Who is Alessandra Mele? Meet the Eurovision 2023 representative from Norway

Norway celebrated the final show of the LXI edition of Melodi Grand Prix on February 4th. NRK, relying on its established pre-selection process but with some updates, sought the representative for the new Eurovision edition. After two semifinals, Alessandra Mele won the grand final of MGP 2023, achieving the highest score from both the jury and the televote. It was not surprising as her song quickly resonated with the contest fans, making it one of the favorites of the edition.

Get to Know Alessandra Mele (Eurovision 2023 Norway)

Alessandra Watle Mele is an emerging singer and songwriter born in Italy in 2002. She was raised in the Italian province of Savona by her Italian father and Norwegian mother.

Alessandra has been involved in music since she was young. She won the fifth edition of VB Factor, a local talent competition in the Italian region of Val Bormida when she was 12. In 2021, after graduating from high school, she moved first to the Norwegian city of Porsgrunn to live with her grandparents, and later to Lillehammer to study at the Institute of Music Production and Industries.

Her breakthrough came last year when Alessandra participated in the seventh season of The Voice – Norges beste stemme, the Norwegian version of The Voice. After passing the blind auditions, she joined Espen Lind’s team. Alessandra made it through the battles and the last assault, but when the live shows began, she was eliminated in the first round.

“Queen of Kings”, Her Song for Liverpool

Alessandra Mele presents her first single “Queen of Kings” for MGP 2023. The song was composed specifically for Eurovision, as it was written during the songwriting camp prior to MGP, together with Linda Dale, Henning Olerud, and Stanley Ferdinandez.

The song showcases the power of women, but also the power of all people, emphasizing how important it is to feel comfortable in one’s own skin. Alessandra wanted to reflect in the song the personal situation she faced when she had to “hide” her bisexuality in her homeland because it was not accepted by some friends and family members. Therefore, “Queen of Kings” is a statement about being true to oneself and promoting free love.

“I hope that those who are in the same struggle I have experienced can learn from it. I want everyone to be themselves, only then can you live a good life, and I hope ‘Queen of Kings’ can help with that.”

Alessandra

The song, which is already a success on Spotify, has climbed the charts in various European countries such as Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Denmark, and Estonia, with more than 25 million streams. It has also reached the top position in Spotify’s Top Viral Global playlist and has gone viral on Tik-Tok.

“Queen of Kings” Lyrics

Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest

Norway made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960 and has participated in every edition since, with the exception of 1970 and 2002. Since the introduction of semifinals in 2004, Norway has only been eliminated in this stage three times: in 2007, 2011, and 2016.

Among all its participations, Norway boasts three victories: in 1985 with the song “La det Swinge,” in 1995 with “Secret Garden,” and most recently in 2009 with “Fairytale” by Alexander Rybak. Despite these successes, the country also holds the record for receiving “zero points” the most times, specifically four times, and for finishing in last place the most times, specifically eleven times.

In the latest edition of the Eurovision Song Contest held last May in Turin, Norway finished in 10th place with a total of 182 points: 36 from the professional jury and 146 from the televote, represented by “the wolf cubs” Subwoofer.