"I finished first and then they changed the rules": The Israeli who was "robbed" in the international competition
Tom Schneider competed in Kesha's international label competition and led by thousands of votes, but then an online attack began against him, including accusations of using bots and threats against his family. In the end, the competition management changed the rules and left him out: "There was bullying there. Legally they are allowed to, but I am missing the recognition."
Tom Schneider, a musician and LGBT activist who operates as an independent artist, claims he was effectively disqualified from an international competition by Kesha Records. According to him, he finished in first place in the public vote, but a campaign was launched against him on social media that included accusations of using bots, curses, and threats due to him being Israeli.
The story began in 2025, when the record label founded by Kesha after leaving Sony opened a program to find independent artists from around the world. Schneider applied and was accepted. Later, he also participated in another competition by the company, in which artists were asked to record a version of Kesha's new song, "Origami." The winner was supposed to receive an official collaboration with the singer.
Schneider recorded his own version, which incorporated references to Tel Aviv and Israel, and called it "Tel Aviv Buddy." According to him, within a short time, he reached first place in the public vote by a margin of thousands of votes. But then, he claims, an attack began on social media.
Another contestant, he claims, published speculations that the votes for him were not authentic. From there, he says, the discourse expanded rapidly and turned into an attack that included calls to disqualify him from the competition, accusations based on him being Israeli, and threats directed also at his family members and his staff.
"I remained in first place despite everything. Precisely because of the bullying, thousands of Israelis who didn't necessarily know me before voted for me."
He and his producer contacted the competition team in real-time and warned them about the harassment and the campaign against him, but did not receive a response before the voting closed.
A few days later, Kesha Records announced that the winner would no longer be chosen by public vote, but that Kesha herself would personally choose from the top 50 contestants. Schneider claims this was a change of the rules of the game after the voting had ended, even though he says the regulations allow the company to make such changes.
Later, the list of finalists was published. Schneider was not included, while, according to him, the same contestant who attacked him did make it onto the list. Finally, a winner was chosen who, he claims, was ranked 43rd in the votes.
After the announcement, Schneider sent another letter to the record label and requested explanations. He wondered if the company chose to ignore the campaign against him and if, in practice, a situation had been created where Israelis cannot compete on equal terms.
According to him, the answer he received relied mainly on the clauses of the regulations that allow changing the competition rules and on artistic considerations. "They wrote that they were sorry if I experienced negativity, but there was no reference to the fact that I finished in first place or to what we went through," he says.
Schneider emphasizes that he is not claiming an illegal step was taken. "Legally, they can change the rules. What I am missing is the recognition of what happened. I don't expect a public statement, but that someone acknowledges the achievement and what we went through."
According to him, he does not intend to continue dealing with the affair for long. "I have a new song coming out next week. I don't want to turn this into a months-long struggle. I just want to see if there will be recognition of what happened."
