Eurovision 2023 Norway profile: 'Queen of Kings' by Alessandra Mele

Photo credit: Ulrik Kramer / NRK

Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest

Norway has competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 60 times since its debut in 1960 and has only been absent twice. The Scandinavian country has won three times, in 1985 with Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with Secret Garden, and 2009 with Alexander Rybak. Over its long Eurovision history Norway has finished in last place eight times, getting "null points" on four of them. Last year, Subwoofer's dance pop entry 'Give That Wolf A Banana' finished in 10th place in Turin.

2023 Entry: 'Queen of Kings' by Alessandra Mele

• Alessandra will compete in the first half of semi-final 1.

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 3rd out of the 37 entries

• Odds to win ranking: 4th

(Rankings as of March 28, 2023)

About the artist

Alessandra Watle Mele was born on September 2, 2002, in Pietra Ligure, a commune 59 kilometres southwest of Genoa, the capital of the Liguria region, to an Italian father from Albenga, Liguria and a Norwegian mother from Stathelle, Telemark.

She grew up in Cisano sul Neva until she finished high school in 2021 when she decided to move to Norway because she wanted to get closer to her Norwegian family and further develop her interest in music.

From a very young age, she began singing, dancing, and cooking with her mother to the sound of Frank Sinatra. She took part in her first singing competition when she was 6 years old which she won with ABBA’s classic song 'Dancing Queen'. At the age of 12, she won the fifth edition of VB Factor, a local talent show in the Val Bormida region.

She always loved singing and she made herself known in the area with some concerts together with her piano teacher Alessandro Collina, with whom she has been studying for six years. In addition to the piano, in the last three years, she has studied singing at the Nati da un Sogno Academy with vocal coach Debora Tamagnini. Tamagnini said that Mele was a real talent with a unique voice and she wished her to reach the top. She also began attending the Lillehammer Institute of Music Production and Industries, a private music college in Lillehammer, where she loves making music. She competed in the seventh season of 'The Voice – Norges beste stemme', but was eliminated in the live shows.

Photo credit: Marius Sørgjerd

About the song

'Queen Of Kings' was written at a song-writing camp in the fall of 2022. The music and lyrics were composed by Alessandra, Henning Olerud, Linda Dale and Stanley Ferdinandez.

According to Alessandra, her Eurovision entry is based on her own life and her experiences as a bisexual. She said that in the past, she felt several times that she had not been able to be completely herself. She also said that she wanted to use her music to work for openness around sexuality and diversity, hoping that others would also use her musical works as a stepping stone towards coming out of the closet or overcoming other challenges.

How Alessandra was selected for Eurovision

Photo credit: NKR

Alessandra won the Melodi Grand Prix 2023 competition which earned her spot to represent Norway at Eurovision. She, along with 2020 entrant Ulrikke Brandstorp, was one of the favourites to win. Alessandra came top with 6 out of the 10 international juries voting, and also topped the public televote.

Norway will open semi-final 1 on May 9 (European time) in Liverpool.

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