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Alexander Rybak
Rybak after he had won Eurovision 2009
Background information
Born	(1986-05-13) 13 May 1986 (age 26) Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union
Genres	Pop, folk, classical, Baroque pop
Occupations	Singer, actor, songwriter, composer, pianist
Instruments	Vocals, violin, piano
Years active	2009–present
Associated acts	Eurovision Song Contest 2009, Frikar
Website	www.alexanderrybak.com

Alexander Igoryevich Rybak (Russian: Алекса́ндр И́горевич Рыба́к) or in Belarusian Alyaxandr Igaravich Rybak (Аляксандр І́гаравіч Рыбак), born 13 May 1986 in Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union is a Norwegian^[1] singer-composer, violinist, pianist, writer, and actor. Representing Norway in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, Rybak won the contest with 387 points—the highest tally any country has achieved in the history of Eurovision—with "Fairytale", a song he wrote and composed. His debut album, Fairytales, charted in the top 20 in nine European countries, including a No. 1 position in Norway and Russia.

Personal life[link]

Rybak was born on 13 May 1986, in Minsk, Belarus—which at that time was the Belarusian SSR in the Soviet Union. When he was 4 years old, he and his family moved to Norway.^[2] Rybak was baptized and raised in the Orthodox religion.^[3] At the age of five, Rybak began to play the piano and the violin.^[2] His parents are Natalia Valentinovna Rybak, a classical pianist, and Igor Alexandrovich Rybak, a well-known classical violinist who performs alongside Pinchas Zukerman.^[4] He stated "I always liked to entertain and somehow that is my vocation".^[5] Rybak bought a new apartment and lives now at Aker Brygge (Oslo, Norway).

In 2010, several incidents of uncontrolled anger caused commentators to question whether Rybak has an anger control problem. During the trials for the ESC 2010 finals in Bærum, Rybak became so infuriated when a sound technician was not doing what he wanted that he smashed his own hand, breaking his fingers. Also, during trials for Swedish television in June 2010, he smashed his violin on the floor. His appearance was then canceled. According to his manager, Kjell Arild Tiltnes, Rybak does not have an issue with aggression. Tiltnes stated that "as long as he abreacts on objects and on himself, I see no reason for this to be something that he needs help dealing with." Rybak said, "I never raised my voice before, and that's why I did what I did. I'm just a human being—and perhaps not the glossy image many believe. So it was good to get out frustrations so I could go on. It's only me that goes beyond the same."^[6][7]

Career[link]

Alexander at the ESC 2009

Rybak has been a student at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo since the age of 10. Due to his success in the Eurovision Song Contest, he is currently taking a break from his bachelor's degree studies at the Institute.^[8][9] In 2004, Rybak was awarded the Anders Jahre Culture Prize.^[10] In 2005, he entered the Norwegian version of Idol, Idol: Jakten på en superstjerne, reaching the semifinal. In 2006, Rybak won Kjempesjansen (“The Great Opportunity”), a talent competition hosted by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), with his own song, "Foolin".^[5] Alexander Rybak has collaborated with artists such as a-ha's lead singer Morten Harket and Arve Tellefsen. As of 2007, Rybak has played the fiddler in Oslo Nye Teater's production of Fiddler on the Roof and won the Hedda Award for this role.^[5]

Eurovision 2009[link]

Rybak won the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, with a record 387 points, singing "Fairytale",^[11] a song inspired by Norwegian folk music. The song was composed and written by Rybak^[12] and was performed together with the modern folk dance company Frikar. The song received good reviews with a score of 6 out of 6 in the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet,^[5] and, in an ESCtoday poll, he scored 71.3%, making him the favourite to get into the final.^[13]

In the Norwegian national heats, Rybak achieved a clean sweep, gaining the top score from all nine voting districts and ending with a combined televote and jury score of 747,888, while the runner up, Tone Damli Aaberge, received a combined score of 121,856 (out of a total population of less then 5 million)^[14]

The song competed in the second semi-final and won a place in the Eurovision final.

Rybak later won the Eurovision final with a landslide victory, receiving votes from all the participating countries (except Norway, which was not allowed to vote for itself). Rybak finished with a total of 387 points, breaking the previous record of 292 points scored by Lordi in 2006 and scoring 169 points more than the runner-up, Iceland.

After Eurovision, film and the first album[link]

Rybak and a dancer from Frikar, at a concert in Norway, September 2009

Rybak's first album, Fairytales, was released after his Eurovision win. Rybak also co-stars as Levi in the film Yohan directed by Grete Salomonsen, which was released in March 2010.^[15] Rybak also went on a tour in Norway with former Norwegian Eurovision winner Elisabeth Andreassen, something that had been decided before his Eurovision win and participation. He and Frikar also toured Norway and Europe in 2009. In a December 2009 performance of his hit "Fairytale" at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, held at the Oslo Spektrum, Rybak shared the stage with nine other acts.^[16] Too EMI Norway has just released a film entitled Fairytale, the movie, directed by acclaimed Norwegian director, Rune Langlo, documenting the journey of Alexander Rybak since claiming the top prize for Norway in Moscow.^[17]

In 2009, he recorded the theme song, called "I Don't Believe in Miracles / Superhero", for the Russian action movie Black Lightning produced by Timur Bekmambetov.^[18]-

[edit] 2010–present: 2nd album and Let's dance Sweden

On 30 January 2010, Rybak performed one of his new singles, "Europe Skies", in national final, Euroviisut 2010, to select the 2010 Finnish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. On 12 March 2010, Alexander Rybak performed his Eurovision 2009 winning song "Fairytale" on UK TV show Eurovision: Your Country Needs You. In April 2010, Rybak released a new song, featuring Opptur, called "Fela Igjen".^[19] Alexander released his second album on 14 June 2010, called No Boundaries. It was not as successuful as his first album, so far it has peaked at number 7 in Norway, number 8 in Sweden and 32 in Finland. On 7 January 2011, Rybak was one of twelve contestant on the next Swedish season of the dancing show Let's dance (Swedish version of television franchise Strictly come dancing), in the show Rybak danced to win the competition against other Swedish celebrities.^[20] Rybak made it to the Top 4 before being voted off on 11 March, having received the lowest scores from both juries and the voting public.^[21] In 2011 he released the album "Visa vid vindens ängar, a collaboration with Mats Paulson whom he describes as "a legend and a great friend" In 2012 he will release a new music video for his russian song "Strela Amura". http://www.facebookies.org/2011/01/05/9607/ The 30th of may he released a song together with Paula Seling called "I'll show you"

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Other songs[link]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

• Hyllet i hjembygda (Norwegian), Østlands-Posten, 18 May 2009, about the official Alexander Rybak Fanclub on Facebook
• Du kan bli med Alex til Moskva (Norwegian), Akershus Amtstidende, 15 April 2009, about the official Alexander Rybak Fanclub on Facebook

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alexander Rybak

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexander Rybak

• Official homepage
• Official Facebook Page
• Official International Fansite of Alexander Rybak
• Fan web-site of Alexander Rybak
• Alexander Rybak PR in Republic of Ireland

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Dima Bilan with "Believe"	Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009	Succeeded by Lena with "Satellite"
Preceded by Maria Haukaas Storeng with "Hold On Be Strong"	Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009	Succeeded by Didrik Solli-Tangen with "My Heart Is Yours"