It was recorded in Yla Studios in Malmö. The album include three songs dedicated to his workmates: "Oah", "Why Not Me" and "First Kiss". It also has a tribute to Finland, "Suomi". "5000 Letters" seemingly reflects the letters Rybak received from fans. Another spoken track, "Kaja's Letter" is a letter Rybak found special and was voice by a small Norwegian girl named Kaja. Due to the album's crossover nature, Rybak was sure that the album would be slaughtered by music critics upon its release.
Critical reception
The album was met with mixed reviews. A Slowak music critic gave the album overall a favourable review, but noted that the chaos that surrounded Rybak and his organisational management could hinder the album's performances. VG gave the album a 3 on the dice, stating that although "it might be fun to showcase solid qualities in different genres, but it is not always fun to listen to.". Eurovisionary stated Rybak seemingly suffered from the commercial success of his previous album and this album was a "messy affair". A Dutch reviewer suggested that Rybak could have done better by spreading his music over multiple albums. Critics generally named "Dare I Say" and "Why Not Me" the best songs on the albums.
Plagiarism accusations
accused Alexander of plagiarizing Konstantin Meladze's music and using it in his song "5000 Letters". Some other sources, as RIA Novosti says, have already revealed that the music was not written by Alexander Rybak himself and there was no act of plagiarism.
"Europe's Skies" became the most successful track of the album after its release and is usually named alongside "Kotik" and "Fairytale" as Rybak's most successful songs. Although it never became an official single, Rybak performed "Europe's Skies" during the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2010 and was scheduled to perform the song during the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 too. Rybak shot a video for "Europe's Skies" in Crimea in late 2010. This video quickly became an internet hit, becoming Rybak's most watched official video until the release of "Kotik" in 2015. As of July 2020, the video holds more than 46 million views and is still Rybak's second-most watched music video. Its Russian version has over 15 million views. In 2011 he re-sung the song “Europe's Skies” in the Belarusian language as “Небасхіл Еўропы” for the Budzma! Tuzin. Perazagruzka-2 compilation album.” In her review for the magazine “Большой,” music critic Taciana Zamiroŭskaja came to the conclusion that, unlike in Russian, Alexander Rybak sings in Belarusian quite naturally. Rybak and Filatovych returned to Crimea in 2012 to recreate the original video filmed in 2010, but with new shots featuring Rybak singing in Belarusian. The video has accustomed to almost 3 million views.
