He returned in 2009 but was forced to withdraw his entry due to employment schedule conflict. Alex was finally chosen to represent Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 and was internally selected. He finished 16th overall in the contest. After recovering from a serious car accident he suffered in early 2013, Alex Sparrow is back with music he has written, composed and arranged himself. Called Friend project, it is a collaboration with his friend, Russian actor Sergei Romanovich. The latter had already appeared in Laskoviy Mai, a film about the career of the famous Soviet band of the same name.