Eduard Khil, better known to the world as "Mr. Trololo" after his 1976 Soviet TV appearance became a 2010 viral hit, has passed away after complications from a stroke. Thanks, Eduard, for all the LOLs.
The Russian singer became an international celebrity in 2010 after his 1976 performance of a song dubbed 'Trololo' turned into a viral hit online.
St Petersburg's culture press officer Ksenia Kachalova said that Khil had died in hospital in the city on Sunday night (June 3), with an official cause of death not currently confirmed.
Khil suffered from a stroke in early April and had reportedly been in hospital ever since. Doctors stated that he had severe brain damage due to the stroke.
The singer was one of the Soviet Union's biggest performers in the 1960s and 1970s, but he became an international star two years ago when an old clip of his vocalised version of the song 'I'm So Glad I'm Finally Coming Back Home' was uploaded on YouTube.
Khil had explained that the song was originally about a cowboy riding back home, but was banned by Soviet censors. He was forced to take away the words in order to perform the track on TV.
The video of the performance has received hundreds of millions of hits in many different versions, while also being parodied in Family Guy. It has been dubbed as the 'Russian Rickroll', in reference to the infamous Rick Astley internet meme.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has reportedly sent out his condolences in a message to Khil's wife and son.