Russian singer Vitas released The 7th Element in 2001 on his album Philosophy of Miracle, performing it in a silver outfit with his countertenor voice, tongue clicks and rapid trills. The performance circulated for years in Russia before clips spread worldwide on YouTube in the mid 2010s, where viewers treated him like a friendly alien pop star. That rediscovery turned the chorus into a meme sound for strange behaviour, and the short trill is still reused because it is instantly recognisable without any lyrics or context.