#esc 2004

In the game Grand Theft Auto IV, the radio station Vladivostok FM is hosted by Ruslana Lyzhychko, winner of the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest.

The Ukrainan version of her Eurovision song "Wild Dances" is featured on the in-game radio station.

[Sources]

"Vladivostok FM," gta.fandom.com.

It's time for Macedonia's tragic hero. Toše Proeski was a very big deal. Across the whole of the Balkans, his name and his voice were household names. A child star, since the beginning of the 21st century his reputation had been growing to major proportions and his performances were huge. He even had a superhero comic book character named for him. Super Toše fought evil to the delight of Balkan comic fans.

He should have been at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest. He won Beovision to represent Serbia and Montenegro, however owing to the massive number of entries that forced the EBU to finally start holding semi-finals, Serbia and Toše had to wait another year.

In 2004, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were also back (having been relegated in 2003), so fate allowed Toše to represent his native country. Given his status, Skopjefest made way for a song selection final in which he would sing all eight songs. It's a strong final - many of the songs are worthy.

Далеку од мене (Daleku od mene/Far Away from Me) is by Ognen Nedelkovski and Sanel Suljanović. Of these two, Ognen has the biggest history with both Macedonian Eurovision potentials as well as Toše himself. He wrote Солзи прават златен прстен (Solzi pravat zlaten prsten/Tears are Making a Golden Ring) which finished 3rd for Toše at Skopjefest in 2000. He'd go on to write many songs for Macedonian selection finals over the next ten years.

The song itself is a driving EDM power-ballad that's all about Toše's voice showing just what it can do. It starts off with big drum hits, and squelchy synth bass races off daring him to keep up. This is full-on, high power singing with barely room to breathe. He's missing his love so much that the mountain tops will know by the end of the song. There's even room for a big held note that carries on through the key change in the bridge. That's just showing off. Listen to that crowd at the end.

It nearly became Macedonia's song for the year - just missing out and ending up the runner up. The winner was far and away the favourite, but this was clear in second place too. In the end of course, Toše did get to Eurovision with the winning song.

Ukraine in ESC appreciation post

#41: Ruslana -- Wild Dances (Ukraine 2004)

“Dance forever, come and be mine Dance together, till the end of time”

Wild Dances has so much impact and energy, I kind of regret not only having it in second place in its year, but leaving it just outside the top 40. And it's not only in the song, performance, and costumes. It's also in how Ukraine shows itself off to the world.

When Ukraine declared independence in 1991, they struggled with their image on the world stage Even the country's name hints at this; Ukraine translates into "borderland", implying they are part of Russia. And it wasn't entirely false in the early 2000s; they were stuck in Russia's shadow and had to face off with corruption within their own lands.

Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked Ruslana, an already popular artist, won the contest for Ukraine in 2004, on their second attempt.

Using Hutsul cultural elements (an ethnic group from Southwest Ukraine), Wild Dances takes one in from the initial horns and its heavy, intense atmosphere. With the modern musical elements, like the drums and electronic music, it just thrusts the entry into the collective consciousness. You can't help but dance and shout out the lyrics with the same tribal gutso that Ruslana does.

And with that win, it threw Ukraine into the global consciousness, and garnered the country a sense of national identity. This pulsated through the Orange Revolution later that year, of which Ruslana was highly active in. She would not only be part of government, but also stand up for the Ukrainians during Euromaidan in late 2013-early 2014.

With Wild Dances, we not only have a cracking bop (the second of a trilogy of ethno-pop winners in the 2000s), but also an affirmation of the country at question. The use of Ukrainian in the second verse also solidifies this--even though Russian is frequently used in the south-east of the country and is used in informal communication. And it's a dominant reason why Eurovision is so special, in that each country can show a snippet of themselves and the rest of the continent and accept it (which you will also see in the next song).

P.S. Another performance worth mentioning in Het Grote Songfestivalfest in 2019; she seems to have as much energy as ever.

ah

Ah

Ah

Eurovision crossover (5/10): Ruslana & Ελένη Φουρέιρα - Wild Dances (Eurosong 2013)