'Music is more than love, it's what you feel'

30 competitors from around the world taking part in the "Hallelujah" singing contest tour the country and talk about their dreams and ambitions.

"Hallelujah" singing contest participants 311 (photo credit: Ben Spier )
"Hallelujah" singing contest participants 311
(photo credit: Ben Spier )
The thirty young competitors who arrived in Israel last week to take part in the "Hallelujah" singing contest may look like just another Birthright group, but for these Jews from around the world, it is a chance to make it big.
Hallelujah is a global song contest for Jews aged 16 to 26 which event organizers are hoping will establish a new musical tradition for world Jewry that will strengthen the connection among the Diaspora.
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Contestant Gustavo Guerchon from Brazil, a young medical student, says he has always had doubts about his career because of his natural draw to music. "Music is more than love, it's what you feel."
Jeana Zettler, age 19 from Philadelphia, says that it's much easier to make it in the music industry outside of the US. "If I'm saying I want to do this for the rest of my life then I think that there will be opportunities for me to come here [Israel] and maybe try and do it here."
The grand finale, which will be webcast live on JPost.com, will take place on August 25 in Ramat Hasharon in front of an audience of 3,000 people. The winner will receive an $8,000 cash prize and record a duet with an Israeli artist that will be broadcast on local radio stations and Jewish radio stations worldwide. The two will also go on a concert tour of international Jewish communities. The runner-up will receive $4,000, and the third-place finalist will win $2,000.
Click for full Jpost coverage
Click for full Jpost coverage