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Ruslana

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Ruslana
File:Photo25.jpg
Ruslana
Background information
OriginUkraine
Years active1996-present

Ruslana Lyzhychko (born May 24 1973 Ukrainian: Руслана Степанівна Лижичко) is the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 from Lviv, Ukraine. Born in 1973, she is a singer, dancer, producer, composer, conducter, and piano player. She writes, composes and produces her own songs and music videos.

Career

Ruslana started her career as a winner of Slavyanskiy Bazar song competition in 1996. Her debut album, Мить весни. Дзвінкий вітер (In an instant of spring. Sonorous wind), which was released in 1998, received high praise from the critics. It was a relative success given the overall state of Ukrainian music market of that time. Still, wider recognition didn't come until 1998 with the song Svitanok (Sunrise) and the album Myt' Vesny - Dzvinkyj Viter Live. Svitanok was the first big video clip in Ukraine. In 1999 she worked on the Christmas musical Ostanne rizdvo 90th (The Last Christmas of the 90's), which won the Ukrainian Movie of the Year award. Albums that followed were Останнє різдво 90-x (1999), Найкраще, and Добрий вечір, тобі... but were all commercial flops. Her album Dyki Tantsi (Wild Dances) which was issued in 2003 went double platinum in Ukraine, selling over 200,000 copies. According to the latest sales results (as of 2005), over 500,000 of "Dyki Tantsi" were sold in Ukraine, making the album 5x platinum.

She won the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest with the song Wild Dances, which earned 280 points, receiving points from 34 of the 35 other countries participating in the contest (the exception being Switzerland).

In 2004's disputed Ukrainian presidential elections, she declared her support for Viktor Yushchenko. She was one of the scores of prominent figures that addressed the mass crowds rallying in support of Yushchenko's demand that his original defeat be declared fraudulent. At one stage she was even quoted as saying she was ready to go on hunger strike for the cause.

In 2005, Ruslana appeared at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Kyiv. She performed a new song called Heart on Fire. The performance included her carrying a torch-blower. She also interviewed contestants in the green room area during the voting part of the show.

Ruslana designed the cover for Jonathan Safran Foer's "The Unabridged Pocket Book of Lightening" which was produced as part of Penguin Books' 70th birthday celebrations.

In 2006, she is a candidate for Yushchenko's party, Our Ukraine, in the Parliamentary elections of March 2006. She was number five on the election list [1] and was chosen into parliament.

Ruslana also plans to release a new album this year.

Eurovision Song Contest history

2004

Because of her excesive popularity in Ukraine, she was approached to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. At the national final Ruslana performed 5 songs : Dyki Tantsi (Wild Dances) , Play for me musician! , Znaju Ya , Plyes and Kolomijka . The winning song , Dyki Tantsi (Wild Dances) won the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with a total of 280 points.

Ruslana reached 2nd place in the semifinal, facing some sound and techinical problems, with 256 points.

File:Ucraina 04.jpg
Ruslana at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 (final)

Ruslana won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, delighting fans with an eye-catching mix of frenetic dancing, skimpy leather costumes and passionate vocals in a song called Wild Dances .

Singer Ruslana, a cult figure in Ukraine, was accompanied by a group of dancers in warrior costumes intended to evoke the Carpathian Mountains. All of us are making a positive image of Ukraine. I want my country to open up before you with friendship and hospitality, an ecstatic Ruslana told a news conference after the show.

"I would like you to forget about Chernobyl", she said, referring to the 1986 nuclear accident that has long tarnished Ukraine's image.

The Eurovision Song Contest, hosted for the first time by Turkey, winner of last year's event, attracts an annual worldwide audience of more than 100 million people.

With its victory Ukraine earned the right to stage the 50th Eurovision Contest in 2005.

Asked what would be the first thing she did after returning to Kiev, Ruslana said: I will do as Russell Crowe in Gladiator. I will kneel in my homeland, take a piece of Ukrainian earth and kiss it.

Wild Dances was taken from her best-selling album of the same name, which was the first ever to go platinum in Ukraine.

The song, sung partly in Ukrainian and partly in English, is described as a modern take on traditional Ukrainian ethnic music based on ancient rhythms and dances, mixing rock with ethnic dance music.

This year's Eurovision produced its usual mixed bag of talent, corny lyrics, flamboyant performances and partisan voting, which are part of the competition's enduring popularity.

2005

"Heart on Fire"

Ruslana opened the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with a song called Heart on Fire. Ruslana's choreography received positive criticism: Helena Paparizou said : What a spectacular show made by Ruslana! and Pavlo Shylkov answered : Oh yes!.

Heart on Fire was composed by Ruslana herself. Ruslana is the first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest that didn't perform her winning song in the next edition of the contest. This song will be included on Ruslana's next album that has the provisional title Hey, Go With Me.


"The Same Star"

"The Same Star" is the name of one of Ruslana's singles, featured on her 2005 studio album "Wild Dances". This single was released in Belgium, Czech republic, Slovakia, Greece and in Israel. To promote the single it was rotated on the radio stations in Germany, Greece, Sweden, South Africa, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Israel, Lebanon, Iceland, United States and Romania.

Ruslana performed The Same Star song during the interval act of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005.


"Hey, Go with Me"

Ruslana performed Hey, Go with Me, in the Eurovision night dedicated to her, along with Wild Dances , The Same Star, Dance with the Wolves, Be Wild, Ja Tebe Ljublu, Play for Me Musician!, Wind Song, Kolomyjka, and The Tango We Used to Dance.

Hey, Go With Me is a drum & dance song composed by Ruslana herself, which is set to be released in May 2006. The single will include remixes of the song and the brand new song Heart on Fire.

Some rumours are saying that Ruslana will represent her country (Ukraine) with a new song named Wild Enegry (Maryna and Sergey Dyachenko's book title). Ruslana hasn't confirmed the rumours but the Ukrainians are stil very confident about Ruslana's future participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. She also sung Hey, Go with Me at the popular music festival Tavria Games.

Trivia

  • Ruslana speaks fluent Ukrainian and Russian. She is still learning English. She started to speak English in 2003, but she still required an interpreter in all of her press conferences from Eurovision 2004.

Political career

Ruslana started her political career in the beginning of 2006 being a member of Ukraine's parliament. Among the priorities of her legislative activity she named the work out of laws about patronage of art, job placement for students and defense of intellectual property right. Ruslana run for Parliament on a party ticket of Our Ukraine bloc.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music Videos

Preceded by Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
2005 		Succeeded by
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