"Ne ver', ne boysia" () also known as "Ne ver', ne boisia, i ne prosi" (, "Don't believe, don't fear and don't ask") is a song by
t.A.T.u.
t.A.T.u. (russian: Тату, ) were a Russian music duo that consisted of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The singers were part of children's music group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with ...
, which they performed at
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the with the song " I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) a ...
representing .
Production
The title of the song is based on a
Russian prison saying, which entered Russian mainstream culture due to
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...
's book ''
The Gulag Archipelago
''The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation'' (russian: Архипелаг ГУЛАГ, ''Arkhipelag GULAG'') is a three-volume non-fiction text written between 1958 and 1968 by Russian writer and Soviet dissident Aleksandr So ...
''. The term has also been interpreted as a reference to the repression faced by the LGBTQ community.
According to Australian-born
Mars Lasar
Mars Lasar is a German-born keyboardist and composer, raised in Australia. Predominantly new-age, his music also contains elements of electronica, jazz, pop, world, and rock. Lasar's music has appeared on television and in films; one nota ...
, the song was produced by him and
Ivan Shapovalov
Ivan Nikolayevich Shapovalov (Cyrillic: Иван Николаевич Шаповалов, born 28 May 1966) is a musical producer based in Moscow, Russia. He is best known for being the founder and former executive producer/manager for t.A.T.u.
...
by sending MP3s over the internet to each other, with Lasar in the U.S. and Shapovalov in Russia. There are several versions of the song, including the promotional version that was used for Eurovision promotions.
Release
The song was first released on the UK Maxi single for "
Not Gonna Get Us
"Not Gonna Get Us" is a song recorded by Russian music duo t.A.T.u. for their first English-language studio album, '' 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' (2002). Interscope Records released the song on 21 April 2003 as the second single from the albu ...
" on May 19, 2003. It was then released on the UK Deluxe Edition of ''
200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' on May 26, 2003. It was then released on November 25, 2003 in ''
t.A.T.u. Remixes''. The song reappeared in 2006 on ''
The Best
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
''.
The only physical single for "Ne ver', ne boysia" was a 'not for sale' promo release distributed for Eurovision.
Track listing
Music video
The song has a music video that contains videos of wars, accidents, and other pictures of the real world, as well as videos of
Lena Katina
Elena Sergeevna Katina (russian: link=no, Елена Сергеевна Катина; born 4 October 1984), better known as Lena Katina, is a Russian musician who gained fame as one half of the pop/electronica duo t.A.T.u. She started her car ...
and
Julia Volkova
Yulia Olegovna Volkova (russian: Юлия Олеговна Волкова; born 20 February 1985), better known by the alternative spelling of Julia, is a Russian singer best known for being a member of the Russian girl group t.A.T.u., along ...
. The video is on both t.A.T.u.'s official
MySpace and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
pages.
Credits
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
t.A.T.u represented Russia at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the with the song " I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) a ...
with this song. In his 2017 book ''Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe Through the World’s Greatest Song Contest'', author Chris West suggested that the group's selection to represent Russia in the contest was partly intended to counter accusations of Russian cultural conservatism.
Australian professor Bronwyn Winter suggested that the entry could be interpreted as "a mild protest song", in that the artists' lesbian image contrasted with Russia's gender norms.
The song was initially considered a favorite to win the contest.
It was the eleventh song performed on the night, following 's
Lou with "
Let's Get Happy
Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Let's Get Happy" written by Ralph Siegel and Bernd Meinunger. The song was performed by German pop singer, Louise Hoffner, more commonly referred to as Lou. The German entry ...
" and preceding 's
Beth with "
Dime". The group reportedly arrived late to rehearsals in the lead-up to the show, and threatened to deliver their performance naked; they ultimately opted to perform in T-shirts with the number one on them and old jeans, while holding hands.
Their live performance was booed by some audience members, while their outfit later earned them the annual
Barbara Dex Award
The Barbara Dex Award was a fan-voted accolade awarded annually to the worst-dressed contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest. The award was created by the fansite The House of Eurovision in 1997, which hosted it until the site's closure in 2 ...
for worst-dressed Eurovision contestants.
At the close of the voting had received 164 points, placing 3rd in a field of 26. Five countries awarded Russia with maximum 12 points: , , , and . The UK and Ireland were the only countries in the contest not to vote for this song.
This led to complaints from the Russian officials which then led to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
revealing the full order of how the countries had voted (something which they had never done before or since). The Russian entry was in neither of their top ten lists. If this had not been the case, there would have been a good chance that the song could have won. The song was only one point behind the second-placed song from and three points behind the winning song from . West posited that the group's third-place finish "was a reward for pre-existing notoriety rather than for anything they brought to Latvia."