He won the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 and has gone on to become one of Russia’s most iconic pop stars. She co-wrote and provided vocals for Eminem’s “Legacy,” which was on his Grammy Award winning album The Marshall Mathers LP 2. And now Dima Bilan and Russian-born Polina Goudieva have come together in “Drunk Love”.

The music video is a 10-minute homage to the camp and over-the-top weddings held in Russia throughout the 1990s. We see the couple staging their own crazy nuptials with guests who include popular bloggers, actors, singers and even a real tiger. Filmed in Zelenograd — about 40 kilometres from Moscow — the motley crew take on a slew of colourful characters, including inebriated guests, a bride with a drinking habit, jilted ex-lovers, misbehaving bridesmaids and more.

This folksy tragicomedy was produced by VERSUS PICTURES studio, and the creative team was headed by Dasha Charusha — an actress, musician and producer considered the multicultural darling of the Moscow art scene. She collaborated with creative producer and famed comedian Alexander Gudkov.

Polina (not Gagarina) has several gold status records that have hit No. 1, including “Book of Love” and “Fade To Love”, both of which became massive hits in Russia. She’s worked with Tiesto, Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn.

“When Dima first asked me to do a record collab, I could have not imagined how adventurous and unusual the video will be!” she says in a statement sent to wiwibloggs.

“For me, as a Western artist, everything already felt in a new way since this is my first Russian-language single. And during the 3 days of our shoot I think I have lived through all the sensations of the Russian exotic 90s — which I missed out on due to the fact that I’ve lived in the US most of my conscious life.”

“I’ve shot a variety of videos, but one of this caliber of fun — perhaps, never before. And the number of talented people on set was mind-blowing. Everyone’s energy was off the charts. The most important thing is that everyone had so much fun with the process — and that alone isn’t comparable to anything else. I really hope that this energy will be transcend from the screen to the viewer and will infect everyone with fun!”

Dima was feeling it too.

“This is perhaps the most fun shoot in my life,” he tells us. “We could not help laughing at our material all three days.”

“There are so many surprises, so much crazy creativity! During the filming, I constantly repeated how envious I feel about the team that has gathered. And what actors! I just wanted to get acquainted, cooperate with some of the heroes … and now it came true — on one square meter! For me this video is a revolutionary masterpiece. I wonder how the audience will perceive it.”

So far, so good. The video has been viewed more than 4.5 million times in just two days.

Did you attend any real Russian weddings in the 90s? How close do Dima and Polina come to the phenomenon? And are you loving the sound? Let us know in the comments box below!

Photos: Alexandra Karpenko

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ESCFan2009 (male, 22, German)
ESCFan2009 (male, 22, German)
5 years ago

Who else thought because of the headline, that it is about Polina Gagarina? 😀 LOL. Just after the headline, it became clear while reading the complete article… 😉 🙂 😛

Theo
Theo
5 years ago

Great song! Very contemporary! Polina is the new rising star in Russia !

EscAU
EscAU
5 years ago

wow sounds like that russian deep house genre is the only type of music coming out of the country, does it all sound the same? (like sevak/alekseev’s new singles)

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
5 years ago
Reply to  EscAU

Russian pop has taken a nosedive in quality since the late 00s, I agree it all sounds the same and all these new stars don’t have an ounce of talent.