Alessandra Watle Mele (born 5 September 2002), known

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

ously as Alessandra, is an Italian-Norwegian singer. She competed in the seventh season of in 2022, reaching the live shows. She represented

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is the upcoming 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is set to take place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, after , winner of the with the song " Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to meet the dema ...

with "

Queen of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...

", which finished in 5th place at the grand final with 268 points. Her track peaked at number one in Norway and was a top ten hit in eleven countries.

Early life and education

Mele was born on 5 September 2002 in

Pietra Ligure Pietra Ligure ( lij, A Prïa) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. It is mainly a touristic city. Pietra Ligure borders the follo ...

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chief seats ...

to an Italian father from

Albenga Albenga ( lij, Arbenga; la, Albingaunum) is a city and ''comune'' situated on the Gulf of Genoa on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Savona in Liguria, northern Italy. Albenga has the nickname of ''city of a hundred spires''. The economy is ...

and a Norwegian mother from

Stathelle Stathelle is a town in Norway in the municipality of Bamble in the county of Telemark, Norway. History Stathelle was a former municipality in Telemark. It was separated from Bamble as a municipality of its own in 1851. In 1964, the municipalities ...

, and grew up in

Cisano sul Neva Cisano sul Neva (Genoese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Located in the Val Neva, the territory of Cisano sul Neva bor ...

. At the age of twelve, she won the fifth edition of ''VB Factor'', a local talent show in the Val Bormida region. After graduating from high school in 2019, she relocated to Norway and moved in with her maternal grandparents in

Porsgrunn is a city and municipality in Telemark in the county of Vestfold og Telemark in Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. The municipality of Porsgrunn wa ...

, before moving to Lillehammer to study at the Lillehammer Institute of Music Production and Industries.

Career

2022: ''The Voice Norway''

In 2022, Mele was a participant in the seventh season of , the Norwegian version of the ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleop ...

'' franchise. After her Blind Audition, she joined the team of coach

Espen Lind Espen Lind (born 13 May 1971) is a Norwegian record producer, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is one half of the production team Espionage, and together with his long time partner Amund Bjorklund he has written and/or produced ...

. She was eliminated in the live shows.

2023: and Eurovision Song Contest

On 4 January 2023, Mele was announced as one of twenty-one artists to compete in , the Norwegian national selection for the

. She performed her entry "

" in the first semi-final on 14 January 2023, and was among the three acts from that semi-final that qualified for the final on 4 February 2023. She went on to win the competition, receiving the most points from both the public and the international jury, thereby winning the right to represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. She performed in the semi-final on 9 May 2023 and qualified for the grand final. She finished fifth in the final. Mele participated as the duet partner of the Ghost in the fourth season of ''

Maskorama ''Maskorama'' is a Norwegian reality singing competition television series based on the South Korean television series ''King of Mask Singer''. The first season premiered on Saturday, 7 November 2020 and concluded on Saturday, 12 December 2020. T ...

''.

Personal life

In an interview with ''Eurovision Fun'', Mele reported that she is

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

, with her song "Queen of Kings" representing her experiences as a bisexual woman. Mele was previously in a relationship with Ludwig Gassner.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mele, Alessandra Living people 2002 births 21st-century Italian women singers 21st-century Norwegian women singers 21st-century Norwegian singers Bisexual singers English-language singers from Italy English-language singers from Norway Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Norway Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2023 Italian emigrants to Norway Italian LGBT singers Italian bisexual women Italian bisexual musicians Italian people of Norwegian descent Melodi Grand Prix winners Norwegian LGBT singers Norwegian bisexual women Norwegian people of Italian descent People from the Province of Savona The Voice (franchise) contestants LGBT Eurovision Song Contest entrants