Forget American Idol, America's Got Talent, The Voice and The X Factor, the world's biggest song competition is finally coming to America.
That's right: Eurovision will finally air on American television this year on the Logo cable network.
Since 1956, the Eurovision Song Contest has aired in Europe. The competition has given the world some of its greatest and biggest names in talent, too, including Celine Dion, ABBA, Julio Iglesias and Olivia Newton-John.
Here's how it works: each participating country submits one original song for a live performance on TV, with each country also casting votes for which song is the best from those entries. The contest is so popular that millions of people watch it worldwide. Basically, Eurovision is the premiere worldwide contest for singing.
Eurovision is also highly entertaining, and offers a good showcase of international culture, particularly since that culture relates to music, fashion and sometimes, dancing. The winner of the 2014 Eurovision, Conchita Wurst, achieved worldwide fame as an Austrian drag queen with a beard who sang a stirring rendition of a song called "Rise Like a Phoenix." Wurst eventually went on to become a role model for the LGBT community and even managed to become one of the most Googled humans on the Internet at the time.
This year's competition will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, with 42 countries participating. The contest will have two semi-finals on May 10 and 12, with the final being held on May 14. Logo will air the Eurovision final live on May 14 commercial-free starting at 3 p.m. The Eurovision final will also stream live exclusively on Logo's app and on the network's website.
Eurovision isn't always serious, though: some of the acts have been more about the performance and entertainment factors than actual singing. The competition is certainly one of the most interesting things to watch coming out of Europe, and considering its popularity, it's time the United States got in on some of that action. Here's a little taste of what to expect.
First, check out this heavy metal band that won the 2006 competition:
Then there are these guys:
And then there's Jedward:
