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((short description|Internet meme))
((More citations needed|date=January 2024))
<!-- NOTE:
Please don't add links to the animation, especially not leekspin.com.
Please don't even mention meatspin, this animation has nothing to do with it.
Please don't post lyrics, we can't host them due to copyright concerns per [[Wikipedia:Lyrics and poetry]].
Also, the animation contains only the gibberish part, and this can cause confusion.
Please don't add links to fan-made animations, there are tons on the net.
Thank you.
-->
[[Image:Loituma.gif|right|frame|The "Loituma Girl" [[Orihime Inoue]] twirling her [[leek]] in the Flash animation.]]
'''Loituma Girl''' (also known as "'''Leekspin'''") is a [[Flash animation]] set to a [[scat singing]] section of the [[Finland|Finnish]] song "[[Ievan polkka]]," sung by the Finnish quartet [[Loituma]] on their 1995 debut album ''[[Things of Beauty]]''.<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.noside.com/Catalog/CatalogAlbum_01.asp?Album_ID=45 |title=NorthSide Catalog - Things of Beauty - Loituma |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615032147/http://www.noside.com/Catalog/CatalogAlbum_01.asp?Album_ID=45 |archive-date=2006-06-15))</ref> It appeared on the Internet in late April 2006 and quickly became popular.<ref name="PRI">((cite web |url=http://www.theworld.org/?q=node/3625 |title=Global Hit |first=Marco |last=Werman |date=2006-08-18 |format=radio |work=[[The World (radio program)|The World]] |publisher=[[Public Radio International]] |access-date=2006-08-18))</ref> The animation consists of four frames showing the ''[[Bleach (manga)|Bleach]]'' anime character [[Orihime Inoue]] twirling a [[leek]], set to a 27-second [[Music loop|loop]] from the song. The part of the song which is included in the meme is improvisation by [[Hanni Autere|Hanni-Mari Autere]] which are totally random.

==Content==
The animation of Loituma Girl is taken from [[List of Bleach episodes (season 1)#Episode list|episode two]] of the ''[[Bleach (manga)|Bleach]]'' [[anime]] series, between the twelfth and fourteenth minute (depending on the version). In the clip, Orihime is twirling a [[leek]] while talking to [[Ichigo Kurosaki]] and [[Rukia Kuchiki]]. The scene is an instance of a recurring joke surrounding her character, in which she wants to cook something so unusual that it seems almost inedible.

The music used consists of the second half of the fifth [[stanza]] (four lines) and the complete sixth stanza (eight lines) from "[[Ievan polkka]]". Unlike the rest of the song, these two stanzas have no meaning, consisting mostly of phonetically inspired Finnish words that vary from performance to performance and are usually made up on the spot by the singer (compare [[scat singing]] in jazz). These stanzas are therefore not generally listed on lyrics pages, causing confusion for people looking for lyrics that match the animation.<!-- Do not post lyrics. Wikipedia can't host lyrics due to copyright concerns. -->

==Popularity==
On 10 July 2006, the Finnish newspaper ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'' reported that Loituma Girl had caused a resurgence in Loituma's popularity, and the band had received thousands of fan letters from around the world.<ref>((cite news |url=http://www.hs.fi/uutiset/verkko-hesari/artikkeli/Hittibiisi+kulman+takaa/1135220601104 |title=Hittibiisi kulman takaa |work=[[Helsingin Sanomat]] |date=2006-07-10))</ref>

Band member [[Loituma|Timo Väänänen]] describes his initial reaction to the video:<ref name="PRI"/>
((quotation|I first found out there was something going on when I looked at the statistics of my own web page and then I realized that something weird is happening because there is such a huge traffic there. And most of the traffic came from Russia and then I started to track down what is happening and then I found this video. And well, I have no idea what this video is about, and what this girl is about.))

The meme's author is widely believed to be the Russian Livejournal user "g_r_e_e_n", having posted a link to the meme on his LiveJournal feed on 23 April 2006 at 15:40.<ref>((cite news |date=2006-05-11 |title=Цук-цопом по Преведу |work=[[Rе:Акция]] |url=http://reakcia.ru/article/?1099 |access-date=2006-05-11))</ref> However, mentions of the meme online go as far back as April 20th of the same year.<ref>((cite web |date=2006-04-20 |title=Bye Bye Brain Cells |url=https://mikkikoron.livejournal.com/35744.html |access-date=2006-04-20 |work=[[LiveJournal]]))</ref>
The song clip soon enjoyed overwhelming popularity in Russia as a ringtone.<ref>((Cite web |url=http://lurkmore.to/%D0%AF%D0%BA_%D1%86%D1%83%D0%BF_%D1%86%D0%BE%D0%BF |title=Russian meme and cultural phenomena wiki Lurkmore - Yak Zup Zop article |access-date=2012-08-05 |archive-date=2012-08-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120810081855/http://lurkmore.to/%D0%AF%D0%BA_%D1%86%D1%83%D0%BF_%D1%86%D0%BE%D0%BF |url-status=dead))</ref> ((better source needed|date=December 2022))

[[Public Radio International|PRI]]'s ''[[The World (radio program)|The World]]'' radio program covered the animation in a segment, in which they noted the clip's trance-inducing qualities. [[Patrick Macias]], who was interviewed in the program, described the animation:<ref name="PRI"/>
((quotation|This is basically a joke for someone who spends all of their time staring at a computer, made by people who spend all of their time staring at a computer. It's possible to read deeper meanings into it, but it sort of defeats the purpose because in the end it's just this hypnotic clip of animation.))

As with most [[Internet meme]]s, numerous videos, remixes, and parodies have been inspired by the Flash animation.((citation needed|date=February 2013)) These may feature the animated background, the song clip, or otherwise reference the style of the animation.

In August 2010, Disney Channel aired "[[Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs To You!|Summer Belongs To You!]]", a one-hour television special for ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]''. During the segment of the special where the cast visits [[Tokyo]], Phineas and Ferb convince Stacy to participate in a dance and tune with them similar to "[[Caramelldansen]]". During the dance, [[Isabella Garcia-Shapira|Isabella]] can be spotted waving a leek in her hand, similar to the Loituma Girl.

In December 2010, [[Operation Leakspin]] played off the "Leekspin" meme during efforts to raise awareness of potentially important documents leaked by [[WikiLeaks]].<ref>((cite news |url=http://www.boingboing.net/2010/12/09/anonymous-stops-drop.html |title=Wikileaks: Anonymous stops dropping DDoS bombs, starts dropping science |date=2010-12-09))</ref>

==Commercialization==
In August 2006, [[Germany|German]] [[ringtone]] provider [[Jamba!]] began selling a collection of media based on the animation. The video shows an [[anthropomorphic]] donkey (called ''[[Holly Dolly]]'') dancing to the animation which is displayed (flipped horizontally) in the background.<ref name="dolly video">((cite video |url=http://order.jamba.de/storage/view/93/do/HollyDollyDollySong2.mpg |title=Holly Dolly Song |medium=[[MPEG]] |publisher=Jamba! |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127010616/http://order.jamba.de/storage/view/93/do/HollyDollyDollySong2.mpg |archive-date=2006-11-27))</ref> The animation is marketed as the "Dolly Song", and the music is played faster than the original Loituma version. It was also given an extra 30-second drum preface.

In January 2007, a similar video entitled "Holly Dolly – Dolly Song (Ieva's Polka)" appeared in the [[Google Video]] Top 100, though it had already been present on the Internet for some time. It features the same donkey, along with some dancing sheep and a snowman, but the leek-spinning girl in the background is only there briefly.<ref>[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2295360340367941531&hl=en Holly Dolly – Dolly Song (Ieva's Polka)]. Google Video.</ref> In April 2007, a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] power company ([[Eneco Energie|Eneco]]) used the melody of Loituma's Ievan Polkka in its [[Television advertisement|TV commercial]] for "ecostroom" (green energy).<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6brHh8FArrA |title=Dutch Eneco commercial|website=[[YouTube]] ))</ref>

The Dutch company [[Artiq Mobile]] launched a website where people can upload homemade Loituma Girl [[parody|spoof]] videos. TV commercials state the best video will win 500 [[euro]]s.<ref>((cite web |url=http://preidols.nl/ |title=Preidols.nl - Jouw eigen meisje met de prei! |language=nl |access-date=2007-06-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528235704/http://www.preidols.nl/ |archive-date=2007-05-28))</ref> The Romanian company [[Romtelecom]] uses the song in one of their commercials for Dolce, a satellite television service.((Citation needed|date=January 2008))

In October 2007, [[McDonald's]] used this song in a Hungarian TV spot for their McCafé coffee.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVCHi6GJLOE McCafé TV Spot - Loituma]. YouTube.</ref> Typing "Loituma Girl" in the 2009 DS game ''[[Scribblenauts (video game)|Scribblenauts]]'' results in a red-haired girl spinning a leek.

===Vocaloid adaptation===
In September 2007, a cover of "Ievan polkka" was made, sung by [[Vocaloid]] [[Hatsune Miku]], with Otomania arranging the music and providing Miku's voice manipulation. It was accompanied by an animation of a [[Super deformed|chibi]] version of Hatsune Miku waving a Welsh onion.<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/0802/25/news017.html |title=How Hatsune Miku opened the creative mind: Interview with Crypton Future Media |date=February 25, 2008 |access-date=February 29, 2008 |language=ja))</ref> To date, the video has over 12 million views on [[Nico Nico Douga]] and [[YouTube]] combined, and as a result, Miku's fame for the Welsh onion-twirling outshone Orihime's.<ref>[http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm982882 VOCALOID2 初音ミクに「Ievan polkka」を歌わせてみた]. Nico Nico Douga.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbbA9BhCTko Hatsune Miku sings "Ievan polkka"]. YouTube.</ref>

The popularity of the Vocaloid version of "Ievan polkka" has led to the chibi-Miku featured in the video being treated as a separate character known as Hachune Miku. [[Good Smile Company]] produced a [[Nendoroid]] action figure version of her.<ref>[http://www.goodsmile.info/product/en/3615/Nendoroid+Miku+Hatsune+Hachune+Face+Ver.html Good Smile Company – Nendoroid Miku Hatsune: Hachune Face Ver.]</ref>

==See also==
((Portal|Internet))
*[[Music of Finland]]

==References==
((Reflist|2))

==External links==
*[http://www.leekspin.com/ Leekspin.com]

((Bleach characters))
((Vocaloid))

[[Category:2006 works]]
[[Category:Bleach (manga)]]
[[Category:Film and television memes]]
[[Category:Internet memes introduced in 2006]]
[[Category:Viral videos]]
[[Category:2000s fads and trends]]

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