"Run Away" is a song recorded by Moldovan group SunStroke Project along with Olia Tira with music composed by Anton Ragoza and Sergey Stepanov and English lyrics written by Alina Galetskaya. It represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo.
| "Run Away" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by SunStroke Project and Olia Tira | ||||
| from the album Run Away | ||||
| Released | 2010 | |||
| Recorded | 2009 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:58 | |||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) | Alina Galetskaya | |||
| SunStroke Project singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Run Away" on YouTube | ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2010 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist(s) |
| |||
| As | ||||
| Language | English | |||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) | Alina Galetskaya | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 10th | |||
| Semi-final points | 52 | |||
| Final result | 22nd | |||
| Final points | 27 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Hora din Moldova" (2009) | ||||
| "So Lucky" (2011) ► | ||||
| Official performance video | ||||
| "Run Away" (First semi-final) on YouTube "Run Away" (Final) on YouTube | ||||
Background
editConception
edit"Run Away" was composed by Anton Ragoza and Sergey Stepanov with English lyrics by Alina Galetskaya. The inspiration for the "Epic Jazz Jive" came from observing ducks, waddling through sand, on the beach.[clarification needed][citation needed]
Eurovision
editOn 27 February–6 March 2010, "Run Away" performed by SunStroke Project and Olia Tira competed in O melodie pentru Europa 2010, the national selection organised by Teleradio-Moldova (TRM) to select its song and performer for the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition so it became the Moldovan entry, and SunStroke Project and Olia Tira the performers, for Eurovision. It gained the maximum number of points from both the juries and the televotes.[1][2]
On 25 May 2010, the first semi-final for the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Telenor Arena in Oslo hosted by Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), and broadcast live throughout the continent. SunStroke Project and Olia Tira performed "Run Away" first on the evening, placing tenth and qualifying for the final.[3] On 29 May 2010, the Eurovision Song Contest grand final was held at the same venue and SunStroke Project and Olia Tira performed "Run Away" fourth on the evening.[4] At the close of voting, the song had received 27 points, placing twenty-second in a field of twenty-five.[5] The rules of the contest prohibited musical instruments being played on stage, meaning Stepanov was not actually playing the saxophone at all, but rather synchronising movements with a prerecorded track.
Aftermath
editAfter the contest, "Run Away" would also become the subject of a major internet meme surrounding the saxophone solos performed by saxophonist Sergey Stepanov who, in a phenomenon similar to Rickrolling and Trololo, was dubbed the "Epic Sax Guy" in videos on YouTube.[6][7] The internet meme of this song is often associated with Ian McKellen's portrayal of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; particularly a moment of joyous laughter, edited to appear if he is dancing his head to the song. Later, this song is used more as background music of video gaming (such as Hearthstone and Rainbow Six Siege) "Best moments" videos.[citation needed]
Charts
edit| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norway (VG-lista)[8] | 7 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] | 31 |
References
edit- ^ Brey, Marco (6 March 2010). "Sun Stroke Project & Olia Tira for Moldova!". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
- ^ Klier, Marcus (6 March 2010). "Moldova sends Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira to Eurovision". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2010 - first semi-final". Eurovision Song Contest. 25 May 2010. NRK / EBU.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2010 final". Eurovision Song Contest. 29 May 2010. NRK / EBU.
- ^ "Official Eurovision Song Contest 2010 final scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest.
- ^ "Epic Sax Guy (The One)". URLesque. Aol. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
- ^ Brown, Damon (2 August 2010). "Is this guy the Web's new rickroll?". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^ "SunStroke Project & Olia Tira – Run Away". VG-lista.
- ^ "SunStroke Project & Olia Tira – Run Away". Singles Top 100.