their intents to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, utilising an internal selection to select its participant; the first time Kan had chosen the method since 2014.[48] A committee of ten people consisting of Ofri Gopher, Yuval Cohen, Kobi Nussbaum, Sharon Drix, Tali Katz, Tal Argaman, Yossi Gispan, Eden Darso, Avia Farchi, and Leon Feldman selected the artist out of 78 candidates. On 11 July, Kan announced that Noa Kirel had won the internal selection;[49] Kirel announced the following the day that she was still considering the invitation,[50] later stating that she felt nervous over accepting to perform in "such a big event".[51] However, by early August, Israeli media reported that Kirel accepted the offer,[52] with Kirel officially announced her intent to compete on 10 August.[53] To write Kirel's song for the contest, a songwriting camp open to Israeli songwriters was formed,[54] with Kirel being given artistic freedom from Kan. Although songwriters from other countries were invited, Kirel opted to work with an all-Israeli team to write the song.[55]

At Eurovision

[edit]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 took place at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, United Kingdom, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 9 and 11 May, and the final on 13 May 2023. During the allocation draw on 31 January 2023, Austria was drawn to compete in the first semi-final, performing in the second half of the show.[56] Kirel was later drawn to perform eighth in the semi-final, ahead of Switzerland's Remo Forrer and before Moldova's Pasha Parfeni.[57]

refer to caption
Kirel performing "Unicorn" at a Eurovision jury final.

For its Eurovision performance, Avichai Hacham was appointed as the staging director.[58] The song was altered and made longer for Eurovision to accommodate Kirel's dance routine within the performance.[2] The performance featured Kirel accompanied by five backing dancers consisting of Amit Gueta, Eden Shama, Niv Elbaz, Rephael Binyamin, and Zohar Fizitski.[59] All six performers wore Alon Livne-designed outfits,[60] with all performers wearing pink and black outfits.[61] A large, square-shaped tunnel with white light is also featured within the performance. Nearing the end of the performance, Kirel performs a near half-minute dance routine[62] where Kirel changes to a "minimalistic" outfit.[61] It was described by Ynet's Ran Boker as a "wildly expressive dance. Alternating between rapid arm and leg movements and the occasional rolling on the ground, one might say it's reminiscent of breakdancing, but with a more contemporary twist."[63] "Unicorn" finished in third, receiving 127 televoting points and securing a spot in the grand final.[64][65]

Kirel performed a repeat of her performance in the grand final on 13 May. The song was performed 23rd in the final, after Lithuania's Monika Linkytė and before Slovenia's Joker Out.[66] After the results were announced, Kirel finished in fifth with 362 points, with a split score of 177 jury points and 198 televoting points.[67] Regarding the former, the song received five sets of the maximum 12 points. It received a further four sets of 12 points in the public televote from three countries competing at Eurovision along with a "Rest of the World" combined vote from countries not competing at that year's Eurovision.[68][69] After the contest, Kirel made press appearances with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stated to Kirel during the appearance, "I think you should’ve won."[70] In response to her result, Kirel expressed satisfaction, particularly at the fact that Poland's jury gave the song 12 points. Kirel, who had approximately 220 relatives killed by the Nazis at Auschwitz,[71] stating that "receiving 12 points from Poland after what our people and my family have been through in the Holocaust, it's a true victory."[72] The statement drew anger from some Polish politicians, including parliament member Anna Maria Żukowska and Polish deputy foreign minister Paweł Jabłoński [pl].[73] In response to the criticism, Kirel stated that her statement was "kind of taken out of context."[74] She later accepted an offer from Jabłoński to visit Poland and to "discuss history, commemoration of the victims of [the] Holocaust and other WWII crimes, and also the future" according to Jabłoński.[75]

Track listing

[edit]

Digital download/streaming[‡ 1]

  1. "Unicorn" – 2:51

Digital download/streaming – Rotem Mansano remix[‡ 2]

  1. "Unicorn (Rotem Mansano remix)" – 3:14

Digital download/streaming – Hope version[‡ 3]

  1. "Unicorn (Hope Version)" – 3:22

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Unicorn"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[76] 43
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[77] 84
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[78] 10
Global Excl. US (Billboard)[79] 153
Greece International (IFPI)[80] 3
Iceland (Tónlistinn)[81] 7
Ireland (IRMA)[82] 37
Israel (Media Forest)[83] 1
Latvia (LAIPA)[84] 19
Lithuania (AGATA)[85] 6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[86] 74
Norway (VG-lista)[87] 30
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[88] 21
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[89] 27
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[90] 46
UK Singles (OCC)[91] 45

Release history

[edit]
Release history and format for "Unicorn"
Country Date Format(s) Version Label Ref.
Various 8 March 2023 Single track Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation [‡ 1]
12 May 2023 Rotem Mansano remix Self-released [‡ 2]
19 November 2023 Hope version [‡ 3]

References

[edit]
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Primary sources

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

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