Euro 2022 winner Alessia Russo on making history, inspiring a generation and that viral backheel goal
Alessia Russo is the real star of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The 23-year-old Italian performer, who is set to represent Italy for a fourth year, has dominated the contest at all levels, from the first few weeks to the Final. Since winning the contest in 2018 with ‘All’a’ for her mentor, Giorgia, she has performed every night and won a record 14 awards.
Although she’s had success in the music industry and on the songwriting and production side of the industry, the only career she’s not had a hand in is politics.
She became an MP in the lower house of parliament back in June and has been campaigning for better working conditions.
In short, she’s the complete opposite of any politician I’ve ever met! We recently had the chance to speak with Alessia about what drives her to be this iconic voice in the contest, where her musical journey started, which country she still longs to represent and if she plans to win the contest for a fifth time in the near future.
What did the contest mean to you as a teenager?
I grew up loving the contest but it wasn’t until the age of 13 that I started thinking about what it’s like. We always used to watch it together on television but I noticed that when you spend eight hours a day watching something, you can’t take no for an answer. I would ask my parents what they think, I got the feeling that they never watched it themselves.
It made me want to watch it more. My mum always had a pair of headphones on during the performance, she’s very creative. She is an incredible mother, she’s very creative and a very passionate person. But she did watch the show at home. She was a part of the ‘family’. She would always tell me to watch the Italian version to see how well they performed there, because I remember she didn’t like the English version. We were always