In January, the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix started with 21 songs being presented in four semi-finals. Eight of them were left in the grand final in the Spektrum in Oslo on the eve of the 31st of January and the Norwegian audience and professional juries had the tough task to select a worthy entry from them. Two rounds of voting took place, first to whittle down the eight acts to four and then to find a winner.
Of these, Alexander Stenerud, Tone Damli Aaberge, Alexander Rybak and Publiners made the superfinal, with Alexander Rybak being the lucky one getting the most votes ultimately. His song Fairytale is seen by many experts as one of the hottest contenders to win the trophy of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest - even Greek TV stations had already featured Alexander's clip in their shows! See his entry below.
Wonder kid
Alexander Rybak was born in Minsk, Belarus on the 13th of May, 1986. He grew up at Nesodden just outside the Norwegian capital Oslo.
He has played violin and piano since he was five years old, he also composes his own music and sings.
In 2006 he won the Norwegian talentshow Kjempesjansen with his own song Foolin. Alexander has performed with one of the world's most celebrated violinists, Pinchas Zukerman, he has won Anders Jahres Culture Price and he’s been the concertmaster for Norway’s largest symphony orchestra for youths, Ung Symfoni, in Bergen.
Norway will be sixth in line to perform in the second Semi-Final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. You read more about him here.
