Eduard Khil Dead: Viral Star Known As The 'Trololo' Singer Dies At 77

Eduard Khil, best known as the "Trololo" singer, has died in St. Petersburg, reports RIA Novosti. The Russian singer was 77.

Last week, Khil was admitted to a hospital after suffering a stroke.

Khil was best known in America for becoming an unexpected viral video sensation just a few years ago, after the discovery of a decades-old television performance. In 1976, he performed a song that was once a hit in Russia, entitled "I Am So Happy to Finally Be Back Home," written by Arkady Ostrovsky.

But when performing the song on Russian television, it was determined that the America-romanticizing lyrics to the song should be replaced with nonsensical vocalizations, including "tro-lo-lo."

Those vocalizations resulted in a beloved Internet hit many years after its original airing. The YouTube video (seen above) of the enormously catchy performance has gathered over 12 million views since November 2009. In 2010, it became a veritable web phenomenon. The video even once brought Stephen Colbert "out of a funk" on his show.