Fairytales
Studio album by
Alexander Rybak
Released29 May 2009
Recorded2009 at Kitchen Studio in Oslo, Norway, Yla Studios and Lionheart Studio 2 in Malmö, Sweden
LabelEMI (NOR, FIN, DEN, GER, AUT)
Universal (RUS, GRE, CYP)
ProducerKim Edward Bergseth, Henrik Wikström, Amir Aly
Alexander Rybak chronology
Fairytales
(2009)		 No Boundaries
(2010)
Singles from Fairytales
  1. "Fairytale"
    Released: 12 January 2009
  2. "Funny Little World"
    Released: 13 May 2009
  3. "Roll with the Wind"
    Released: 2 June 2009

Fairytales is the debut studio album by the Belarusian-Norwegian artist Alexander Rybak. It was released in Norway and most of Europe on 29 May 2009, and in the UK on 15 June. Most of the songs on the album are written and/or composed by Rybak himself.

The first single of this album is Rybak's "Fairytale", the winning song from the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. His entry broke the previous record of 292 in the festival and achieved a total of 387 points. All the participating countries (naturally excluding Norway) voted for the song.

Rybak wrote English lyrics for one Russian and one Norwegian song, for the album. The chorus in the song "Abandoned" (track #7), uses music by Kirill Moltchanov, from the theme from the 1968 Russian film Доживем до понедельника (en. We'll Live Till Monday).[1] The song "If You Were Gone" (track #6), is an English version of the Norwegian song "Vårsøg", with music by Henning Sommerro.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]

On 27 May 2009 Norway's biggest newspaper Verdens Gang was the first to review the album giving it top score, 6 out of 6. "Alexander Rybak has not only become a star in no time, he deserves the status as well", the paper said.[3] On the same day it was revealed that the album had been leaked illegally on the net. Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet was less enthused. "Rybak is seducing, but not entirely convincing" their critic stated, giving it 4 out of 6 points.[4] Aftenposten gave it 5 out of 6 stars, calling Rybak "a complete artist."[5] Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, however, caused a stir by giving the record merely 1 star and hurling epithets like "violin hobbit" and "smurf hits" at the artist.[6] TV2 in Norway gave the album 4 out of 6 stars, stating that Rybak was "no one-hit-wonder at all".[7] NRK gave Rybak a good review saying that Rybak was "a good pop composer."[8] Dagsavisen gave the record 5 points out of 6, exclaiming "the fairy tale continues!"[9] The radio channel P4 Radio Hele Norge gave the album a rather poor review. Calling it a record for "13 year old girls and Eurovision enthusiasts" it got 2 stars.[10] Bergensavisen was impressed by the record, especially by the album's "personal style", and gave it 5 stars.[11]

Track listing

No.TitleWriterLength
1."Roll with the Wind"Mårten Eriksson, Lina Eriksson3:34
2."Fairytale"Alexander Rybak3:05
3."Dolphin"Rybak4:16
4."Kiss and Tell"Rybak, Kim Bergseth, Piotr Andrej3:20
5."Funny Little World"Rybak3:46
6."If You Were Gone"Henning Sommerro, Rybak4:31
7."Abandoned"Rybak, Kirill Moltchanov, Andrej4:09
8."13 Horses"Rybak5:42
9."Song from a Secret Garden"Rolf Løvland3:30

Bonus track

No.TitleWriterLength
10."500 Miles"The Proclaimers3:24

Bonus track

No.TitleWriterLength
11."Vocalise"Sergei Rachmaninoff4:31

French edition

No.TitleWriterLength
12."Fairytale" (French lyrics)Rybak, Thierry Samois3:05

Russian edition bonus track

No.TitleWriterLength
10."Fairytale (Holter/Erixson Radio Remix)" (bonus track)Rybak2:53

Russian winter edition

Fairytales – Зимняя сказка (en. Winter Fairytales)

Standard-Edition

No.TitleWriterLength
1."Roll with the Wind"Mårten Eriksson, Lina Eriksson3:34
2."Сказка (English: Skazka (Russian version of "Fairytale"))"Alexander Rybak3:05
3."Dolphin"Rybak4:16
4."Kiss and Tell"Rybak, Kim Bergseth, Piotr Andrej3:20
5."Funny Little World"Rybak3:46
6."Когда Уйдешь (Russian version of "If You Were Gone")"Henning Sommerro, Rybak4:31
7."13 Horses"Rybak5:42
8."Song from a Secret Garden"Rolf Løvland3:30
9."Vocalise"Sergei Rachmaninoff4:31
10."500 Miles"The Proclaimers3:24
11."Fairytale (Bonustrack)"Rybak3:05
12."If You Were Gone (Bonustrack)"Henning Sommerro, Rybak4:31

Digipack-Edition

1. CD: Same songs as Standard-Edition

2. DVD:

No.TitleLength
1."Fairytale (Video)" 
2."Roll with the Wind (Video)" 
3."Funny Little World (Video)" 
4."Kupalinka (live in Minsk)" 

Personnel

Musicians

  • Alexander Rybak – lead vocals, violin, piano, strings. All string arrangements, song arrangements.
  • Amir Aly – acoustic guitar (track #5), guitar (#1, #6), bass (#1, No. 5, #6), programming (#1, #6)
  • Gunnar Flagstad – piano (#9)
  • Henrik Wikström – keyboards (#5), programming (#5)
  • Jorunn Hauge – background vocals (#2)
  • Kai Morten Berg – percussion (#4)
  • Karianne Kjærnes – background vocals (#2)
  • Kim Edward Bergseth – background vocals (#4, #7), guitar (#3, No. 4, #7), bass (#2, No. 3, #4, #7), programming (#2, No. 3, #4, #8)
  • Laila Samuels – background vocals (#7)
  • Mattis Lerbak – drums (#3)
  • Sylvie Loche – background vocals (French bonus track: "Fairytale")

Recording and production staff

  • Amir Aly – producer (track No. 1, #5, #6), mixing (#1, No. 5, #6)
  • Björn Engelmann Cutting Room Studios – mastering
  • Henrik Wikström – producer (#5), mixing (#5)
  • Kim Edward Bergseth – producer (#2, No. 3, #4, No. 7, #8)
  • Ulf Ø. W. Holand – mixing (#2, No. 3, #4, No. 7, #8)

Album artwork

  • Baard Lunde – photos
  • Guro Synes – artwork, design
  • Trond Kulterud – artwork, design

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[12] 46
French Albums Chart[13] 21
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[14] 13
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[14] 62
Cyprus International Albums Chart[15] 9
Dutch Albums Chart[16] 29
Danish Albums Chart[17] 15
Finnish Albums Chart[18] 4
Irish Albums Chart[19] 91
German Albums Chart[20][21] 16
Norwegian Albums Chart[22] 1
Polish Albums Chart[23] 7
Russian Albums Chart 1
Swedish Albums Chart 2
Swiss Albums Chart[24] 65
European Top 100 Albums[25] 18

Certifications

Certifications for Fairytales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Russia (NFPF)[26] 2× Platinum 40,000*
Sweden (GLF)[27] Gold 20,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Label Format
Armenia[28] 29 May 2009 Universal CD
Austria[29] EMI CD
Azerbaijan[28] Universal CD
Belarus[28] Universal CD
Belgium[30] V2/Universal CD
Denmark[28] EMI CD; Digital download
Finland[28][31] EMI CD; Digital download
Germany[32] EMI CD; Digital download
Kazakhstan[28] Universal CD
Kyrgyzstan[28] Universal CD
Luxembourg[30] V2/Universal CD
Netherlands[30] V2/Universal CD
Norway[33] EMI CD
Russia[28] Universal CD
Romania[28] Universal CD
Switzerland[34] EMI CD
Tajikistan[28] Universal CD
Turkmenistan[28] Universal CD
Uzbekistan[28] Universal CD
Ukraine[28] Universal CD
Cyprus[28] 2 June 2009 Universal CD
Greece[28] Universal CD
Sweden[35] 3 June 2009 Lionheart CD
Estonia[36] June 4, 2009 CD
Ireland[37][38] June 15, 2009 EMI CD
United Kingdom[37][39] 15 June 2009 EMI CD
France[40][41] 17 August 2009 M6 Interactions CD
Poland[42] 21 August 2009 Universal CD

References

  1. ↑ ДОЖИВЕМ ДО ПОНЕДЕЛЬНИКА (1968) 1/10 on YouTube
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ "Alexander Rybak: Fairytales – VG Nett om Melodi Grand Prix". Vg.no. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Forfører – men blender ikke – kultur". Dagbladet.no. May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  5. ↑ SVEIN ANDERSEN Publisert: 28.05.09 08:21. "Eventyrlig debut – Oslo – Fairytales, Alexander Rybak, CD, pop, (EMI Norway/EMI) 9 låter, 35.00 Oslopuls.no". Oslopuls.aftenposten.no. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "Fiolhoben är för kass | Musik – Recensioner | Musik | Nöjesbladet | Aftonbladet". Aftonbladet.se. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  7. ↑ "ALEXANDER RYBAK – Slett ikke noe one-hit wonder – Side2". Pub.tv2.no. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Klar hjemmeseier – Kultur-og-underholdning – NRK". Nrk.no. May 28, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Eventyret fortsetter : Dagsavisen". Dagsavisen.no. Archived from the original on May 30, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  10. ↑ ""For 13 år gamle jenter og Grand Prix-entusiaster" – P4 Radio Hele Norge". P4.no. May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Alexander Rybak" (in Norwegian Bokmål). ba.no. May 28, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  12. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales, austriancharts.at
  13. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales, Acharts.us
  14. 1 2 Alexander Rybak – Fairytales, ultratop.be
  15. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales Archived August 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Super FM
  16. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales, dutchcharts.nl
  17. ↑ Hitlisten.NU – Album Top-40, hitlisterne.dk
  18. ↑ Suomen virallinen lista
  19. ↑ ">> IRMA << Irish Charts - Singles, Albums & Compilations >>". Irma.ie. October 13, 2011. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  20. ↑ Alexander Rybak in den Top 20, newsticker.sueddeutsche.de, June 9, 2009
  21. ↑ Offizielle Charts Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, musicload.de
  22. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales, norwegiancharts.com
  23. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS – Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  24. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales, ultratop.be
  25. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales, billboard.com
  26. ↑ "Russian album certifications – Alexander Rybak – Fairytales" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  27. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2009" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Alexander Rybak – Official Facebook Page, Facebook, May 27, 2009
  29. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales Archived February 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, emimusic.at
  30. 1 2 3 Fairytales, Alexander Rybak Archived October 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, bol.com
  31. ↑ Fairytales – Rybak Alexander, CDON
  32. ↑ Fairytales: Alexander Rybak, Amazon.de
  33. ↑ Fairytales – Rybak Alexander, CDON.eu
  34. ↑ Alexander Rybak – Fairytales, emimusic.ch
  35. ↑ Fairytales – album Archived May 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Lionheart
  36. ↑ Alexander Rybaki "Fairytales" album ilmub 4. juunil (Estonian), publik.delfi.ee, May 19, 2009
  37. 1 2 "Alexander Rybak – Fairytales HMV Release Date". Hmv.com. December 15, 2005. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  38. ↑ Fairytales – Alexander Rybak, Amazon.ie
  39. ↑ Fairytales – Alexander Rybak, Amazon.co.uk
  40. ↑ Fairytales – Rybak Alexander, Amazon.fr
  41. ↑ A French version of Fairytale, esctoday.com, August 19, 2009
  42. ↑ Merlin.Pl. "Alexander Rybak – "Fairytales"" (in Polish). Merlin.pl. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
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