19-year-old Lina Makhoul from Acre takes home crown of Israel's top vocalist after battling it out on season two of "The Voice."
By LAUREN IZSOLina Makhoul(photo credit: Youtube screenshot)
After battling it out for nearly three months on live television, talented contestants from The Voice Israel's second season have been competing to be crowned this year's top vocalist. This year's winner? An Arab-Israeli.19-year-old Lina Makhoul from Acre out-sang her competitors on Saturday evening's season finale, and will be awarded a record deal, as well as a scholarship to attend music school.While accepting her victory on Saturday's live television broadcast, Makhoul admitted to being a victim of racism throughout the filming of season 2 of The Voice Israel.In Makhoul's final performance, she belted out a rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, and proved her talent was deserving of a top place in this year's competition.This year's final four was entirely female: Rudy Beinsin, Dana Tzelakh, Ofir Ben Shitrit, and Makhoul. The finale consisted of two rounds, the first being a series of solos performed by final four contestants, and the second round included each finalist singing a duet with their "mentor." The "mentors", Shlomi Brakha and Yuval Banay of popular Israeli rock band Machina, Mizrachi artist Sarit Hadad, rock-star Aviv Geffen, and Shlomi Shabbat, were to help advance their team members to the final round, however only Makhoul and Ofir Ben Shitrit survived the sudden death round.Last year's winner, Kathleen Reiter, a native-Canadian, has taken tremendous steps in her career since placing first in The Voice Israel, and has recently released her first single since her victory, Klum Lo Ozer Li (Nothing Helps Me).
