A rising K-pop star from Oklahoma is the winner of the “American Song Contest.”

Tulsa native AleXa won the new NBC competition series on Monday night with her dance-pop song “Wonderland.” She performed the fairytale-themed banger throughout the show with elaborate stage production, colorful costumes, hair and makeup, and intricate dance moves that made K-pop – short for ” Korean pop” – a global sensation.

The 2015 Jenks High School graduate beat out nine other artists, including Grammy winner and Connecticut native Michael Bolton, to win the “American Song Contest.”

“Country music is definitely something that Oklahoma is well known for, but there are also bands like The All-American Rejects and Hanson that hail from Oklahoma. It’s so much more than country music, and I’m very proud to represent him,” AleXa told The Oklahoman in March.

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What is “American Song Contest?”

Conceived as America’s answer to the long-running Eurovision Song Contest, “American Song Contest” premiered March 21 on NBC, with AleXa featured as the second of 11 qualifiers for the first episode.

Hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg, “American Song Contest” traveled the country and spotlighted 56 acts: one for each of the 50 states, five U.S. territories, and Washington, D.C.

The live competition consisted of three rounds as performers competed in a series of qualifying rounds, followed by the semi-finals, which aired on April 25 and May 2, and Monday’s “live grand finale”.

Along with AleXa and Bolton, the top 10 finalists included “The Voice” Season 9 winner and Kentucky native Jordan Smith; Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and Washington contestant Allen Stone; Chloe Fredericks, Native American songwriter and candidate from North Dakota; self-taught Texas artist Grant Knoche; Alabama duo and YouTube hitmakers Ni/Co; former “Glee” and “Dancing with the Stars” performer and Coloradoan Riker Lynch; musician and Tennessee firefighter Tyler Braden; and American Samoan songwriter and reggae artist Tenelle.

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Who is the winner of the show, Alexa?

Ultimately, however, the winner of the contest was K-pop singer, dancer, and songwriter Alex Christine, known professionally as AleXa.

Born in Tulsa and raised in Jenks, she was a cheerleader for Jenks High School, took dance lessons and enjoyed riding horses growing up. In 2008, her best friend introduced her to K-pop, with boy group SHINee and female solo artist Chung Ha becoming lasting influences.

In 2018, 25-year-old AleXa moved to South Korea to pursue a career in K-pop. After winning the “Rising Legends” online talent contest – determined by nearly one million fan votes – she was one of 96 contestants chosen to appear on “Produce 48”, the UK’s most popular audition show. more competitive in Korea.

Signed to ZB, a label owned by South Korean video production company Zanybros, AleXa made her multilingual K-pop debut in 2019 with “Bomb.” The song landed at number 7 on Billboard’s worldwide digital song sales chart and grabbed over 23 million views with an action-packed music video.

A year later, AleXa won top Korean awards for her extended plays “Do Or Die” and “Decoherence.” performed the Los Angeles Dodgers’ national anthem and made her acting debut with the new Korean horror anthology sequel “Goedam 2” (aka “Urban Myths: Tooth Worms”).

As the popularity of K-pop has grown around the world, AleXa has attracted global audiences.

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Not only did she get enough votes to win NBC’s “American Song Contest,” but her song “Wonderland” has also been streamed more than 1.1 million times since the show debuted.

“I’m a proud Okie – born and bred for 21 years – so I was more than happy to represent my home country and my people for this competition. As a Korean American myself, I really wanted to represent my mom’s Korean heritage…and everything that I’ve worked for the past four years as a K-pop artist and bring that to America,” AleXa told The Oklahoman.