San Marino’s first ever national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, in collaboration with 1in360, is going to take place this weekend. A total of 11 acts are going to compete to represent this microstate in Lisbon, and one of them is a very talented singer from Israel – Judah Gavra, who we had a great pleasure to speak to ahead of the show.

Judah Gavra entered the 1in360 contest with “Stay” and “In The Moonlight”, and eventually chose “Stay” as his entry for the Grand Final. We spoke to Judah about his experience in this Contest so far, about the entry he chose for himself, as well as his expectations from this contest. Check out everything he told us in this interview here:

Hi Judah! First of all, thank you for taking your time out for talking to us! You spent some time in Vienna, working on your two songs. How did the whole thing go?

We got some demos and we had to choose our two favorites. After choosing the two favorites, we started working on the final lyrics and the complete version of the songs for the acoustic shows. 

Did you make friends with any of the other contestants?

Yes. for me the best part of this experience was the friendships I created with all of the other contestants.   

How did you decide that your song in the final should be “Stay”?

For me I just had an immediate connection with “Stay”.  I connected with the lyrics and the melody more than any of the other songs the producers offered me. In my opinion “Stay” is the strongest song out of all the songs in the competition and the one with the highest chances to do well if it goes to represent San marino in Eurovision. Also, I really want to sing a good ballad this time and “Stay” is the perfect song for that. 

Two other contestants are going to be singing the same song. Do you think this might be your advantage, or maybe a disadvantage?

I don’t think it’s an advantage or disadvantage. To be honest I think it’s going to be interesting for the fans and viewers to see how each one of us took the song to a different direction and made it fit for their own style. I love my new production and arrangement for “Stay”. My producer Stefan Moessle did an amazing job creating this new and improved version for me. Can’t wait for everyone to hear it!  

What can you tell us about this song?

“Stay” is a song about someone who’s between death and life. It’s about the moment right before you have to say goodbye to someone that you really love but you’re begging for one more moment to be spent with that person. I think anyone can relate to “Stay” and the story of the song.   

How are you getting ready for the final?

Well, we’re just adding last final touches to the new and almost complete version for “Stay” and that takes a lot of work over days and nights with no sleep 🙂 Beside, my team and I working on my outfit and the staging of my act. I want to bring a full show and take the performance I gave in the acoustic show ten level higher. So buckle up and get ready for a show from me 🙂 

What are your expectations?

My expectations are to really explode and leave it all on the stage. I want to do what I know to do the best which is giving a good performance with high standards. There are lots of people that expect that from me and I can’t let them down! 

What is going to be your next step after the final, and hopefully Eurovision?

Well, like you said, I hope to win in March 3rd and represent San Marino in May in Lisbon. That’s where my energy and thoughts are. in general, next step is always to keep creating art and music. However, I learned that in this industry things can go crazy and opportunities can show themselves to you out of nowhere. Look at me, I’m competing again in another Eurovision Pre-selction and this time for San Marino. So really, you can never know.

Thank you very much for your time, and we wish you the best of luck in the Final!

Thanks for the interview Ervin, I appreciate it 🙂 

Give a listen to Judah Gavra’s version of “Stay” right here:

Also, if you would like to invest in his entry, you can do so by clicking here. And if Judah is your personal favorite in this show, make sure you cast your vote for him in our poll here: