Before Eurovision
Rybak made several appearances at events after his win at Melodi Grand Prix. Before winning the contest Rybak charted in the Norwegian singles chart, VG-lista, at number 1 with "Fairytale". This was the first time in MGP history that the winner reached the top of the charts before winning the contest. After, and even before, his win at Melodi Grand prix Rybak also became one of the hottest favourites to win the contest in Moscow in May.
On 14 March NRK released an official video-clip of "Fairytale", showing Rybak's performance at MGP. Rybak's overwhelming victory at MGP spread "Eurovision fever" throughout Norway over their perceived odds on winning Eurovision in Moscow.
In April Rybak joined four-time Eurovision contestant Elisabeth Andreassen at a contest in the Oslo Concert Hall. Althougn his appearance was agreed upon before MGP, his win at the contest most likely promoted his appearance at Eurovision. Alongside a group performance, Rybak also performed a solo number, "Song from a Secret Garden", a cover of Eurovision winners Secret Garden.
Approaching the contest, foreign media began focusing on Rybak and his song. It was reported that "Fairytale" had been played Greek television, and in April a crew from Russian TV channel NTV travelled to Oslo to record a documentary on Rybak, which was featured to over 18 million people in Russia. It was also reported that there was a lot of media attention in Russian magazines and newspapers on Rybak. Further media attention on Rybak was made across the ocean, in the United States. A report on The Oprah Winfrey Show contained Rybak, along with one half of the German entry Oscar Loya, on a report on The World's Got Talent. The report also included Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle, as well as The X Factor, American Idol, and both Britain's and America's Got Talent judge and record producer Simon Cowell.
Read more about this topic: Norway In The Eurovision Song Contest 2009