A Million Voices (song)

"A Million Voices" is the name of the song that represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.[2] It was performed by the Russian singer, songwriter, actress, and model Polina Gagarina. In the grand final it received 303 points, finishing second, becoming the first second-placed song ever to receive more than 300 points in the Eurovision Song Contest. The song is written by Swedish songwriters Gabriel Alares, Joakim Björnberg, by Australian Katrina Noorbergen and by Russians Leonid Gutkin and Vladimir Matetsky.

"A Million Voices"
Single by Polina Gagarina
Released7 April 2015 (2015-04-07)[1]
Recorded2015
GenrePop, Pop Rock
Length3:05
LabelUniversal Music Group
Songwriter(s)
  • Gabriel Alares
  • Joakim Björnberg
  • Katrina Noorbergen
  • Leonid Gutkin
  • Vladimir Matetsky
Producer(s)
  • Magnus Wallin
  • Gustaf Svenungsson
  • Joakim Björnberg
Polina Gagarina singles chronology
"Шагай"
(2014)		 "A Million Voices"
(2015)		 "Кукушка"
(2015)
Eurovision Song Contest 2015 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
Composer(s)
  • G. Alares
  • J. Björnberg
  • K. Noorbergen
  • L. Gutkin
  • V. Matetsky
Lyricist(s)
  • G. Alares
  • J. Björnberg
  • K. Noorbergen
  • L. Gutkin
  • V. Matetsky
Finals performance
Semi-final result
1st
Semi-final points
182
Final result
2nd
Final points
303
Entry chronology
◄ "Shine" (2014)   
"You Are the Only One" (2016) ►

Critical reception

Charlotte Runcie of The Daily Telegraph described the song as "synth-heavy with oodles of key changes, on record it sounds quite a lot like a standard karaoke ballad - think Take That-lite".[3]

Music video

The music video of the song was presented on March 15, 2015.[4] On the same day it was published on the official channel of the contest on YouTube and gained more than 10 million views, making it the most watched Eurovision 2015 music video on the contest's channel.[5]

The shooting of the video involved 25 people, including children, adults and elderly people of different races and nationalities.[6]

Political controversy

The 63-year-old singing contest in which viewers phone in to vote for their favourite has always largely been political, says Karen Fricker, a professor of Dramatic Arts at the Brock University of Canada who was in Vienna for the grand final. "The song is extremely effective and I would argue, manipulative," says Fricker, "because it's one of those songs that's all about how we should all get together and link hands and be human beings together and believe in peace", and added, "We have to bear in mind this song is representing Russia, a country that is very involved in aggressive foreign relations at the moment".

Before the final, Fricker pointed out that Gagarina did not earn boos from the crowd. While she acknowledged it may be a reflection of the crisis in Ukraine becoming less popular news, Fricker told CTV News, "it's also perhaps because fans just love the song".[7]

Booing in the presentation

The live audience could be heard booing whenever a country awarded points to Russia at the song contest, which took place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, prompting one of the hosts to remind the audience that “music should stand over politics tonight”. Conchita Wurst, who was condemned by leading Russian religious figures following her win last year, called the boos “incomprehensible” and said that Gagarina “cannot be blamed for the rules” in her home country.[8]

The booing was thought to be linked to Russia’s anti-LGBT policies and its involvement in the Ukraine conflict. Conservative Russians viewed Conchita Wurst as a threat to traditional family values, and expressed concern about hosting the Eurovision Song Contest if Russia won. Despite the negative reaction from the Eurovision crowd, Russia’s entry Polina Gagarina came in a respectable second place after Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw took the crown. Anti-booing technology was reportedly installed in Wiener Stadthalle to prevent boos from being heard on television.[8]

Russia’s communications coordinator for Eurovision told The Moscow Times: “It was very embarrassing for us last year when this happened, as it was not the spirit of the contest. "We are here to build bridges, as the motto [of the contest] says".

Track listing
Digital download – single[1]
  1. A Million Voices – 3:05

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 79
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 22
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[12] 38
CIS (Tophit)[13] 123
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 23
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 46
Iceland (Tonlist)[16] 4
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 86
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 99
Russia (2M)[19] 1
Scotland (OCC)[20] 55
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 26
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 39
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 97
UK (UK Single Downloads Chart)[24] 61

References
  1. "A Million Voices (Eurovision 2015 - Russia) - Single". iTunes. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  2. Nocito, Eric. "Polina Gagarina will fly the Russian flag at Eurovision!". ESC Reporter. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  3. Runcie, Charlotte. "Eurovision 2015 favourite: Russia: beautiful songstress Polina Gagarina". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  4. "Полина Гагарина: премьера клипа A Million Voices". Hello (Russia) (in Russian). Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  5. "Клип Гагариной лидирует по просмотрам среди участников "Евровидения"" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  6. "Полина Гагарина ушла из шоу "Точь-в-точь" ради подготовки к "Евровидению"" (in Russian). Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  7. Mulholland, Angela. "So much more than a song: Why Eurovision is really about politics". CTV News. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  8. Wyatt, Daisy (24 May 2015). "Eurovision 2015: Russia booed despite song contest's best efforts to put 'music over politics'". The Independent. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  9. Ryan, Gavin (30 May 2015). "ARIA Singles: Taylor Swift Bad Blood Is No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  10. "Austriancharts.at – Polina Gagarina – A Million Voices" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Polina Gagarina – A Million Voices" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Polina Gagarina – A Million Voices" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  13. Полина Гагарина — A Million Voices. Tophit. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  14. "Polina Gagarina: A Million Voices" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  15. "Offiziellecharts.de – Polina Gagarina – A Million Voices". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  16. "Netlistinn viku 22, 2015". Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  17. "Chart Track: Week 22, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Polina Gagarina – A Million Voices" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  19. "Lenta.ru: Песня Гагариной на "Евровидении"". Lenta.ru (in Russian). Rambler Media Group. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  20. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  21. "Swedishcharts.com – Polina Gagarina – A Million Voices". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  22. "Swisscharts.com – Polina Gagarina – A Million Voices". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  24. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Retrieved 2 June 2015.
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