t.A.T.u represented Russia at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2003 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. 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" 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. This led to complaints from the Russian officials which then led to the
BBC and
RTÉ 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." == References ==