He’s the Eurovision 2009 winner who stormed to victory in Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix on Saturday evening.

And today Alexander Rybak is riding a wave of momentum with the betting agencies, who have slashed his odds and pushed him all the way from 20th favourite last Friday to 12th favourite today.

The “That’s How You Write a Song” singer has given many Norwegian fans hope that he could surprise in Lisbon this May, and the sea of blue on Eurovision Oddschecker at the time of writing this post suggests there could be an outside chance of that happening.

Alexander’s odds are currently as low as 12/1 at Bet 365, which puts Norway well ahead of fan favourites from Finland (25/1), France (28/1) and Italy (33/1).

The same betting agency has him level with Australia’s Jessica Mauboy (12/1), and ahead of The Netherlands’ Waylon and Sweden’s Benjamin Ingrosso (both at 16/1).

@rybakofficial reprises his entry in the super final ?? #nrkmgp #eurovision

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Melodi Grand Prix  2018: Voting Results

Alexander’s rise with the bookies comes as NRK has revealed that he won the Norwegian competition in a landslide.

After all 10 acts performed, the top four advanced to a so-called “silver final”. This was based on the combination of televoting and scores from 10 international juries. Interestingly, jurors only shared their 12 points — though they assigned points from 12, 10 and 8 all the way down to 1. By concealing the overall results the public only got a hint of the international jury’s perspective.

Silver final voting (sølvfinalen)

During the silver final voting was reset to zero. The televote determined which two acts would advance to a so-called “gold duel”.

Alexander won by a huge margin, accumulating more votes than all of his competitors combined.

  1. Alexander Rybak, “That’s How You Write a Song” | 133,164 votes
  2. Rebecca, “Who We Are” |  46,260 votes
  3. Stella & Alexandra, “You Got Me” | 29, 784 votes
  4. Alexander Walmann, “Talk to the Hand” | 7,927 votes

Gold final voting (gullduell)

Alexander and Rebecca then had a sing-off, and their vote tallies continued to climb.

  1. Alexander Rybak, “That’s How You Write a Song” | 306,393 votes
  2. Rebecca, “Who We Are” | 123,504 votes

The full jury votes will not be revealed

Stig Karlsen, Director-General of Melodi Grand Prix, says that the breakdown of the international jury votes and the televotes for those who did not advance will not be revealed publicly. The idea is to keep the spotlight on the positive.

“We want MGP to be a good experience, even for those artists coming further down the results list,” he told NRK. “I think that this way of doing it can contribute positively to the recruitment of artists to MGP.”

Each jury consisted of a chairperson, who watched the dress rehearsal in Oslo and delivered the points live during the show.

This chairperson selected four additional jurors in his or her home country who also watched the dress rehearsal via a live link. Among those on the various juries were Alma, France’s Eurovision 2017 singer; Getter Jaani, Estonia’s Eurovision 2011 singer; and Sacha Jean-Baptiste, Sweden’s acclaimed choreographer. You can see the full list of international jurors and demographic information here.

Read more Norway Eurovision news

138 Comments
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Fun or ban?
Fun or ban?
6 years ago

In an ideal world, France should win, and Norway to come second! And Sweden and Israel to not make the final!

tullskoify
tullskoify
6 years ago
Reply to  Fun or ban?

France has touched me most of the songs ready for ESC, but I have not heard the songs that entered the last couple of weeks. To busy with MGP, Norways final. And seeing the result from the Norwegian voters I really think Alexander Rybak can make it again. He has his share more than enough of “dislikers” in Norway, among ESC fans and on the bloggs like Wiwibloggs. But the general public vote for him, the families that watch Eurovision.

Tinafish
6 years ago
Reply to  Fun or ban?

Yes queen on all your points apart from Norway. Its so cringe worthy Hun. Take a leaf from my cinnamon book. France, Ukraine, Denmark top 3 please. You know it makes sense xoxo

Oscillate
Oscillate
6 years ago

May not be the best song of the competition but this is way way better than the overrated Australia.

Potential top 3 finish for Rybakk!

Oscillate
Oscillate
6 years ago
Reply to  Oscillate

Australia does not deserve to be in Eurovision to start with.

Jai
Jai
6 years ago
Reply to  Oscillate

That statement there shows that you probably wouldn’t like their song regardless of what it was due to your own bias

Dew
Dew
6 years ago
Reply to  Oscillate

You’re just an Australia participation hater. Australia’s entry is so much better! Norway’s song should belong to Sesame Street!

Endless
Endless
6 years ago
Reply to  Oscillate

Australia’s is only a new version of Demi’s cheesy song last year…

Vero
Vero
6 years ago

I do not like the song! If he qualifies for the final, will be just because his fans will vote for him no matter what… lol

Roxy
Roxy
6 years ago

These public voting results woke me up and now I’m more worried. I don’t think he’s forgotten ten years after his victory. I guess the wider Eurovision audience won’t react him differently than Norwegian public did. He is far from forgotten. He is one of the most celebrated winners of after 2000 era. I myself liked his song back then and supported him. The song was a masterpiece musically but lyrics-wise, it was not as strong and was in fact very childish. However, he charmed everyone with his cuteness and his energy on the stage so the weak lyrics didn’t… Read more »

Ffs
Ffs
6 years ago

He’s aesthetically insulting and his song is hideous

MESA
MESA
6 years ago
Reply to  Ffs

Cute pic for a troll, Ffs

Fun or ban?
Fun or ban?
6 years ago
Reply to  MESA

Big like, Mesa x

PP
PP
6 years ago

Norway and Israel wili cut so many points from Czech Republic, like Moldova did last year with Italy. Israel favorite for win, my prediction 3 to 8 place in final Czech Republic favorite 2 for win, my prediction from 8 to 12 place in final Estonia favorite 3, my prediction from 8 to 12 place in final Bulgaria favorite 4, my prediction from 6 to 10 place in final Australia favorite 5, my prediction from 8 to 12 place in final Netherlands favorite 6, my prediciton from 6 to 10 place in final Sweden favorite 7, my prediciton from 1… Read more »

StannyB
StannyB
6 years ago
Reply to  PP

I think it will be mainly Sweden and Czech Republic that will take each others points bc theyre really similair songs, but there are lots of generic pop songs like this this year so i dont think any of them will finish top 5 except for perhaps Israel because its more unique and has the gimmick.

Marco Caselli
Marco Caselli
6 years ago
Reply to  PP

Iceland qualifying? Not ever gonna happen. It’s a bland, forgetfull and outdated song in the strongest semifinal.

kitty
kitty
6 years ago
Reply to  Marco Caselli

Dont ever underestimate Iceland. Their ballad is very gospel and might do well with the older audience and juries. It’s not just gay eurofans that watch ESC.

Sander
Sander
6 years ago
Reply to  kitty

If Iceland couldn’t qualify with Maria, Greta and Svala, they should definitely not qualify this year. Their last 3 entries were much better and Greta even was one of the fan favorites. The song itself is really bland. Ari’s voice is saving it, though it shouldn’t be enough to get to the final.

kitty
kitty
6 years ago
Reply to  Sander

Well, you can never know, it’s all predictions and results are unpredictable, so as i said, dont underestimate iceland nor eurovision.

Tom Marthinsen
Tom Marthinsen
6 years ago

So much hate among the ESC-fans! Eurovision is about Love and peace – right? The Norwegian people likes his song. Just deal with it. Its catchy, sing-a-long. Its fun. Just what Eurovision is about!

Linde Rottiers
Linde Rottiers
6 years ago
Reply to  Tom Marthinsen

junior eurovision or interval act…oops dejavu….. so : bottom entry

Denis
Denis
6 years ago

Of course it wont win but that’s not the point either. I can see it reaching top 10 however. It is a fun joyous song that gets elevated by Rybaks charm and stage presence. He owns that stage!
And personally I find his song better than all songs currently being in betting top 5.

Weißbrot
Weißbrot
6 years ago

Norway is in semi 2, so I’m sure he’ll qualify. He is lucky that he’s not in semi 1, otherwise we would likely have whitnessed another Dana International kinda result.

Ari
Ari
6 years ago
Reply to  Weißbrot

* natural charm

Weißbrot
Weißbrot
6 years ago
Reply to  Weißbrot

Everything you said is true! But it’s the 1st semi and all the ”favourites” (not YOUR favourites obviously) are in there and Alexander Rybak would have a hard time qualifying.

Denis
Denis
6 years ago
Reply to  Weißbrot

Not true because he sends something relative fresh that appeals to most. Dana International on the other hand sent a schlager dance song which already in 2011 was dated and on it’s way out of the contest. It wasn’t fresh and didn’t appeal to anybody but a few gay people here and there.

Weißbrot
Weißbrot
6 years ago
Reply to  Denis

Did you even read my comment? I said that I’m sure that he will qualify. I just meant, that if he WAS in the 1st semi, he wouldn’t. Not because his song is as bad as Dana’s, but because the competition is very strong.

Denis
Denis
6 years ago
Reply to  Weißbrot

I read your comment. You think it is as bad as Dana International was and that it only will qualify due to being in a weak semifinal. I wrote why it’s different from Dana International and that it would have qualified even if it changed semifinal

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago
Reply to  Weißbrot

Agreed with Catriona. @Ari Not good. Please either apologise, or get blocked.

Ari
Ari
6 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

It’s slang. And you might be overly sensitive, but you certainly are not the schoolmaster here.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago
Reply to  Ari

Is there a schoolmaster here? Because I think some of you need one. 😀
Say sorry and move on, it’s not difficult.

Ari
Ari
6 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

Never. I have nothing to be sorry for and you do not have the right to censor me. With that said, I have moved on from this conversation.

Joe
Joe
6 years ago
Reply to  Ari

@Ari You can’t just use a slur and complain about censorship. It’s a very offensive word to use about a transgender person.

Ari
Ari
6 years ago
Reply to  Ari

You see, some people are about smart moves, others are less afraid of being bold. Now, I don’t perceive it as a slur and I doubt that Dana herself would be as much of snowflake, given how she speaks about other people.

And yes, it IS censoring. Besides, who is he to give me an ultimatum? If anything, the headmaster should apologize to me for his remark.

Pavel
Pavel
6 years ago
Reply to  Weißbrot

Rybak is in the weaker Semi-final (SF2), by the way
with Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia all giving him points

Derios
Derios
6 years ago

Norway is lucky they are not in semi final 1. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

Norway calling
Norway calling
6 years ago

I wanted Rebecca to win Melodi Grand Prix, and I think her song would have been a much better choice for Lisbon. I do not like Alexander’s song, but he is a brilliant performer with a stage presence and a charisma which most of his competitors Can only dream of. Alexander really knows how to sell a mediocre song. He stands no chance of repeating his success from Moscow, but I would not be surprised if he ends up between place 10 and place 15 in the grand final.

Pavel
Pavel
6 years ago
Reply to  Norway calling

the contest is tight and there’s no clear winner so far. Elina from Estonia would have been if she had a better song.
By the way, a lot of kids voted for Rybak, the song is childish and dated, has some ”Cheesecake” for kids flashbacks, but he has the Easter Europe and Scandi votes on lock and that’s a lot of points. By the way, hype machine is on, Rybak was in almost every internet news source in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and etc.

Milla
Milla
6 years ago

I wouldn’t call Norway a winner this year . People bet on him because he’s Alexander Ryback. That’s it. But however.. this year is really an open race. Even though Israel is one of my favourites I still need to see it live. Those chicken sounds can sound completely ridicoulus live and ruin the song and turn it into a joke act. I don’t think they will allow the recorded sounds so they will have to do the chicken sounds on stage. But still a top 10 contender. Estonia is a fan wank I think. Many eurovision-fans have tastes like… Read more »

Dew
Dew
6 years ago
Reply to  Milla

Sweden is the most overrated country.

Navi
Navi
6 years ago

I dont like saying it, but this song is more than average. If it was sung by someone else not so famous it would be at the bottom. The high betting odds are because of the Rybak nostalgia

MollieLouise
MollieLouise
6 years ago

Alexander Rybak is a national treasure in Norway, of course he won by a land slide! But most viewers won’t even know who he is on the night of the semi seeing as he won almost a decade ago so these odds are nothing to go by imo 🙂

Ari
Ari
6 years ago

The song doesn’t bother me as much anymore. I’m mostly delighted for the eye candy. He’s still sexy and that’s what really matters. Unless you have a song like Molitva, then you don’t have to be sexy.

Adriana
Adriana
6 years ago

Calm down guys ,the real bets are the ones in the semifinals when the televote starts..Do not let yourselfs carried away by some silly bets.Songs from last places it would end up high mark my words,some of them.

Applereen
Applereen
6 years ago

Spanish music video: Full news
Malta music video: No news.

Oh? And where’s Israel music video?

LINDE ROTTIERS
LINDE ROTTIERS
6 years ago
Reply to  Applereen

They are very selective. That’s a fact. I already know from last year
And then they promote someone with a weak song and who does not need promotion. I’m out of here.

AM2PM
AM2PM
6 years ago
Reply to  LINDE ROTTIERS

Agreed! It’s blanket coverage on certain national finals down to the outfits that performer wears and then other countries are completely ignored.

eurofan0
eurofan0
6 years ago

The betting odds dont make sense, is Norway voting for themselves in Eurovision this year again?

Thibaud
Thibaud
6 years ago
Reply to  eurofan0

Please let the odds be wrong this year ! 🙂

Thibaud
Thibaud
6 years ago

Norway should not win this contest wich such a bad song ..
Oh and all the odds of Beglium are shortening too .. but yeah nobody cares about this country??
Lol

Harvey Skuse
Harvey Skuse
6 years ago

What about Georgia??

Danielsen
Danielsen
6 years ago
Reply to  Harvey Skuse

Reveaked today at 15:30 CET

West
West
6 years ago
Reply to  Harvey Skuse

I read that they’re revealing their song today 15:30 CET.

eurofan0
eurofan0
6 years ago

I feel like certain people here see him as a threat, which isn’t ridiculous at all lol

Music is art+vibs
Music is art+vibs
6 years ago

It seems some people habe a lot of money yo waste. This entry will not win. First, nobody is impressed by visuals and fireworks any more (on my it even causes already a negative impact). Then, i fins the lyrics quite ridiculous and the song is quite basic. The oblit positive thing aboit his entry is that he is a good performer. But even here, we have aeen seen it before.

Music is art+vibs
Music is art+vibs
6 years ago

Ohh how many typing mistakes! Sorry!

Kris
Kris
6 years ago

Oh! I remember him….. He is the most Overrated winner in the 2000s!! Only when I watched the jury vote in MGP this year I realized why he was so Overrated! He took in the two highest voting blocks – former USSR and Scandinavia…. His song even then was super dull. Ok not as dull as 2008 winner but yeah! All we need is a performer with Russian parents born and brought up in the Balkan states to represent one of the Scandinavian nations and we will have one more overrated winner. Maybe they should have greek sounds in their… Read more »

Gobio
Gobio
6 years ago

I don’t get the logic behind it, Estonia last year also had a massive televote in Eesti Laul and it crashed in the semi, it doesn’t mean a lot.

Lolita
Lolita
6 years ago

UUPDATE your news wiwi!!! Ryan from Ireland said the russians are threatening to ban his video because of gay propaganda. check his twitter

Gobio
Gobio
6 years ago
Reply to  Lolita

I don’t get the drama, it can only do him good because no many are many are watching his video.

Lolita
Lolita
6 years ago
Reply to  Gobio

it might be a publicity stunt! ryans smart lol not good for ireland if he gets caught lying though…

Ari
Ari
6 years ago
Reply to  Lolita

Can you spell “desperation”, Team Ireland?

Darren
Darren
6 years ago
Reply to  Lolita

Well you wouldn’t find any would you? You guys are hardly Interpol like.
Don’t shy away guys, just admit you’d hate Ireland and move on.

Hippolyte
Hippolyte
6 years ago

OK so i hate this song so im just going to ignore the weird betting odds and ask a question here : What’s with georgia ?? Where is the song ???

Joe
Joe
6 years ago
Reply to  Hippolyte

Coming out later today. Patience, grasshopper.

Joe
Joe
6 years ago

Don’t count ’em out. This one has something going for it Dana International’s return didn’t: a real hook. I don’t see why people hate it so much, save for disappointment that it isn’t as good as “Fairytale” (which, don’t get me wrong, it most certainly isn’t, by a long shot). It’s fun and cute in the same way as a song like “No Prejudice” or “Que me quiten lo bailao.” It’s kinda childish, but he’s a likable performer who knows how to sell a song. Is he going to win again? Probably not, since unlike Johnny Logan his returning song… Read more »

eurofan0
eurofan0
6 years ago
Reply to  Joe

The problem is that his entry looks like a JESC entry. Many people might not get it, but he will probably win the teenage girls vote.

Eve
Eve
6 years ago
Reply to  eurofan0

Joe, the voice of the reason 🙂

Joe
Joe
6 years ago
Reply to  eurofan0

I’ve heard that a lot. From what I’ve seen of JESC, it’s leagues ahead. This doesn’t make my skin crawl in the same way JESC does.

Kris
Kris
6 years ago

One more reason for the non-jury vote reveal could be because Rybak didn’t do quite well with the juries as would appear!! The juries which had this song on top were all very USSR friendly. Only Bulgaria amongst that group didn’t give their flag to Rybak. Like William told us in his vlog!! This song finished last with the UK jury and probably with a few others too it was in bottom 3! At best this song would have finished 4th on the overall jury vote!! ‘Who we are’ would have won the jury vote by a huge margin i… Read more »

eurofan0
eurofan0
6 years ago
Reply to  Kris

He didnt?

Kris
Kris
6 years ago
Reply to  eurofan0

I can’t say for certain but it would appear so based on William’s vlog.

Ugnius
Ugnius
6 years ago
Reply to  Kris

Well, out of 10 juries, 4 gave twelve points to Rybak, so I don’t think that he did so bad…

Kris
Kris
6 years ago
Reply to  Ugnius

I never said he did badly…. I said he came last place with few countries and was probably 4th amongst the juries amongst the superfinalists.

Emma Sødring
Emma Sødring
6 years ago

I love him so much but I don’t really like the song

LalehForWD
LalehForWD
6 years ago

The NRK voting figures are interesting. Who’s watching and who’s voting in MGP? I tried to find MGP viewing figures, but couldn’t find any. My impression is that the show was bigger some years ago, but I have nothing to back that up.

Ethan1994
Ethan1994
6 years ago
Reply to  LalehForWD

Adressa.no reported that 1.2 million viewers in Norway watched MGP this year, which is up from last year (1.1 million).
https://www.adressa.no/kultur/2018/03/10/Alexander-Rybak-vant-den-norske-finalen-i-Melodi-Grand-Prix-16255812.ece

LalehForWD
LalehForWD
6 years ago
Reply to  Ethan1994

Thanks Ethan. 1.2 million viewers is a pretty impressive and my impression is probably wrong.

oldschool
oldschool
6 years ago

Esc 2018:
Bulgaria=georgia
Belgium=latvia=croatia
Finland=azerbaidjan=cyprus=israel=moldova=poland=ukraine.
Belgium alanis morissette james bond
Croatia jazzie lady gaga
Czechia jason derulo
Germany ed sheeran
Bulgaria Sia but just for the hair not the song
Spain la la land
Estonia weak pavarotti
Netherlands pseudo elvis priesley
Switzerland madonna lol
Get an originality guys lol

oldschool
oldschool
6 years ago
Reply to  oldschool

Robyn and her imagination……

Kobe
Kobe
6 years ago
Reply to  oldschool

Switzerland Madonna really? Get a grip…
Name me one current music artist outside the ESC bubble who’s completely original?

oldschool
oldschool
6 years ago
Reply to  Kobe

Dua lipa, christine and the queens, and mozart lol

Kobe
Kobe
6 years ago
Reply to  oldschool

Sorry i can only agree on Mozart 😀

Applereen
Applereen
6 years ago
Reply to  oldschool

netherlands elvis presley? haha

Hayley
Hayley
6 years ago
Reply to  oldschool

you think israel and moldova are the same ???
honey did you remember to stretch before that reach

StannyB
StannyB
6 years ago
Reply to  oldschool

think you forgot Sweden=Czech Republic= Every terrible generic pop song

Sage Anderson
Sage Anderson
6 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sOueKvQ2HI

By the way guys, Georgia’s working on it and I think it’ll be any day now that it comes out.

here’s sort of a sneak peak of the song?

kitty
kitty
6 years ago
Reply to  Sage Anderson

wow that sounds kind of similar to bulgaria

Sage Anderson
Sage Anderson
6 years ago
Reply to  kitty

I can barely hear the song over the news commentary and the fact that we only get snippets but, …it doesn’t sound as bad as I thought it’d be.

I thought they’d get dead last at first but now I’m not so sure

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago

Just remember, people picked up the phone for Sunstroke Project. They picked up the phone for Verka Serduchka and the Dancing Grannies, too. Not everyone watching Eurovision is as full of themselves as some Wiwibloggs commenters.

EscAU
EscAU
6 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

yessssss preach. seriously eurovision is about fun, that;s why people watch it. not for salvaboring

kitty
kitty
6 years ago
Reply to  EscAU

escAU, we can have both and be respectful about it. WE will have BOTH. What’s boring is all that nonense that you’re preaching, as if eurovision must fit a single persons criteria, no hun, eurovision is for everybody and i’m LOVING the diversity we have this year.

kitty
kitty
6 years ago
Reply to  EscAU

And ‘that’s why people watch it’, ….you might watch it for the lolz and fun, just like others, but not everyone does, so better speak for yourself.

Katerina
Katerina
6 years ago
Reply to  EscAU

But they did pick up the phone for Salvador too. So what’s your point? It’s all about the song not the genre. One may like an Israel type of song one year and a Salvador type of song the next one.

Hannne
Hannne
6 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

Those were other times. And you cant compare sunstroke project to this ffs

Sage Anderson
Sage Anderson
6 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

“Hey mamma” is STILL a better song that this one is, …and Verka’s performance was STILL way more zany than this performance is.

Either way, even in terms of “fun” this STILL isn’t that good, lmao.

kitty
kitty
6 years ago
Reply to  Sage Anderson

Yeah, the violin stands out…at least.

Sage Anderson
Sage Anderson
6 years ago
Reply to  Sage Anderson

Like, …his Fairytale performance was STILL more “fun” than this while also being a quality song.

THAT was win-worthy. But THIS…it’s so far from…

kitty
kitty
6 years ago
Reply to  Sage Anderson

indeed, fairytale gave me winner vibes since the beginning, cant say the same about this one but hey, you never know, right?

The best part about this performance is the one where he’s playing the violin :/

i have a feeling he will reach top 5, juries will love this and the televote will also vote for him…

Krys Ka
Krys Ka
6 years ago
Reply to  Sage Anderson

I want Verka back! One of my all time favourite party tracks. No wonder it was even featured in the Hollywood blockbuster.

Moomoo
Moomoo
6 years ago
Reply to  Krys Ka

I totally agree. Being Canadian Verka was the reason how I found out about Eurovision and fell in love with it.

underground
underground
6 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

Don’t talk with this guy my friend he is so stupid. I repeat to be well understood BRIEKIMCHI is stupid.

underground
underground
6 years ago
Reply to  underground

All his comments are stupidity or hateful…this guy is pathetic.

Carlos
Carlos
6 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

The problem with this song it’s not even funny or cool or original it’s just boring and flat… and i love Alex and his charm but this is just big NO for me

Kris
Kris
6 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

All of them had the Russian diaspora support and so does he. Not a good sign!

Krys Ka
Krys Ka
6 years ago

SF2 qualifiers for me:

Australia
Sweden (although I hope he’ll finish outside top15)
Poland
Slovenia
Russia (unfortunately the song is meh, but I truly admire her spirit)
Denmark (hated the song at first but I kinda like it now)
Hungary (I hope Europe will appreciate good rock track)
Norway (his smile can pull it off, the song is terrible)
The Netherlands
Latvia or Ukraine (just because it’s Ukraine although I swear I heard that song before somewhere else)

StannyB
StannyB
6 years ago
Reply to  Krys Ka

Pretty much agree except i think it will be serbia instead of Slovenia and yes Ukraine will qualify over Latvia, personally id like to see Sweden stay in the Semis.

Catrina
Catrina
6 years ago
Reply to  Krys Ka

I agree with you almost 100% although I think Romania will qualify as almost always they do. I don’t see Slovenia making it unless they give us a very modern and polished performance. I would like to see your semi-one and winner predictions though..such a tough call this year. Ps: I know everyone will disagree but I prefer Norway over Sweden.

Matt
Matt
6 years ago

I think except Conchita, Rybak is maybe the most memorable winning contestant in recent time, although if you were just listening to the songs maybe Euphoria over Fairytale, I think people will remember Rybak and the violin, especially if prompted by the commentators. Whether or not that itself can translate into votes is another question.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
6 years ago

He’s forgagatten in the rest of Europe and the song is tragic, I can’t see it going further than bottom five in the semi.

Kris
Kris
6 years ago

Oh! I remember him…..
He is the most Overrated winner in the 2000s!!
Only when I watched the jury vote in MGP this year I realized why he was so Overrated! He took in the two highest voting blocks – former USSR and Scandinavia….
His song even then was super dull. Ok not as dull as 2008 winner but yeah!

All we need is a performer with Russian parents born and brought up in the Balkan states to represent one of the Scandinavian nations and we will have one more overrated winner.

KESC
KESC
6 years ago

He’s forgotten? Are you sure? If we ever talk with my friends and family about Eurovision, they automatically also recollect him. Or there are also a lot of people who see him as the king of Eurovision.

You may not like the song, but that doesn’t mean that he’s forgotten in Europe.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
6 years ago
Reply to  KESC

Must be because my country didn’t participate in 2009 so no one here knows him.

Krys Ka
Krys Ka
6 years ago

He’s cute but his song is childish.

Héctor
Héctor
6 years ago

He won by a landslide because of who he is. This song is childish and bland, and overall, it has nothing that could appeal the public or the jury. Of course, the Norwegians voted for Alexander Rybak and not for “That’s How You Write a Song”. Rybak sells it great live, but I think it shouldn’t be enought to get a top 20, not even to qualify. SF2 is weak though, so he most probably qualify.

Héctor
Héctor
6 years ago
Reply to  Héctor

he will most probably qualify*

Carlos
Carlos
6 years ago
Reply to  Héctor

i wound’t call semi 2 weak, weaker than semi 1 for sure ,but not weak as itself, and i hope Norway will stay in semi,

Sweden ,Ukraine, Australia – 100% will go to the final,

Denmark,Netherlands ,Russia will most probably qualify ,

not so sure about Poland ,Latvia, Hungary,Romania, Georgia and Malta but no room for Norway please, one of the weakest entry this year….

eurofan0
eurofan0
6 years ago
Reply to  Carlos

Russia is so weak fml ..

Héctor
Héctor
6 years ago
Reply to  eurofan0

Yes, but it will still qualify as always!

Pasadena
Pasadena
6 years ago

I didn’t care about the studio cut at all, but he sells it so well on stage. I think this could do better than what many believe.

Kris
Kris
6 years ago
Reply to  Pasadena

Bookmakers feel it will be 10th! You think it will do better than that?

Pasadena
Pasadena
6 years ago
Reply to  Kris

Odds have shortened substantially since I wrote that post.

No Name
No Name
6 years ago

This is top 10 and haters will have to deal.

Carlos
Carlos
6 years ago

bad song and lyrics are silly…even his charm can’t save or sell it…. flat bland and juts forgettable… hope it stays in semi

Jo
Jo
6 years ago

Not gonna happen.

Sage Anderson
Sage Anderson
6 years ago

No one would care for this song nearly as much if it were done by literally anyone other than him

Jai
Jai
6 years ago
Reply to  Sage Anderson

Yes! That is 100% true. I think his song sounds a lot like San Marino 2012 (The Social Network Song by Valentina Monetta) and that song isn’t really all that loved.

new york
new york
6 years ago

You hate france and like this? lol

sorrynotsorry
sorrynotsorry
6 years ago
Reply to  new york

I do, it’s that a problem?

new york
new york
6 years ago
Reply to  sorrynotsorry

Probably one of the worst Norwegian entries. Ever.

new york
new york
6 years ago
Reply to  new york

And I love Rybak as an artist but he can do so much better than this, that’s why so many people are mad. If he’s trying to ruin his career, maybe he’ll succeed.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago

WOW. A total landslide! If Europe follows suit in May, Rybak could be the winner. Again.
Thanks to NRK for revealing the vote figures. It’s always good to have transparency with these things. (cough, BBC, cough.)

new york
new york
6 years ago

This has to be the biggest joke of the year.

Davve
Davve
6 years ago

I like his song! I think top10. But I have a hard time seeing this song recieving high marks from the juries in ESC

new york
new york
6 years ago
Reply to  Davve

You hate france and like this? hahaha

escfan
escfan
6 years ago
Reply to  new york

Let FRANCE and people in peace here please, we all know that you are trying to do so stop it doesn’t work.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago
Reply to  new york

I do, too. What’s your point?

underground
underground
6 years ago
Reply to  Briekimchi

Briekimchi you must to have serious issues to be so hateful…are you a professional hater? Or just a poor lost child? I complain you….your life seems empty…..