Wild Dances

"Wild Dances"
Single by Ruslana
from the album Wild Dances
B-side "Hutsul Girl"
Released May 17, 2004
Format CD Single , digital download
Recorded 2003/2004
Genre Pop folk
Length 3:00
Label EMI
Writer(s) Aleksandr Ksenofontov, Jamie Maher, Ruslana Lyzchicko, Michael Fayne, Sherena Dugani
Producer Aleksandr Ksenofontov, Ruslana
Certification
Ruslana singles chronology
"Kolomyjka"
(2003)
"Wild Dances"
(2004)
"Dance with the Wolves"
(2005)
"Wild Dances"
Eurovision Song Contest 2004 entry
Country Ukraine
Artist(s) Ruslana Lyzchicko
As Ruslana
Languages English, Ukrainian
Composer(s) Ruslana Lyzchicko
Lyricist(s) Ruslana Lyzchicko, Aleksandr Ksenofontov
Finals performance
Semi-final result 2nd
Semi-final points 256
Final result 1st
Final points 280
Appearance chronology
◄ Hasta la Vista (2003)   
Razom nas bahato (2005) ►

"Wild Dances" (Ukrainian: Дикі танці) is the name of the song by Ukrainian pop-star Ruslana Lyzhichko (Ruslana). "Wild Dances" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Turkey.[1]

After qualifying from the semi-final the song turned the tables in the final, and the 280 points it received were sufficient to claim a first famous Eurovision victory for Ukraine. With a mixture of English and Ukrainian lyrics, "Dyki tantsi" had the distinction of becoming the first Eurovision winner 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 ex-USSR member to win the Contest (Estonia and Latvia having previously done so).

The song was remembered for an energetic performance, which Ruslana gave in a leather outfit, inspired by ethnic tradition of Ukraine.The work on the song lasted for about 3 months. Editing and sound engineering was done by Ruslana together with specialists from Kiev, London and New York. The recording was done together with a guitarist from Cool Before, and an ex-trumpet player from Zdob Si Zdub. The wild drumming part (in terms of drive and rhythm) was done by Ruslana herself. Ukrainian and English lyrics of the song, as well as the chorus and melody, suffered significant changes since the initial stage.

A music video was filmed for Wild Dances. It was first aired on May 6, 2004 (before Eurovision), on MTV Russia in 12 Angry Viewers show, but was booed by the audience.[2] The shooting took place in the abandoned building of the Ice Palace, 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.

The song was bought with exclusive copyright in Vietnam by Hồ Quỳnh Hương, a very famous Vietnamese female pop star who changed the lyrics into Vietnamese.[3]

The song is used as a soundtrack of the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV.[4]

American gymnast and 2011 world champion,Jordyn Weiber used this song for her floor exercise music.[5]

Contents

Track listing

  1. "Wild Dances" [Ukrainian version radio edit] - 2:55
  2. "Wild Dances" [Album version] - 3:00
  3. "Wild Dances" [Ukrainian version Harem's pop mix] - 2:48
  4. "Wild Dances" [Harem's pop mix] - 2:48
  5. "Wild Dances" [Part II] - 3:58
  6. "Wild Dances" [Ukrainian version Harem's club mix] - 3:16
  7. "Wild Dances" [Harem's club mix] - 3:16
  8. "Wild Dances" [Ukrainian version Harem's percussion mix] - 2:52
  9. "Wild Dances" [Harem's percussion mix] - 2:52
  10. "Wild Dances" [Break mix] - 3:25
  11. "Wild Dances" [Groove mix] - 3:16
  12. "Wild Dances" [Instrumental version] - 3:00
  13. "Wild Dances" [Part II instrumental version] - 3:57

Charts, peaks and certifications

Charts

Chart Peak
Austrian Singles Top 75[6] 43
Belgium Flanders Ultra Top 50[6] 1
Belgium Wallonie Ultra Top 50[6][7] 25
Dutch Singles Chart[6] 30
European Hot 100 Singles 25
Finnish Singles Chart[6] 20
German Singles Chart [8] 40
Greek Singles Chart 1
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 44
Romanian Top 100 44
Swedish Top 60[6] 8
Swiss Singles Top 100[6] 24
Ukrainian Airplay Chart 1
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[10] 47

Sales

Single Chart Sales
"Dyki tantsi" IFPI – Ukraine 500,000
"Wild Dances" IFPI – Belgium 25,000
"Wild Dances" DIVERTA Romania 2,000

Certification

Single Chart Certification
"Dyki tantsi" IFPI – Ukraine diamond
"Wild Dances" IFPI – Belgium golden
"Wild Dances" DIVERTA Romania golden

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by
Everyway That I Can by Sertab Erener
Eurovision Song Contest winners
2004
Succeeded by
My Number One by Helena Paparizou
Preceded by
"Hasta la Vista" by Oleksandr Ponomaryov
Ukrainian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest
2004
Succeeded by
"Razom nas bahato" by GreenJolly
Preceded by
F**k it (I don't want you back) by Eamon
Ultratop 50 number-one hits
June 5, 2004–August 7, 2004
Succeeded by
Push Up by Freestylers
Preceded by
Shake It by Sakis Rouvas
Greek Top 20 number-one hits
June 20, 2004–June 27, 2004
Succeeded by
Come Along Now by Despina Vandi
Preceded by
Chocolate by Kylie Minogue
Ukraine Top 40 number-one hits
May 1, 2004–July 7, 2004
Succeeded by
Dragostea din tei by O-Zone

Release history

Region Date Format
Ukraine 17 May 2004 CD single
Germany 24 May 2004 CD single
Greece 24 May 2004 CD single
Netherlands 24 May 2004 CD single
Finland 24 May 2004 CD single
Belgium 24 May 2004 CD single
Sweden 24 May 2004 CD single
Latvia 24 May 2004 CD single
Lithuania 24 May 2004 CD single
Estonia 24 May 2004 CD single
Poland 24 May 2004 CD single
Israel 24 May 2004 CD single
Turkey 24 May 2004 CD single
Czech Republic 24 May 2004 CD single
Slovakia 24 May 2004 CD single
Slovenia 24 May 2004 CD single
United Kingdom 24 May 2004 CD single
USA 29 April 2008 digital download

References

  1. ^ "Ukraine celebrates Eurovision win". BBC. 2004-05-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3715907.stm. 
  2. ^ 07.05.2004 Новости за May 2004, связанные с проведением Конкурса Песни Евровидение 2004.

    Вчера, 6 мая на российском канале MTV в программе “ 12 злобных зрителей ” был показан клип Русланы Wild Dances (Дикие Танцы). Критиковали его по-страшному и практически единогласно (один воздержался) признали худшим клипом.

  3. ^ VietNamNet - Sau "đạo giai điệu" lại đến "đạo hoà âm"
  4. ^ http://www.gta4.net/music/ gta4.net - GRAND THEFT AUTO IV - Music: Soundtrack, Radio Songs
  5. ^ http://wiwibloggs.com/2011/10/12/ruslanas-wild-dances-inspires-u-s-gymnast-jordyn-wieber/12127
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Ruslana - Wild Dances - swisscharts.com
  7. ^ ultratop.be - Ruslana - Wild Dances
  8. ^ musicline.de German Media Control Charts Top 100 Chartverfolgung
  9. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
  10. ^ "Chart Stats – Ruslana – Wild Dances" UK Singles Chart. Chart Stats.

External links