The sound comes from a 1970s television performance by Soviet singer Eduard Khil, who sang a wordless vocalise after the original lyrics were dropped. A clip of that performance spread on YouTube in the late 2000s, where viewers nicknamed Khil Mr Trololo and turned his cheerful, lyric-free singing into a global internet meme. It was shared in reaction videos, parodies and remixes, and it still works today because the melody needs no translation and instantly signals playful trolling or absurd humour.