NBC’s American Song Contest, the red, white and blue adaptation of the Eurovision Song Contest, is officially underway.
The format is a simple one: artists representing all 50 states, five U.S. territories and the nation’s capital perform an original song with more on-stage glitz and color than a confetti cannon.
Eight weeks on, those 56 artists will be narrowed down to just one, and the best original song in the country will be declared.
Oklahoma K-pop artist AleXa was a standout on opening night, with her performance of “Wonderland,” a number that fuses the grand spectacle of Korea’s hot genre with Latin beats.
Born in Tulsa, AleXa is no newbie. She moved to Korea in 2018, where she signed with ZB, a label owned by South Korean video production company Zanybros, and released the single “Bomb” the following year.
NBC will be keen for their new property to get away to a hot start. The long-running Eurovision is popular around the globe, drawing more than 200 million viewers annually, making it one of the biggest televised events in the world. It has also launched the careers of such superstars as ABBA, Julio Iglesias, Lordi and Celine Dion.
Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson are hosts for the new show, and producers are Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Peter Settman and Ola Melzig alongside Propagate’s Ben Silverman, Howard T. Owens and Gregory Lipstone.
Watch AleXa’s performance below.
