Youtube Unveils Russia’s Most Popular Music Videos of 2015

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Katrin Scheib – December 11, 2015)

[Links to the videos here themoscowtimes.com/news/article/youtube-unveils-russias-most-popular-music-videos-of-2015/552545.html]

The stats are in: Youtube has released a list of the music videos that were most popular in Russia in 2015. Some of them were meant to be funny, others just are, and they are all worth watching. So dig out your headphones, make sure your boss is in a meeting, and see what set the RuTube ablaze this year.

10. A pirated Eh Bee Family clip

Plenty of what happens on Youtube falls into the grey-to-black area of copyright rules. Like this Russian rip-off of a collection of clips by the “Eh Bee Family,” one of Youtube’s big channels with over one million subscribers. 4.3 million views for a pirated clip using other people’s material? Don’t tell your kids!

9. Korolyeva Krasoty

The “Beauty Queen” in this song is one half of comedy duo Boyna and Kuzmich, and she doesn’t conform to current beauty standards by any measure. But watch her reign supreme in this clip, and you’ll see why 4.3 million viewers enjoyed this silly, catchy song.

8. Za Molokom

They’re Barbie and Ken! They’re zombies! They’re a bride and groom singing along to that one song from “Fifty Shades of Grey”! In this one, Boyna and Kuzmich take you on a car ride though a bunch of well-known songs, with matching outfits and choreography.

Not much point to this, but it’s five minutes of fun to distract you from a bad day at work, and 4.7 million people decided this was a good use of their time. So watch, and join in. Hey, Macarena!

7. City under the soles

The name Miron Yanovich will not mean much to must Russians, but talk about Oxxxymiron and it’s a different matter. A rapper working hard to cultivate his bad-boy image, he released this song in September, and it took him all of three months to make it into the year’s top ten.

6. Lada Sedan

It hasn’t been an easy year for Lada. The humble car has never been one to inspire dreams of racing down wide-open roads into the sunset, but in 2015, its makers also suffered from the weak ruble.

Fortunately, this clip helped to lighten the mod. Yes, it’s tongue-in-cheek, but it does celebrate the “Lada Sedan”, especially if it comes in a lovely aubergine colour. It also boasts an impressive collection of Russian words that rhyme with “sedan.” Add some oriental music and a passing dig at Jeremy Clarkson, and you’ve got yourself a Youtube winner.

5. How to sell Russian cars

If you need inspiration on how to sell your car to a Russian buyer, look towards Nizhny Novgorod. This video, made for a local car dealer, pulls out all the stop. A sexy fairy godmother doing magic. A lanky salesperson breaking out his moves. A buyer so enthralled, he decides to take two cars instead of just one.

Not an easy clip to pull off, considering these aren’t exactly sports cars being sold. Over 5 million people watched this video – and probably went car-shopping later that same day.

4. ЦОК-ЦОК

You won’t find цок-цок (tsok-tsok) in your dictionary, but it mimics the sound of high heels on pavement. Indeed, this mix of melodic hip-hop and comedy tells the story of a man who falls for the archetypal gold digger.

After giving her every ruble he owns and suffering from her mood swings, he eventually finds himself having to make a tough decision: shoot her or marry her. How very gangsta! But this is lightweight cheerful entertainment, so you can watch the ending without being emotionally scarred. After all, over 7.5 million others also did.

3. Spoof Skype Advert

Maybe it was the fake, wide-eyed enthusiasm. Maybe it was the full-on Russian floral print. Maybe it was the company name spelled out in cigarette butts. Whatever drew over 9 million people to watch this spoof advert for the messaging and phone service, they were certainly entertained.
Watch out for that moment at the 45-second mark when it turns out the overly excited Skype user is actually sitting at a switched-off laptop.

2. Polina Gagarina’s Eurovision Song

Russia and Eurovision – it’s complicated. On one hand, the song contest is a chance to shine and show off the country’s musical talent. On the other hand, the colorful, diverse, LGBT-friendly atmosphere is hard to take for some of Russia’s political hardliners.
Polina Gagarina acquitted herself well, though. With the support of specially installed anti-booing technology, and to the sight of rainbow flags raised in the audience, she placed second in the Vienna competition, just behind the Swedish entry.

1. Imya 505

This song by Ukrainian band “Vremya i Steklo” is in a league very much its own. At over 41 million views, it is far ahead of all its competitors. Russia Youtube users appear to care more about music than about their country’s conflict with its neighbor.

Listen at your own risk, because the tune will get stuck in hour head. (Also, if you understand why it features someone dancing in front of a toilet, do let us know).