The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the world’s largest and oldest TV shows. This year, 42 countries took part, and the final was held in Moscow on 16 May. Norway was represented by the young singer and violinist Alexander Rybak. More than one billion viewers followed the final on TV.
A love story
Alexander’s song, which he wrote himself, was inspired by his first great love. It incorporates Russian-inspired rhythms and Norwegian folk tradition, reflected in the parts he plays on the violin. Also on stage was the folk dance group Frikar.
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Alexander Rybak’s performance of Fairytale in the Norwegian finals earlier this year.
Record number of points
"12 point goes to someone I fell in love with tonight, and too bad its only a fairytale, Norway", said the lady reading out the points awarded by the Netherlands.
With a total of 387 points, Alexander not only won by a huge margin, he also beat all previous Contest records. The former record-holder was the Finnish band Lordi, which won in 2006 with 292 points.
Alexander Rybak spent the first five years of his life in Minsk, and maintains that his Belarusian background helped him to win. His music combines the best of two different worlds.
Rybak fever
On video community YouTube, various videos of Alexander's performances at the Eurovision Song Contest were viewed over 15 million times, making it one of the most viewed videos last week worldwide. It is also the seventh most watched music video in India.
Pancakes back home
On his return from Moscow, Alexander was met at the airport by thousands of cheering and singing fans. After spending some time signing autographs, he continued on to his home in Nesodden, just outside Oslo, where his mother was waiting for him with freshly made pancakes.
Alexander Rybak’s debut album will be released on 2 June and is to be launched in more than 20 countries. So we hope the fairy tale will continue.