"Wonderland" is a song by Korean-American singer

AleXa Alexa may refer to: Technology *Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant developed by Amazon * Alexa Internet, a defunct website ranking and traffic analysis service * Arri Alexa, a digital motion picture camera People * Alexa (name), a given name a ...

. It was released on March 21, 2022, by Atlantic Records and was written by

Andreas Carlsson Andreas Carlsson (; born 3 April 1973) is a Swedish music producer and pop songwriter. Biography Carlsson was part of the Cheiron Studios team until the studio was closed down in 2000. In January 2001, former Cheiron-members Andreas Carlsson, K ...

, Bekuh Boom, Ellen Berg, and

Cazzi Opeia Moa Anna Maria Carlebecker (born 10 November 1988), better known by her stage name Cazzi Opeia is a Swedish DJ, artist, singer and songwriter. Life and career 1988–2015: Early life and career beginnings Moa Anna "Cazzi Opeia" Carlebecker w ...

, as well as Albin Nordqvist who produced the song. The single became available to pre-save on March 19, 2022. The single represented the state Oklahoma in the inaugural competition of '' American Song Contest 2022'', where it won first place. After the complete line-up of songs was announced, "Wonderland" was the bookmakers' favorite to win the competition because of the anticipation of a K-pop artist participating in an American contest, and remained so until the end of the contest. As part of AleXa's reward for winning, she was slated to perform at the

2022 Billboard Music Awards The 2022 ''Billboard'' Music Awards were held on May 15, 2022, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Hosted by Sean "Diddy" Combs, the show aired live on NBC and was also available for streaming on Peacock. Nominations across 62 categor ...

on May 15, 2022, becoming the second artist to do so, after

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-pr ...

. AleXa, however, only presented at the award ceremony. iHeartRadio also pledged to play her winning song all summer.

Background

''American Song Contest'', which premiered March 21, 2022, was hosted by

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

and Snoop Dogg. Contestants representing the

50 states The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district ( Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and various minor islands. Both the states and the United ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and five

US territories Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...

performed original songs in the qualifying rounds, and a combination of jury ranking and audience voting determined the artists which would advance to the semi-finals and the finals. It is a counterpart of '' Eurovision Song Contest'', which is also organized by EBU. The grand finale took place on May 10, 2022, and AleXa became the first winner of ''American Song Contest''. She earned 656 points in the televote and secured the top spot with 710 points in total.

Composition

"Wonderland" is a dance-pop song that contains a message about "perfect love that exists only in imagination and not in reality". The song was written by Albin Nordqvist,

, Bekuh Boom, Ellen Berg, and

. "Wonderland" was composed in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 100 beats per minute. Choreography was provided by Ryan Ramirez and House of Sam (HOS). The song’s lyrics contain ''Alice in Wonderland'' allusions and the stage performance took place on a checkered floor with "trippy" imagery and choreography. Throughout the competition, AleXa performed "Wonderland" in a series of elaborate outfits (with the finale performance being the Red Queen's theme), with colorful stage productions and intricate choreography. In all three performances, AleXa fell from the top of a staircase.

Promotions

AleXa appeared on ''

Simply K-Pop ''Simply K-Pop'' (; also known as ''Simply K-pop Con-Tour'' or ''Simply Con-tour'') is a South Korean music television program broadcast by Arirang TV. Originally called ''The M-Wave'', the show's title was changed to ''Wave K'' in 2011, and ren ...

'' on April 4, 2022. A performance video was released on her official channel, and she also appeared on Mnet Digital Studio (M2) & Studio Choom.

Track listing

* Digital download / streaming – Original # "Wonderland" – 2:44 * Digital download / streaming – (Korean version) # "Wonderland" – 2:44 * Digital download / streaming – Remixes # "Wonderland" (Stripped remix) – 2:33 # "Wonderland" (Nevada remix) – 3:02

Credits and personnel

Credits adopted from

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...

. * Albin Nordqvist – production, writing * Bekuh Boom – writing *

– writing * Ellen Berg – writing *

– writing * Sonnet – recording * Jeremie Inhaber – mixing * Daniel Rowland – mastering * Ryan Ramirez – choreography * House of Sam (HOS) – choreography

Charts

Release history

References

{{reflist 2022 singles Macaronic songs K-pop songs American dance-pop songs Culture of Tulsa, Oklahoma American Song Contest Songs written by Andreas Carlsson Songs written by Cazzi Opeia