2004 song by Ruslana
"Wild Dances" is a single by Ukrainian singer-songwriter Ruslana. The song, representing her country, won the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 held in Istanbul with a score of 280 points.[1] A Ukrainian-language version called "Dyki tantsi" (Ukrainian: Дикі танці) was released in Russia and Ukraine.
In 2022, The Independent named it 55th best Eurovision-winning song of all time[2] and in 2023 The Guardian ranked the song as 13th best Eurovision winner.[3]
Background and composition
After qualifying second for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, it scored a total of 280 points in the final, making it the first victory for Ukraine. With a mixture of English and Ukrainian lyrics, "Wild Dances" had the distinction of becoming the first Eurovision-winning song to be sung at least partly in a language other than English since the rule-change of 1999, when countries were allowed to sing in a language of their choosing, rather than one of their official languages. With this win, Ukraine became the third post-Soviet country to win the contest, after Estonia and Latvia. The song was remembered for an energetic performance, which Ruslana gave in a leather outfit, inspired by Xena: Warrior Princess and the ethnic tradition of Ukraine. The work on the song lasted for about three months. Editing and sound engineering was done by Ruslana together with specialists from Kyiv, London and New York City. The recording was done together with a guitarist from Cool Before, and an ex-trumpet player from Zdob și Zdub. Ukrainian and English lyrics of the song, as well as the chorus and melody, underwent significant changes since the initial stage. The song was bought with exclusive copyright in Vietnam by Vietnamese singer-songwriter Hồ Quỳnh Hương. She has an own Vietnamese version of the song, entitled "Vũ điệu hoang dã".[4]
Music video
The official music video for the song was first aired on 6 May 2004 (before Eurovision) on MTV Russia in the 12 Angry Viewers show, but was booed by the audience.[8] The shooting took place in the abandoned building of the Ice Palace,[which?] which was at once renamed 'The Iceberg Palace" by the members of Ruslana's crew because no heating equipment brought with Ruslana could heat the cold air of the huge building to a comfortable level. The building was 'decorated' with sheer concrete and windows without glass. Despite the script of the video-clip, which provided for constant burning fire in large barrels, torches on the stage, wireworks and even a real military flame thrower, only the "Wild Dances" could help people to ultimately warm up.[citation needed]
