Wild Dances


"Wild Dances" 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.

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 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".

Usage in media

The song is used in the soundtrack of the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV. American gymnast and 2011 world champion Jordyn Wieber has revealed that she uses this song as her floor exercise music. The single was included on the official compilation album called The Very Best of Eurovision celebrating the 60th anniversary of the contest.

Track listing

Official versions
  1. "Wild Dances" – 2:55
  2. "Wild Dances" – 3:00
  3. "Wild Dances" – 2:48
  4. "Wild Dances" – 2:48
  5. "Wild Dances" – 3:58
  6. "Wild Dances" – 3:16
  7. "Wild Dances" – 3:16
  8. "Wild Dances" – 2:52
  9. "Wild Dances" – 2:52
  10. "Wild Dances" – 3:25
  11. "Wild Dances" – 3:16
  12. "Wild Dances" – 3:00
  13. "Wild Dances" – 3:57

    Music video

The official music video for the song was first aired on May 6, 2004, on MTV Russia in the 12 Angry Viewers show, but was booed by the audience.
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.

Cover art

Photographer - Valerii Reshetniak

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Dyki tantsi
Wild Dances
!scope="row"|Romania

Release history

RegionDateFormat
Ukraine17 May 2004CD single
Germany24 May 2004CD single
Greece24 May 2004CD single
Netherlands24 May 2004CD single
Finland24 May 2004CD single
Belgium24 May 2004CD single
Sweden24 May 2004CD single
Latvia24 May 2004CD single
Lithuania24 May 2004CD single
Estonia24 May 2004CD single
Poland24 May 2004CD single
Israel24 May 2004CD single
Turkey24 May 2004CD single
Czech Republic24 May 2004CD single
Slovakia24 May 2004CD single
Slovenia24 May 2004CD single
United Kingdom24 May 2004CD single
United States29 April 2008Digital download