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"Run Away"
Single by SunStroke Project and Olia Tira
from the album Run Away
Released	2010
Recorded	2009
Genre	Dance-pop Eurodance Europop
Length	2:58
Composer(s)	Anton Ragoza Sergey Stepanov
Lyricist(s)	Alina Galetskaya
SunStroke Project singles chronology
"Summer" (2009) "Run Away" (2010) "Play with Me" (2010)
Music video
"Run Away" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2010 entry
Country	Moldova
Artist(s)	Sergei Yalovitsky Anton Ragoza Sergey Stepanov Olia Tira
As	SunStroke Project and Olia Tira
Language	English
Composer(s)	Anton Ragoza Sergey Stepanov
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

"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.

Background

Conception

"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.

Eurovision

On 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.

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. 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. At the close of voting, the song had received 27 points, placing twenty-second in a field of twenty-five. 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

After 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. 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.

Charts

References

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. "Eurovision Song Contest 2010 - first semi-final". Eurovision Song Contest. 25 May 2010. NRK / EBU.
4. "Eurovision Song Contest 2010 final". Eurovision Song Contest. 29 May 2010. NRK / EBU.
5. "Official Eurovision Song Contest 2010 final scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest.
6. "Epic Sax Guy (The One)". URLesque. Aol. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
7. 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.
8. "SunStroke Project & Olia Tira – Run Away". VG-lista.
9. "SunStroke Project & Olia Tira – Run Away". Singles Top 100.

• Eurovision songs of 2010
• Eurovision songs of Moldova
• 2010 singles
• 2010 songs
• SunStroke Project songs
• Internet memes introduced in 2010