Alexander Igorevich Rybak was born 13 May 1986 in Minsk, Belarus. He 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 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 2009 and 2010, Rybak desired to be more of a family-oriented artist, focusing on children’s and classical music alongside and frequently performed with youth orchestras throughout the world.
