And, to the dismay of boycott activists, Barzilai is also on the receiving end of love and approbation from around the globe. Just after her song “Toy” was released, a Ugandan dance troupe recorded a video of its choreography for the tune. The video for “Toy” is the most watched by far on the Eurovision YouTube channel – more than three times the views of the second-most watched song.A week ago Barzilai landed a frontpage feature story on Diario de Noticias, one of the most popular daily newspapers in Portugal. On Sunday, OUTtv, a European TV channel for the LGBT community, awarded her its 2018 OUTmusic award after an online vote. And the Israel party hosted in Lisbon this week drew thousands of Eurovision fans from around the globe.This year we're all Netta! Use this Effect to Dress-up like the most Beautiful Creaturehttps://t.co/KQdwjbCNAd#teamnetta pic.twitter.com/uEBrEXF8Xn
— כאן (@kann) May 7, 2018
“I have never been a favorite in my entire life; I have always been an underdog,” Barzilai said during an interview on the Eurovision opening event’s blue carpet on Sunday night. “And it’s embarrassing and it’s amazing to feel all the love and all the hugs – it’s amazing to see little girls and boys, when they write to me that I helped them love themselves... I show [them] how to break the rules, to show originality, to show thinking outside the box.”That feeling when #Eurovision starts tomorrow pic.twitter.com/M5Ve2sLsCr
— Netta Barzilai (@NettaBarzilai) May 7, 2018