Who performs the song "Homay" that's "exploding" on social media?

The song "Homay," performed by the Bashkir group "Ay Yola," has been leading world charts since March. The track entered the top five in Shazam's global ranking, and numerous TikTok videos featuring it are produced daily.

Where did the "Ay Yola" group come from? What's the secret to the success of "Homay"? Why did some of the Bashkir audience criticize it? Here's all you need to know.

The Bashkir group consists of three people, each with previous musical experience. The group was founded by Ruslan Shaikhitdinov, who previously worked on several famous projects under the pseudonym DJ Sever and hosted a show on Russia's radio "Makimum."

^{Photo: Instagram}
The vocalist of "Ay Yola" is Adel, Ruslan Shaikhitdinov's daughter, who has been performing on stage since she was 16 and has won various music competitions. Previously, father and daughter created a musical project called "Musume," performing songs in Russian and English. In 2019, the Shaikhitdinovs participated in TNT's show "Songs" alongside Timati and Basta but did not reach the finals.

The group's third member is Rinat Ramazanov, a well-known multi-instrumentalist and People's Artist of Bashkortostan. He plays the quray and performs some vocal parts. Previously, he founded his ethno-project "Argymak."

According to Shaikhitdinov, "Ay Yola" was formed last year.
"Last year, I turned 50, and our city Ufa celebrated its 450th anniversary, so I decided to write an anthem as a gift for myself and the city. For this, I needed a quray player and was recommended to contact Rinat Ramazanov. That's how we started working together. It turned out that the quray sounds great with electronic music, so we decided to create the project named "Ay Yola," said Ruslan.

The new group completely relies on Turkic ethnic culture, so all their songs are performed in the Bashkir language.

Why did "Homay" become so popular?

Music experts are still debating this question. Some consider it coincidence and app algorithms that often elevate new artists. Others emphasize that the secret lies in the song's theme. Turkic epic motifs form the cultural foundation of many nations, which made the song appealing to audiences in different countries.

Currently, many users are creating videos for this song. For example, young women recall their mothers' and grandmothers' maiden names, reconstructing their lineage's history. Overall, the song's ethnic content encouraged many to delve deeper into their culture.

The song became particularly popular in countries such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey. Later, it topped charts not only in the CIS but also in Finland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, the UAE, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and South Korea. The success is attributed to the intriguing blend of electronic music and folk instruments.

Critics agree that predicting a song's popularity today is extremely difficult. Ruslan Shaikhitdinov himself believes that all necessary elements came together in the song.

"Actually, everything is very simple. The secret is that the song resonated with listeners, touching their hearts. Adel's image, her voice, and the sounds of the dombra combined so harmoniously that people naturally supported the song. Then radio stations picked it up, people started creating trends, dancing, singing, showing their national costumes. The song had to appear exactly at this time and place. It just happened," he said.

Moreover, the artist stressed that no significant budget was spent promoting the song or the group.

The song "Homay" tells the story of a mythical bird found in ancient Turkic cultures.

The song portrays the bird "Homay" (Humo) from the Bashkir epic "Ural-Batyr." In this epic, "Homay" is the daughter of the celestial deity "Samrau" and the Sun, gifting Ural-Batyr a diamond sword and the legendary horse "Akbuzat" to fight evil forces. "Homay" becomes not only an ally but also the wife of Ural-Batyr.

The song narrates how "Homay" guided Ural-Batyr to the source of eternal life, but instead of drinking from it, Ural-Batyr chose to preserve it for humanity. After these events, "Homay," as a faithful beloved, transformed into an eternal stork.

The song praises "Homay" for her loyalty to her homeland and ancient traditions, her refusal to marry foreigners, and raising devoted sons for her nation. It also highlights the strength and loyalty of Bashkir women.

The group "Ay Yola" has released only two songs so far: "Batyr" ("Hero") in February and "Homay" in March. However, the group members noted that the entire project is an album dedicated to the epic "Ural-Batyr," and songs will be released in a "serial" format.

Why did some Bashkirs criticize the song?

Part of the Bashkir audience expressed dissatisfaction with Adel's pronunciation in their native language. According to critics, many phrases are difficult to understand, and a Russian accent is noticeable.

Comments and even independent videos appeared on social media with statements like: "I am Bashkir, but I don't understand what the song is about." However, supporters of the singer also emerged, claiming it was due to vocal peculiarities.

"To understand what she sings about, one needs to know and read the epic about Ural. Then everything falls into place. She elongates the words slightly, which is typical in singing nowadays," wrote one fan.

Adel calmly responded to the criticism, emphasizing that she is half-Russian and her family did not speak Bashkir.

"But it doesn't stop my interest in national culture and singing in my native language. I react calmly to comments about my accent; some listeners even found this peculiarity appealing," she stated. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!