Each year, the European Broadcasting Union organizes a song competition known as Eurovision, where participating countries get to submit an original song to be performed live and broadcasted. The countries then get to vote to determine the winner of the competition.
The artist representing Norway this year is 18-year-old, Kyle Alessandro (Helgesen Villalobos). Kyle is a high school student from Steinkjer in Trøndelag. This is not his first time in the music scene; he has participated in music since he was a child and was even on the Norwegian TV2 program called Norske Talenter [Norwegian Talents] at 10 years old.
Kyle was afforded the opportunity to represent Norway in this year’s Eurovision contest by winning Norway’s qualifier round – Melodi Grand Prix. He went up against eight other artists and won not only the international jury’s vote, but also the popular vote. The original song Kyle performed was called “Lighter” and was written and produced by him and Adam Woods. The song is an ode to his mother and her successful battle against cancer. It was inspired after she told him to “never lose his light.” The lyrics detail fighting back after struggles and finding hope even in hard times. The chorus repeats the point that he is his own lighter.
The Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Basel, Switzerland this year on May 17, which coincidentally is also Norway’s Constitution Day. There will be 37 countries competing to win it all. Norway has won the contest three times in the past – 1985, 1995, and 2009. Perhaps the day on which the competition falls will be a good omen for Norway and Kyle Alessandro. His confidence is a morale booster as he stated after his win in Norway, “We shall win Eurovision, mark my words…I speak four languages, so we’ll mobilize all of Europe.”