Featured image: Aura Album artwork
Kyle Alessandro’s journey these last few years has been nothing short of impressive. Previous album, Evig & Alltid, recorded in Norwegian and released in 2023, had a more conventional pop sound but latest record Aura swerves this and sees Alessandro go searching for a different sound altogether. With Aura, there is an entirely new set of eyes on Alessandro after winning Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix in 2025, capturing the hearts of Eurovision fans in the process. Since then, Alessandro has teased Aura these last few months with the releases of the album singles;‘Model’,’Rosary’,‘Backseat’ and ‘Halo’, tracks sneaking their way into festival setlist and steadily creating a wave of hype that the album wholeheartedly lives up to.
The album’s central theme is love, focusing on the youthfulness and affectionate side, without the usual censorship of the tough times which romantic records usually gloss over. It’s rambunctious and provocative throughout, with ‘Headlines’ following in the footsteps of the album’s third single ‘Backseat’ with its flirty nature. However, the seductiveness is balanced through the mellower songs on the album, like the guilt running through ‘Rosary’, where Alessandro asks for forgiveness for missing phone calls from his Spanish grandmother before her passing. What is a deeply vulnerable experience for Alessandro runs through the vocals, with the post chorus of “perdóname” (Forgive me) hitting hard, with a wave of emotions engulfing the listener. This is something Alessandro perfects across the album, the ability to capture emotions with vocals alone. In ‘Winner’, Alessandro captures that tenderness, whilst in ‘Apollo’, Alessandro’s vocals grasps tight hold of crescendoing hope as the song reaches its conclusion.
‘Halo’, which closes the album, is one of the many standout songs on the album. The lyrics “Aldri mist lyset ditt” (Never lose your light) are a mantra, something for fans to hold onto and find hope within. The motif of never losing your light is something Alessandro returns to in his Eurovision song ‘Lighter’, a hopeful and euphoric track about not letting anyone dim your light. Ending the album with ‘Halo’ allows a call back to the song which helped Alessandro gain legions of fans, whilst also building the foundation for a new era after this album cycle ends. Aura is a gem of an album which will empower you, hug you and get you dancing around during its 30 minute runtime. You’ll listen to it on repeat, with each song leaving an imprint.
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