page_title: Alexander Rybak
section_title: 2016-2017
hierarchical_section_title: Alexander Rybak / Career / 2016-2017
caption_attribution_description: English: Alexander Rybak during the Eurovision Song Contest 2016&#160;in Stockholm. (Help translate this text)
context_page_description: Alexander Igorevich Rybak or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak, is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist and actor.
  Though based in Oslo, Rybak extensively worked on television programmes and on tours in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Sweden throughout the early 2010s. Singing in mainly English and Russian, Rybak, in his early twenties, held on to a teen idol status in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and to a certain extent in Western Asia. His debut album, Fairytales, charted in the top 20 in nine European countries, including a top position in Norway and Russia. After two pop albums in 2009 and 2010, Rybak desired to be more of a family-orientated artist, focusing on children's and classical music alongside and frequently performed 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.
context_section_description: 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 satirising 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 with re-releasing former singles such as his debut single "Foolin'" and "5 To 7 Years". Next to that, he held several concert 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 the 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.
caption: Rybak performing in the interval act of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016
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