For a while, it looked like Washington singer-songwriter Allen Stone was going to win “American Song Contest,” the U.S. adaptation of “Eurovision.”
The soulful singer had been a major contender in the competition, winning a jury vote that instantly placed him in the semifinals and then again in the finale, the Deseret News reported.
At the end of the finale Monday night, Stone was again in the lead, with 105 points from the jury.
But then the people spoke.
And if there’s anything AleXa, a 25-year-old K-pop star from Oklahoma, knows from watching “Eurovision,” it’s that fan voting can really change the game.
“I was a little nervous after the jury vote but knowing how the point system works out, I was holding hands with my mother and father, praying so hard for my dreams to come true,” AleXa, who was in fifth place after the jury vote, told Billboard.
Thanks to massive fan support, AleXa jumped from the No. 5 spot, with 60 points, all the way to No. 1 — with a whopping grand total of 710 points, Billboard reported.
“It felt like my brain exploded because my mother was holding onto my arm and she was crying and shaking and so I cried with her,” AleXa told Billboard following her win. “It was a very emotional experience.”
Who is ‘American Song Contest’ winner AleXa?
The rising K-pop artist rose through the ranks on “American Song Contest” with her electro-pop hit “Wonderland,” a song she believed could appeal to K-pop fandom and mainstream music fans alike, the Deseret News reported.
“Nowadays, K-pop is becoming such a worldwide known genre,” she previously said, according to Cinema Blend. “However, of course, like with anything in the world, there are some people that might not be aware of it. Being able to come out of Oklahoma, represent my state, and also the K-pop community, it just makes me so happy to show like the different facets and cultural diversity that America has on the whole.”
AleXa has been proud to showcase the musical diversity of Oklahoma, a state she told The Oklahoman is “so more than just country music.”
“There are bands like The All-American Rejects and Hanson as well that came from Oklahoma,” she said. “It’s so more than just country music, and I’m very proud to represent that.”
Was ‘American Song Contest’ successful?
So far, “American Song Contest” hasn’t seen the same success as its European inspiration.
The NBC show wasn’t a huge ratings success — the premiere in March drew in 2.899 million viewers, with the number of viewers dropping to a low of 1.438 million for the episode that aired on April 25, according to the website TV Series Finale.
“Eurovision,” officially “Eurovision Song Contest,” meanwhile, drew in 183 million viewers in 2021, Billboard reported.
“I am proud of what we’ve achieved with the show,” executive producer Christer Björkman, who also helped produce “Eurovision Song Contest,” told Billboard. “The production value of all the acts and the artists and the final was amazing. I’ve lived up to all of my own expectations.
“I would’ve loved for the viewing numbers to be higher, but we’ve said all along, it’s not a quick thing, this one,” he continued. “It’s different from every other show in the States and it takes a while to get used to it. So hopefully we get to do it again.”
When does ‘Eurovision’ begin?
Following the inaugural run of “American Song Contest,” “Eurovision” kicks off May 10, and is available for streaming on Peacock. Italy, the country that won last year, is hosting for the first time since 1991, according to E! Online
Earlier this year, organizers of “Eurovision Song Contest” announced that Russia would be banned from the competition in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, the Deseret News reported.
From May 10-14, viewers can catch the “Eurovision” semifinals and finals at 1 p.m. MDT, E! Online reported.