Vladimir Putin sings Blueberry Hill

The universe demands a gala performance of Trolololo by President Obama. [via Mefi]

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Ugly Canuck

Oddly enough, our Prime Minister Harper was singing in public recently too…the link is not his most recent performance at his Party’s convention, but it will give you an idea…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8
Pantograph

Kevin Costner at 1:42 proving that he can clap and chew gum at the same time is the most inspiring bit of the clip for me. Chewing gum at a gala dinner? WTF?

Webcomic Putin would have quickly put a stop to such behaviour.
Woopski

The couch-Kremlinologist in me says anyone with enough time on his hands to learn how to play piano & sing in English is getting ready for retirement…
Anonymous

Yeah! Go Dobby!
Anonymous

The big black dude in back looks like he could tuck Mr Putin under one arm and carry him off without much fuss.
- wrybread
  
  The big black dude in back looks like he could tuck Mr Putin under one arm and carry him off without much fuss.
  
  Maybe, but its worth mentioning that another one of Putin’s talents is that he’s a lifelong martial artist. A black belt in judo (and Russian judo is famously rough), and trained in Sambo since he was a kid.
  
  Oh, and Desiredusername / #6 wins the thread.
  
  desiredusername
Anonymous

I think this world would be a much nicer place is all politicians took themselves a lot less seriously
Oskar

Putin? Why is Putin singing?

Kevin Costner? Depardieu? KURT RUSSELL?

GAAAAAAAAAAAH! WHAT IS GOING ON?! GET ME OUT OF HERE! GAAAAAAAAH!
Anonymous

I like how the “background” singer (playing the synth at the beginning of the song) is louder in the mix than Putin’ lead.
- sbarnes2
  
  I noticed that too! It reminds me of this DJ we had at our after prom party- at the end of the night people started to get really bad at karaoke, so he just sang over them.
  
  Ochin smishnoy!
Anonymous

What the heck is Kurt Russell doing there, all smiling and happy? Sad and shameful gala party… horrible terrorist attack to music with disturbing backing vocals… ah, the humanity!
Anonymous

As a Canadian I am proud that our prime minister’s musical ability is superior to Putin’s. I don’t like either of them, but at least ours is better!
Editz

Kinda hoping he’d do On Top of Old Smokey for an encore.
frankieboy

looks like a barrel of laughs!
Anonymous

Beginning with Gorbachev there was a new, more youthful type of Russian leader. Yeltsin was a drunk but he also danced on stage and had an outgoing personality. And compared to the old-guard Russian leaders who had one foot in the grave before they could ever get into power, Putin positively rocks. I think he did a nice job on this classic old American tune and I hope he gets re-elected as head of the Russian state.
buffcubby

How much of my tax dollars paid for this??
Teller

Blueberry Heel. cute.
millie fink

Looks like a pretty shabby joint.

Banquet-hall special–were there the usual two meat choices, or since this was an extra-special occasion, three?

Kevin Costner too?

Where’s David Lynch?

What kind of dream IS this?
orwellian

In Putin’s Almost-Soviet Russia, thrill finds YOU!
RomeoIsBleeding

Let’s sing together in SESAME STREET !!!!!!!!!!!
Anonymous

I’M A TOUGH OLD EX-10-MOUNTAIN DIVISION OFFICER FROM 1955,’56,’57,’58 — AND WAS SHOCKED TO SEE, HEAR A-N-D APPRECIATE THIS TOUGH, WELL TRAINED (IN MANUAL AND WEAPONS FIGHTING, POLITICS, E-T-C!) MELODEOUS SINGING OF “BLUE BERRY HILL” — FOR AN AMERICAN CHARITY!!!!!!!!!!!

AND — I STILLLL WATCH, ENJOY AND APPRECIATE IT SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK.

HOW, PLEASE, CAN I (YOU?) GET THIS (MY!) MESSAGE TO PUTIN IN RUSSIA??

Old dad E., TX.
Rosin

Wow, that was sickening! I was surprised to see Gerard Depardieu there too…
scifijazznik

I think singing “Trololo” at a gala event is about the only thing that Obama could do to get me to like him again. It’s not like he’s gonna repeal DADT, raise taxes on the wealthy, do anything meaningful for energy, education or the environment.
knoxblox

I think it was cool to see Vincent Cassell out in the audience, too.

If there was ever a man who had a more dangerous screen presence than Putin, it’s Vincent Cassell.
Anonymous

I see this as a response to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s rendition of several rock classics.
Berandor

I wonder whether all those celebrities are smiling because they know that’s what they have to do for the media (and not to get on Putin’s death list), or whether they’re actually enjoying that.
Anonymous

Stephen Harper rips compared to Putin! Yeah Canada!
Kernit the Font

That’s quite a pimp-roll Putin’s got there.
andrewvt@alumni.uwaterloo.ca

Check out Stephen Harper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOt2Qp0H9G8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xJLyLxFmwI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3PU-nQXm_I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58nyP7qq5Hw
knoxblox

I’m starting to wonder what there is out there that Putin cannot do, at least in a reasonably basic manner?
- bmcraec
  
  He’s Putin, ya unnerstand. I bet he was KGB-rated as double-nought material.
  
  “Yeshâ€¦Â Putin. Vladimir Putin. Vodka, neither shaken nor shtirred. Of course I can play piano. Every double-nought KGB operative haszh been trained to do many thingsh. Eshpecially, to make love to the beautiful womenâ€¦ [eyebrow raise] What did you shay your name was?”
  
  “Ivanna. Humpalot”
  
  “But of course it is.”
  
  Pimp-roll. That’s funny. Yeah, kinda like Aragorn when he’s got some Orcs to slay. Now.
  
  Oh, and I almost forgot. “AAAAAGGGGHHHH! My Ears! My Eyes! AAAAGGHHHH!”
  - netsharc
    
    Indeed he was KGB, he used to work in East Germany, and legends say his German doesn’t have a Russian accent. He visited the country (well unified Germany) again as PM and did a press conference with the Chancellor, and he spoke German…
    - kjulig
      
      He said a couple of sentences in German at a press conference a while ago. At least nowadays his German is by no means fluent (it’s not bad either, just not very good) and he has a rather strong accent.
Anonymous

This is seriously all kinds of awesome.
VICTOR JIMENEZ

Oh Putin… you are the man!

PD: Gerard Depardieu looks like a barrel of lard.
Bender

David Lynch indeed. Looks like a drug-induced, nightmare of a dream! Thank god the video doesn’t show the part where they all dine on corpses of orphans and truth-seeking Russian reporters.
Alex

I’ll pledge $50 to the charity of his choice if Obama sings Trololo. You can hold me to that.
desiredusername

Putin on the Ritz!
- Editz
  
  Done.
  
  http://putintheritzon.ytmnd.com/
adamnvillani

And that’s Monica Bellucci with her husband Cassel, right? She’s not just gorgeous for a 46-year-old, she’s just flat-out gorgeous. And, umm, at some sort of event where Vladimir Putin sings. WTF?
Ugly Canuck

I understand all the Put-in put-downs, but he IS popular in Russia: and in fairness to Putin, there’s no doubt the Russians themselves like him a lot, and would return him to Office in any fair election.

And you have to admit, he is a colorful change of pace from those all those old grey Politburo types we had for decades and decades.

And it’s a great old American song he’s singing!
Here a Louis Armstrong version…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xy5JsrQg_Y

I did not know that Putin could passably sing in English…I have to admit that that changes my opinion of him a bit, just as Ms. Condi Rice’s ability to play the piano altered my opinion of her.

To harmonize is to humanize, eh?
- mgfarrelly
  
  A fair election? In Russia?
  
  (Insert Yakov Smirnoff joke here please.)
  
  Just because a creep is electable does not make him or her any less of a creep. I believe as an American I can aver to that.
  - Anonymous
    
    you:”A fair election? In Russia? ”
    
    —————
    
    common, even FoxNews admit he is popular in Russia and really got his votes
    - Trent Hawkins
      
      If he ever sings the Tro-lo-lo song I’d vote for him too.
kilgore stout

“We’ll see what we shall see”

And who are those children trapped in a double helix? Is this that Pynchon movie I’ve been hearing about?
Kosmoid

“We will bluebury you.”

Here’s the video edit from Ria Novosti:
http://en.rian.ru/video/20101212/161737814.html