While it probably wouldn’t shock anyone that America is still the paramount tastemaker when it comes to entertainment on this planet, it is surprising how few people in the US know about what is happening the television, film, and music industries in other countries. With a few notable exceptions, international megastars are virtually unknown, and what is arguably one of the biggest musical events in the world is completely ignored year after year. In fact, while hundreds of millions tune in and are captivated for days on end, you’d be hard pressed to find someone on the street in this country who has even heard of this (not so) mysterious occasion.

To someone completely in the dark, the Eurovision Song Contest is best thought of as sort of a pop music Olympics. Countries across Europe (and neighbors such as Israel and Turkey) choose an act to represent them, usually a lesser-known artist or group with a song they feel can win the competition. Just as it is in the Olympics, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is mostly national pride, and the act whose name is attached to the chosen entry can usually turn the win into a full-fledged career, though sometimes only for a while and in their own part of the world.

Though the competition is barely known in the US, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a worldwide phenomenon. 600 million now watch the event, and while it is mostly viewed by those within the reaches of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union), the entirety of the event is available online, so expect that figure to rise.

The generic logo was introduced for the 2004 C...

Eurovision has produced some well-known names, even if the vehicle itself isn’t popular in certain parts of the world. ABBA won the competition in 1974 with their song “Waterloo”, which went on to become a top ten hit in the United States and launched the Swedish band’s international career. Celine Dion also won Eurovision for Switzerland in 1988, though her winning track “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi” wasn’t the chart-topper that “Waterloo” was.

Since it was created in 1956 as a means to promote unity amongst nations that had recently been fighting, Eurovision has not been without its controversy. As with any organization that brings together countries for any occasion, politics will always have a place. For example, Kosovo has never been allowed to enter, as it’s not recognized as an independent state yet by the International Telecommunications Union (necessary to be a member of the EBU, which in turn is required for entry into the competition).

This year there was question about those voting from Crimea--for which nation would their votes be counted? The winner of the competition is chosen by a 50/50 split vote, with half the decision being made by a pre-selected jury member (one chosen from each participating nation), and the rest coming from those voting via telephone from home. After the annexation of Crimea by Russia, there was question about where those votes would be placed--for Russia, or for the Ukraine. Jon Ola Sand, the Executive Supervisor of the contest decided to keep the votes coming from the Crimean peninsula as Ukrainian, saying:

“As it stands now there are Ukrainian telecom operators active in the Crimea peninsula and it should be so during all the shows”

People around the world follow the competition fanatically, like Americans would their favorite football team, staying up to date on who is representing which country and with what song. There are entire websites devoted only to statistics concerning the contest, such as the fact that 93% of the entries this year are at least partially in English, and that Ireland has won the most of any country--seven times.Some participating artists do reach respectable levels of fame and go on to have successful careers, butmany fade into some form of obscurity, with their songs only being preserved by Eurovision’s cult following.

While Americans aren’t permitted to enter, anyone can watch the entries now, if only to see what is happening musically around the world. Each country begins in the semi-finals, with rounds one and two airing on May 6th and May 8th, respectively. Ten songs are chosen from each semi-final to advance to the grand finals, which will take place on May 10th. On that night, the contest will go from twenty to one, with a winner being crowned.

With the combination of drama and pop music, one might think that the US audience would be more interested than they are. Perhaps as the availability of the music grows, awareness will, too.