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Eduard Khil: What you didn't know about the 'Trololo' singer from Russia

Russian artist became famous around the world after a TV performance was uploaded to YouTube in 2009

Roisin O'Connor

Music Correspondent

Monday 04 September 2017 08:08 BST

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Eduard Khil’s 83rd Birthday Google Doodle

Click on today's Google homepage and you'll be treated to the splendid tones of Russian artist Eduard Khil, known fondly as "Mr Trololo".

In the Doodle, he takes to the stage in his classic brown suit and yellow-gold tie, breaking into his signature "tro-lo-lo-ing" as his eyebrows move to the beat.

Eduard Anatolyevich Khil was born on 4 September 1934 in Smolensk, Russia.

He trained at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory (now called the Rimsky-Kosakow St. Petersburg State Conservatory) and went onto find success as a pop singer. He was awarded the People's Artist of Russia in 1974.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

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1/1111 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Easter Eggs

There are a lot of Easter Eggs hidden in Chrome, and more and more are discovered each year. One of our favourites is the dinosaur game. The next time you fail to connect to the internet on Chrome, tap the spacebar. It’s also worth Googling “barrel roll”, “zerg rush”, “super mario bros” (and clicking the question mark graphic), “festivus”, “recursion”, “askew” and “atari breakout” (and then clicking Images).

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Pin tabs

If you tend to browse with a lot of tabs open at once, you can clear up the clutter by pinning the ones you’re least likely to close. Right-click them and select Pin Tab. They’ll automatically shrink and slide left.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Save battery

You can save some battery life by sacrificing performance. In Settings, scroll down to the System section and uncheck the box reading Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed. We wouldn’t recommend having this feature enabled all the time, but it could come in handy if you’re nowhere near a charger.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Browse faster

There are loads of Chrome Extensions available, but one of the most useful is Google’s Data Saver. It compresses the pages you visit to reduce data usage and speed up loading times.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Make multiple profiles

If you use multiple Google accounts, for work and for personal use, for instance, you can keep your bookmarks and browsing history for each account separate by creating individual profiles. Go to Settings, Manage People and Add Person. This is also handy for when you lend your computer to a friend, and you don’t want them to have access to your internet history.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Downloads

Many users would prefer it if Chrome downloaded files straight to the desktop, but by default it sends them to your Downloads folder. You can change this by going to Settings, opening the Show Advanced Settings menu, clicking Downloads and choosing your preferred destination.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Extra info

To see cookies and permissions for every site you visit, click the View Site Information symbol on the left-hand edge of the omnibar. It will also let you quickly control things like Popup and Location settings.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Task manager

You can quickly find out which pages are using up the most memory and slowing down your browsing experience by opening the burger menu, going down to More Tools and opening the Chrome Task Manager.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Calculator

When you’re online and need to do a quick sum, you don’t have to hunt down your computer calculator or whip out your phone. Just type it into the Chrome omnibar and hit Enter.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Startup

If there’s a certain set of pages you always open when you turn your computer on, you can get Chrome to open them automatically when you launch the browser. In Settings, click Set Pages in the On Startup section, and choose the ones you want.

11 hidden Google Chrome features you didn't know existed

Search Gmail from omnibar

You can search your gmail inbox directly from the omnibar by going to Settings, Manage Search Engines, scrolling to the bottom and pasting https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/#apps/%s into the box on the right-hand side.

His performance of "I Am Glad Because I Am Finally Returning Back Home" on Russian TV in 1976 was uploaded to YouTube in 2009.

The song was written by Arkady Ostrovsky and originally included lyrics about a cowboy, such as: "I'm riding my stallion on a prairie, so-and-so mustang, and my beloved Mary is a thousand miles away knitting a stocking for me."

Khil ditched those lyrics and swapped them for the "tro-lo-lo"s which made him famous today.

His "tro-lo-lo-ing" vocals became an online hit, and by 2010 he was famous outside his native country. Yet he only discovered he was famous on the internet when he heard his grandson humming the tune.

The catchy tune was featured on shows including The Big Bang Theory, Family Guy, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and the original video currently boasts more than 26 million views.

Khil died in hospital in St. Petersburg on 4 June 2012 from complications after a stroke, aged 77.

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