K-pop soloist AleXa won the inaugural crown of NBC’s “Eurovision”-inspired singing competition show “American Song Contest.”
In a recent interview with NextShark prior to her finale performance, the 25-year-old shared her experience of being in the competition and what winning would mean to her.
“I’m just saying right now in American media, I hope to be, I guess, a role model eventually for somebody,” AleXa said.
The show’s 56 contestants each submitted an original song to represent a U.S. state, district or territory in a competition for the title of America’s Best Song. The grand finals narrowed the competition down to 10 competitors, whose votes were tallied in a fashion similar to “Eurovision.” Points from the 56-member professional jury were divided across 10 sections of the U.S. Designated representatives announced on air which contestants received max scores of 12 points, while other points from 10 down to 1 were also given on-screen.
Based on jury points alone, Washington’s Allen Stone initially led with 105 points for his song “A Little Bit of Both,” while AleXa, representing Oklahoma with her song “Wonderland,” sat in fifth place with 60 points.
It was thanks to the public’s votes that AleXa’s overall score skyrocketed, after she received another 656 points for a total of 710. Riker Lynch of Colorado ultimately came in second, despite being in last place based on jury votes, due to a swell of public support that gave him a total of 503 points.
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AleXa has received support from fellow K-pop artists including BM of Kard, Mamamoo’s Moonbyul, Boy group Golden Child and Eric Nam.
The Oklahoma-born singer posted to Instagram to celebrate her win.
As the winner, AleXa will have the opportunity to perform at the Billboard Music Awards on May 15 and will also have her original track “Wonderland” played on iHeartRadio throughout the summer.
During her encore, AleXa held up her trophy, only to have the top of it broken off and shattered on the ground. Co-host Kelly Clarkson rushed over to assure AleXa it was OK, and they both had a laugh over the incident.
Featured Image via @alexa_zbofficial (left), @Americansongcontest (right)
