"Wild Dances" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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, Dance-Rock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Length | 3:00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Label | EMI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Oleksandr Ksenofontov, Jamie Maher, Ruslana Lyzhychko, Michael Fayne, Sherena Dugani | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Oleksandr Ksenofontov, Ruslana Lyzhychko | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ruslana singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Wild Dances" (Ukrainian: Дикі танці, translit. Dyki tantsi) is a single by Ukrainian singer-songwriter Ruslana. The song won the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 held in Turkey with an amount of 280 points. A Ukrainian version called "Dyki tantsi" was released in Russia and Ukraine.
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 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 after 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 City. The recording was done together with a guitarist from Cool Before, and an ex-trumpet player from Zdob Si Zdub. Ukrainian and English lyrics of the song, as well as the chorus and melody, suffered 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".