Alexander Rybak participant in Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Alexander Igorevich Rybak  (Russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak (Belarusian: Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist and actor.Based in Oslo, Rybak extensively worked on television programs and on tours in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe throughout the early 2010s. Performing in English, Russian and Norwegian, Rybak held on to a teen idol status in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and to a certain extent in Western Asia in his early twenties.His debut 2009 album, Fairytales, charted in the top 20 in nine European countries, including a top position in Norway and Russia. After two pop albums in Fairytales and No Boundaries (2010), Rybak switched to become a family-oriented artist, focusing on children's and classical music and frequently performing with youth orchestras throughout the world.Rybak is known for his extensive involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest. Representing Norway in the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia, he won the competition with 387 points—the highest tally any country has achieved in the history of Eurovision under the then-voting system—with "Fairytale", a song he wrote and composed. Winning at the age of 23, Rybak remains the youngest solo male winner of the contest and the only Belarusian-born winner to date. His win was celebrated throughout Europe for crushing stereotypes about the contest, such as needing an over-the-top performance or the influence of neighbour voting.Since then, Rybak has been involved several times in the contest. He represented Norway again in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "That's How You Write a Song", winning the second semi-final and finishing in 15th place in the final. He performed as an opening act for the 2010 final and as an interval act in 2012 and 2016. Rybak has frequently provided commentary on the contest, and also worked as a journalist in 2011, and as a judge on the Belgian national finals in 2016 and 2023.Eurovision 2009
Rybak won the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, with a record 387 points, singing "Fairytale", a song inspired by Norwegian folk music. The song was composed and written by Rybak and was performed 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, and, in an ESCtoday poll, he scored 71.3%, making him the favourite to get into the final.In the 2009 Norwegian national heats, Rybak achieved a clean sweep, gaining the top score from all nine voting districts and ending with a combined televoting and jury score of 747,888, while the runner-up, Tone Damli Aaberge, received a combined score of only 121,856 (out of a total population of less than 5 million)The song then 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 other participating countries. 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.2016–2017
In early 2016, Rybak was a one-off jury member in Eurosong, Belgium's selection for Eurovision 2016. Rybak also performed as a part of the interval act for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, in a musical number satirizing Eurovision songs. Shortly after that, he released his lead single "I Came To Love You", which music video was shot in Greece.
In 2016, Rybak marked his ten-year's anniversary as an artist by re-releasing former singles such as his debut single "Foolin'" and "5 To 7 Years". Next to that, he held several concerts shows under the title "Entertainer".Rybak sang "Fairytale" during the final of You Decide, the preselection of the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. That same year, Rybak teamed up with German singer and violinist Franziska Wiese and had a duet with her on his singles "Fairytale" and "Kotik", while also performing the former at the annual Schlagerboom festival.During Eurovision 2017, Rybak publicly supported Portuguese singer Salvador Sobral to win the contest. Sobral eventually won Eurovision with "Amar pelos dois", breaking Rybak's 2009 record. Rybak released his own version of the song, including self-written English lyrics. This version was later covered by others including Eurovision 2018 contestants Sennek and Ari Olafsson.
Although Rybak previously disliked the idea of returning to Eurovision, he revealed in late 2017 that he was thinking of returning to Melodi Grand Prix.
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