Writer(s): Aleksandr Ksenofontov Composer(s): Ruslana Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko (Ukrainian: Руслана Степанівна Лижичко, Ruslana Stepanivna Lyžyčko; born on 24 May 1973), known mononymously as Ruslana, is a World Music Award winning and MTV Europe Music Award nominated artist, and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. Holding the title of People's Artist of Ukraine. She is also a former MP serving as deputy in the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) for the Our Ukraine Party. Ruslana is the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Ukraine. She is recognized as the most successful Ukrainian female solo artist internationally. She is a singer, songwriter, producer, musical conductor, pianist, dancer, voice actress and social activist. She writes, composes and produces her own songs and music videos. Since 28 December 1995 she has been married to Oleksandr Ksenofontov, a Ukrainian record producer. Together they have run the company Luxen Studio since 1993, producing radio and film trailers. Ruslana was the first artist emerging from the former Soviet Union to officially receive a platinum disc, her Dyki tantsi album selling more than 170,000 copies in the first 100 days after its release even without a supporting tour. This album is the best selling Ukrainian album to date, together with its English version, more than 800,000 copies being sold solely in Ukraine. She won the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Wild Dances receiving 280 points, which at that time was a record of points. Following her victory, she rose to fame in Europe and became one of the biggest pop stars from the Eastern part of the continent. Her winning song Wild Dances has dominated the European charts for 97 weeks peaking at number one in Belgium for 10 consecutive weeks. Later that year, she received a World Music Award in Las Vegas. Also in 2004, she was among the top 15 performers in a ranking conducted in Belgium with her singles "Wild Dances" and "Dance with the Wolves". Ruslana was named the most popular person in Belgium, the sexiest girl in Greece, the most influential public person in Ukraine and was the first foreigner who received the award of the Federation of Journalists in Turkey. In 2006, her song "Wild Dances" has been named the best ever Eurovision winning song by a survey arranged by the German public television broadcaster ARD. During the television program Grand Prix Hitliste, Wild Dances was presented as the winner, ahead of famous songs, such as Waterloo and Germany's only winner (at the time), Ein Bißchen Frieden, which finished sixth and twelfth, respectively. The programme was viewed by a television audience of approximately six million people in Germany. In 2008 she was elected by Rockstar Games to act as DJ Ruslana in the world famous American video game Grand Theft Auto IV. The Ukrainian version of her song Wild Dances has been featured on the soundtrack of the game and became one of the most popular tunes among the fans. Grand Theft Auto IV broke the Guinness World Records for "Highest grossing video game in 24 hours" and "Highest Revenue Generated by an Entertainment Product in 24 Hours". It sold 3.6 million copies on day one, which equalled roughly $310 million in revenue. Also in 2008, she signed a major contract with Warner Music for the worldwide release of her second international album called Wild Energy. In 2009, she was invited to attend the 6th Asia Song Festival which took place in Seoul, Korea. Even if she was supposed to receive only an award for her contribution to the cultural exchange between Ukraine and Asia in music, in the end she also won the main award of the festival, receiving the golden statue for the best artist of the Asia Song Festival 2009. 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. The song was bought with exclusive copyright in Vietnam by Hồ Quỳnh Hương, a very famous Vietnamese female pop star who performs it in Vietnamese as Vũ điệu hoang dã. American gymnast and 2011 world champion Jordyn Wieber uses this song for her floor exercise music. Official Web Site: www.eurovision.tv © European Broadcasting Union 2004. All rights reserved.

• published: 21 Oct 2013
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