Alexander Rybak

Alexander Rybak

Alexander Rybak at Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Background information
Birth name Belarusian: Аляксандр Рыбак
Born 13 May 1986
Minsk, Belarusian SSR, USSR
Origin Nesodden, Akershus, Norway
Genre(s) Pop, Folk, Classical
Occupation(s) Singer, Actor, Violinist, Composer, Pianist
Instrument(s) Vocals, Violin, Piano
Years active 1991–present
Associated acts Eurovision Song Contest 2009, Frikar
Website alexanderrybak.com (http://www.alexanderrybak.com/)


Rybak after the Eurovision 2009 final in a press conference in Moscow, Russia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Alexander Rybak

Alexander Rybak at Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Background information
Birth name Belarusian: Аляксандр Рыбак
Born 13 May 1986
Minsk, Belarusian SSR, USSR
Origin Nesodden, Akershus, Norway
Genre(s) Pop, Folk, Classical
Occupation(s) Singer, Actor, Violinist, Composer, Pianist
Instrument(s) Vocals, Violin, Piano
Years active 1991–present
Associated acts Eurovision Song Contest 2009, Frikar
Website alexanderrybak.com (http://www.alexanderrybak.com/)


Rybak after the Eurovision 2009 final in a press conference in Moscow, Russia.

Alexander Rybak (Belarusian: Аляксандр Рыбак, born 13 May, 1986 in Minsk, Soviet Union) is a Norwegian violinist, singer, composer and actor. Rybak represented 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. "Fairytale" is one of the songs from Rybak's debut album Fairytales.Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early life
1.2 Professional life
1.3 Eurovision 2009
2 Discography
3 References
4 External links


Biography

Early life

Rybak was born in Minsk, which at the time was in the Belarusian SSR in the Soviet Union. When he was four years old, he and his family moved to Norway.[1] At the age of five, Rybak began to play the piano and violin. He says his favourite instrument at that time was the violin, saying: "It's the violin that has made 20 years of my life exciting."[1] His parents are Natalia Valentinovna Rybak, a classical pianist, and Igor Alexandrovich Rybak, a well-known classical violinist who performs alongside Pinchas Zukerman.[2] Alexander Rybak stated "I always liked to entertain and somehow that is my vocation".[3] He currently lives in Nesodden outside of the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

Professional life

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.[4][5] In 2004, Rybak was awarded the Anders Jahre Culture Prize.[6] In 2005, he entered the Norwegian version of Idol, reaching the semifinal. In 2006 Rybak won Kjempesjansen, a talent competition hosted by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK), with his own song Foolin' .[3] 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.[3] He also stars as Levi in the film Yohan directed by Grete Salomonsen.[7]

Eurovision 2009

Rybak won the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, Russia, with a record 387 points, singing Fairytale,[8] a song inspired by Norwegian folk music. The song was composed and written by Rybak himself[9] 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[3] and in an ESCtoday poll he scored 71.3%, making him the favourite to get into the final.[10]

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.[11]

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

Discography
2009: Fairytales