Alexander Rybak „hijacked” a fan account on TikTok - article on vg.no, 4.5.2021

 Alexander Rybak „hijacked” a fan account on TikTok: - Just crazy

Author: Catherine Gonsholt Ighanian | Source: vg.no | 4.5.2021 | Translated by Mónika Menyhért

Alexander Rybak (35) lift the curtain on studies, on nerves that still cause palpitations - and the sudden success on TikTok.

For the past year, Rybak has studied for a master's degree in composition of film music at a college in Chicago – but via screen from his parents' home on Nesodden. The pandemic prevented moving.

BUSY: Alexander Rybak, pictured here during last year's "Allsang på grensen".| Photo: Thomas Andersen / TV 2

But it has not come for free. He has not taken the time for a girlfriend, nor football nights with the boys. 
- Not to brag, but I got an „A” in absolutely all subjects, says a proud Rybak in a FaceTime interview with VG.

– I was a little scared to live at home, considering all the temptations. Fortunately, I have good friends who understand that I have had to prioritize. I have, so to speak, not been on a date in eight months, he confides.

Rybak has great admiration for fellow students with girlfriends.

– The studies take all the time from morning to evening. So I'm very happy I'm single, he says and laughs.

But the video platform TikTok he devotes some time to. It started with a Russian fan club leader sending Rybak a message asking if he would take over the fan account with 30,000 followers for a few weeks.

– I thought it was touching. So I got the login.

Watch Rybak's TikTok stunt here

Since then, it has only gone one way. At the time of writing, Rybak can boast close to 800,000 followers and over 10.4 million views on his most watched video. He never gave up the account again.

–  But I really hope that people do not think the first posts are my own – all the "Look, how handsome he is" videos, Rybak chuckles and wipes sweat from his forehead.

DUET: Alexander often invites to duets at TikTok. 
- Some do parody duets too. As usual, this is when you feel most successful, Rybak jokes. 

Photo: TIKTOK, @alexrybakofficial

It was the January 17 when Rybak shared first own video.

–  A bit crazy that the most popular video is one where I just look into the camera and say "Wow", grins the artist, who was a little scared to appear nerdy.

– I'm talking about video games and classical violin. I'm not trying to imitate the young. They have a completely different energy.

FILM: Alexander studies film music, but is himself in front of the camera in Will Ferrell's Netflix comedy "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga". | Photo: CLAIRE FOLGER / NETFLIX

At this pace, Rybak will soon have passed his 830,000 followers on YouTube, a channel he has had for years.

– It's just crazy, he says and adds that YouTube, TikTok and other social media are excellent platforms for anyone who is not on a big record company.

Before, radio stations were important for reaching out. Rybak himself estimates that he has sent 20 songs to P1 (radio channel operated by NRK - t/n) in recent years and received the same number of rejections, according to himself.

– I'm not complaining, really. This is probably because they have as much responsibility and new artists from the big record companies, to which they have bonds. But in social media, I reach a new audience.

Rybak, who is what is called an indie artist, ie independent, gets old songs relaunched at TikTok.

– "Fairytale" has got a new revival with a whole new generation, he says.

THE PARENTS: Alexander Rybak with mum Natalia and dad Igor Alexandrovich, at the MGP final in 2018.
Photo: Hallgeir Vågenes, VG

Rybak is currently working on assignments for director- and production students – something he enjoys, but which also brings pressure. He has post-withdrawal symptoms from the sleeping pill addiction, which he talked about last year.

– I wake up every day and think about surviving. Not because I am in so much pain, but because my brain is set on nervousness and performance from morning to night, he says.
– But so far I can not try to change my mental state, so I am comfortable with being nervous all the time.

In March, he lost his grandmother. She lived in Belarus, and they were not allowed to be at her side at the end.

– Every day for the past three years, Dad played the accordion and violin for her over Skype. At the end, I saw him cry himself to sleep, and then be a hero to his students the next day. I'm so proud of Dad. When I see how strong he is, my stuff feels like trifles.

PARTNERS: Alexander Rybak and Hanne Krogh will perform together this summer,
for 100 spectators at each venue.
- And only 20 people in Oslo. Think how much legroom they get in Oslo Concert Hall, he laughs.
Photo: PRIVATE

In the autumn, a school year in Chicago awaits Rybak, before he rounds off with half a year of practice with a supervisor in Los Angeles. The apartment in Oslo has been rented out for two years, to a football player he does not want to reveal his name.

– The studies cost 3–400,000 kroner a year, so this was a good deal.

Rybak has long dreamed of making film music, but has such great respect for the subject that he wanted to learn it from the basics.

- I love to frolic in different genres, which is praised by the directors I work with now. But in the pop world and in releasing records, it is almost seen as a minus, he believes.

The college professors say he should aim internationally, but Rybak will first contact Norwegian directors.

– I want to start in Norway, because I think Norwegian and Scandinavian film is great. And the Norwegian audience is the best, says Rybak, who is currently touring with Hanne Krogh (65).