Dancing Lasha Tumbai
Encyclopedia
"Dancing Lasha Tumbai" is the song sung by Verka Serduchka
(Andriy Danylko), chosen to represent Ukraine
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
held in Helsinki
, Finland
. The original title was simply «Danzing», but it was changed due to lyrics controversy. The song includes lyrics in four languages: German
, English
, Russian
and Ukrainian
.
In the Eurovision Song Contest, "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" finished runner-up to Serbia
's Molitva
.
as Ukraine's representative at ESC was fiercely criticized by several media and politicians of different parties. Taras Chornovil
of Party of Regions was quoted saying:
Another subject of controversy was song's title and lyrics. According to Danilko, the phrase "Lasha Tumbai" is a Mongolian
phrase for "whipped cream". It was later proven, though, that there are no such words in Mongolian and the catchphrase bears no meaning at all. There have been allegations that the words were chosen due to their phonetic resemblance to "Russia Goodbye", allegedly a reference to the 2004-2005 Orange Revolution
in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the song is performed in the Russian language as well ("танцевать хорошо").
Serduchka, however, had the full support of the National Television Company of Ukraine
, the participation in the Contest at Helsinki went ahead as planned, the song finished 2nd in a field of 24 and went on to become a major chart hit not only in Ukraine and neighbouring countries but throughout Europe.
and the UK since the Final. On the Irish iTunes Download chart, it has outsold any other entry by more than double - including the winning entry. On 2007-05-18 it entered the Irish singles chart, on downloads alone.
Verka Serduchka
Andriy Mykhailovych Danylko , better known as his drag character Verka Serduchka , is a Ukrainian comedian and pop and dance singer. In the role of Serduchka, he represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 and finished in second place...
(Andriy Danylko), chosen to represent Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
held in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The original title was simply «Danzing», but it was changed due to lyrics controversy. The song includes lyrics in four languages: German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
.
In the Eurovision Song Contest, "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" finished runner-up to Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
's Molitva
Molitva
"Molitva" is a song by Serbian singer Marija Šerifović. It was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. It was Serbia's Eurovision debut as an independent nation; the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro having dissolved in June 2006...
.
Final performance
In the performance in the Eurovision Song Contest, Serduchka was accompanied by 5 back up singers and dancers, dressed in silver and gold clothing. Serduchka wore the number '69' on his back, with reference to the sexual position. The two main companion dancers either side of this wore the number '18', referring to the entry's position on the final, 18th to sing.Controversies
The choice of a drag queenDrag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
as Ukraine's representative at ESC was fiercely criticized by several media and politicians of different parties. Taras Chornovil
Taras Chornovil
Taras Vyacheslavovych Chornovil is a Ukrainian politician and is an independent member of Reforms for the Future block in the Verkhovna Rada.-Early life:...
of Party of Regions was quoted saying:
I guess some of our esteemed experts saw those "hot Finnish guys" dressed as monstersLordiLordi is a Finnish hard rock/heavy metal band, formed in 1996 by the band's lead singer, songwriter and costume-designer, Mr. Lordi. The band is known for wearing monster masks and using pyrotechnics during concerts...
but didn't quite understand that there is subculture and there is pseudoculture. Those monsters are part of their subculture, which has the right to exist. But all these hermaphroditeHermaphroditeIn biology, a hermaphrodite is an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes.Many taxonomic groups of animals do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which both...
s have never been accepted anywhere. Therefore I think that this will be a serious embarrassment factor and the world will see us as complete idiots.
Another subject of controversy was song's title and lyrics. According to Danilko, the phrase "Lasha Tumbai" is a Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
phrase for "whipped cream". It was later proven, though, that there are no such words in Mongolian and the catchphrase bears no meaning at all. There have been allegations that the words were chosen due to their phonetic resemblance to "Russia Goodbye", allegedly a reference to the 2004-2005 Orange Revolution
Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the song is performed in the Russian language as well ("танцевать хорошо").
Serduchka, however, had the full support of the National Television Company of Ukraine
National Television Company of Ukraine
National Television Company of Ukraine is the national television broadcaster in Ukraine. It is state-run, and operates the television channel Pershyi Nazional'niy, the only Ukrainian TV channel that has a coverage over 97% of Ukraine's territory. It is the only state-owned national channel. Its...
, the participation in the Contest at Helsinki went ahead as planned, the song finished 2nd in a field of 24 and went on to become a major chart hit not only in Ukraine and neighbouring countries but throughout Europe.
Charts
The song has performed well on download charts in IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and the UK since the Final. On the Irish iTunes Download chart, it has outsold any other entry by more than double - including the winning entry. On 2007-05-18 it entered the Irish singles chart, on downloads alone.
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 49 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 22 |
| French Singles Chart | 6 |
| Finnish Singles Chart Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
2 |
| German Single Charts Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
74 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
31 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 6 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 53 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
28 |
| Russian Airplay Chart Russian Music Charts The Russian Music Charts are Russian music industry standard popularity rankings compiled weekly by 2M and Tophit . Albums and tracks rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through retail data captured electronically each week from Russian music retailers... |
110 |
| Ukrainian Airplay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week | 01 | 02 | 03 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CD Single
- All tracks are variations on the title track.
- "Original Version" 3:10
- "Dancing Version #1" 3:32
- "Pub Version Art" 3:12
- "Dancing Version #2" 3:01
- "Club Version" 5:52
- "Long Version With Balalaika" 3:32
- "Lullaby" 2:56
- "BasshunterBasshunterJonas Erik Altberg , better known by his stage name Basshunter, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer and DJ. He is best known for his number one hits "Boten Anna", "Dota", "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted". Basshunter has so far released a total of six albums, two of which have...
Remix" 3:08
Trivia
- The words "Lasha Tumbai" later reappeared in Serduchka's next song, "I am Eurovision Queen (also spelled ("I am Evro Vizhen Kvin) although in the video are written as Lasha Tumbay.