A few months ago, Jacko Eisenberg came, alone, to auditions for "The Next Star."
Whoever was the undisputed winner in the fourth season of the show, and ended his career less than a week later, due to a bunch of unfortunate remarks, stood up solo.
"I knew where the auditions took place, and I just got to a regular audition," he says.
"I went in, and there were Yoav Tzafir and Amos Ben David, I sat down in front of them with the guitar - and they were in the market. There was a serious breakdown, and within a few minutes the room was filled with tears. I heard them already sobbing."
Were you worried before you arrived?
"I'm always scared, but it was a fear that moved. I didn't know what their reaction would be."
Preparing a song for the audition?
"Something in me said they would not ask me to sing, and they really did not ask. At the end I said to them, 'Maybe I will sing to you?'
"And they said, 'Come on.' I sang Moshe Peretz's 'Fireworks.'
And how did it end?
"In the end it didn't work out, and we parted ways."
Eisenberg burst into consciousness 15 years ago.
Less than a week after his victory in "Star Born" his career ended and he became the enemy of the people.
"I got the harshest hate reactions there are," he recalled.
"Demonstrations under the house, scratching my mom's car, physical violence on the street, endless verbal violence, canceling all shows, an album that was taken off the shelves after less than a month, made my stuff disappear from the net. Terrible posts were written about me, petitions passed between mayors and councils.
"I became a hated person in Israel, and it was impossible to stop it. I was 25 years old who in less than a week experienced two extreme situations. And it had psychological consequences."
I remember a show since then, during which tomatoes were thrown at you.
"I wish there were tomatoes. These were beer bottles and ice cubes. I was afraid a bottle would hit my head, so I stopped the show and got off the stage. I knew I wanted to go home. It was sad and scary.
"A week after the article was published, at the People of the Year ceremony, I apologized to the viewers, and according to what we agreed, I announced that I was retiring from music. It was my shortest career, and in fact I have not been able to fully rehabilitate it to this day."
For years he tried every possible reality show, and always came across a slamming door.
"I tried to get to 'Big Brother' in previous seasons and it didn't work, but this time I got a call from them that they want me."
After 40 days in the fireplace house it seems, now more than ever, that the crowd is ready to get Jacko back.
"I'm afraid to say, but I feel something good is happening," he says hesitantly.
"I feel the goal I have reached has been achieved."
What reactions have you been getting since you left?
"The amount of messages I received on my mobile is something abnormal."
What is being written to you?
"Those who did not know me tell me that they have been exposed to me and that they love me, and those who have known me apologize for what they thought of me. On the way here someone stopped the car next to me and said, 'I just want to say thank you.'"