The comeback of Alexander Rybak at the Eurovision Song Contest did not go according to plan. The winner of the contest of 2009 wanted to go for gold again, but did not even make it to the top-10 in Lisbon. He is not the first former winner to disappoint on a second appearance at Eurovision.
Even before the contest took place, we already wrote that it was statistically very unlikely that Alexander Rybak would win again. Still, he rose to the second place in the bookmakers’ list for contenders for victory at one point and even won his second semi final. In the grand final, with a bad starting position in seventh place, things went wrong.
The song finished in 15th place, 144 points. A decent result for many artists, but not for a former winner.
Alexander Rybak: “It’s allowed to be disappointed”
“When you participate in a competition, you go for victory. It did not win. So it’s allowed to be disappointed,” Rybak told Norwegian broadcaster NRK after the final. “The most important thing for me is that I did the best performance this week, it came at the end.”
Giving up or quiting is however not an option for Rybak. Already on the same day as Eurovision is over, he is ready to talk about making another comeback someday. “I have been in the Grand Prix seven to eight times. I just love the whole Grand Prix thrill. So I do not know if I’m going on once again, but I like this competition,” Rybak says.