Long before "American Idol"--before "Star Search," even--there was the Eurovision Song Contest. The United Nations of all talent competitions, held every year since 1956, Eurovision features aspiring talents from across Europe competing over five days, with each country submitting an original song to be performed on live TV. It's actually one of the most-watched non-sports broadcasts in the entire world. And it's definitely the cheesiest. The performers at Eurovision make those silly step-touch, lip-synched group numbers on "Idol" look like a Bob Dylan concert.
Seemingly untouched by time or taste, with the contestants wearing spandex 'n' sequins outfits and executing variety-show dance moves that wouldn't have been out of place during ABBA's historical 1974 Eurovision number, and singing oompa-oompa songs that wouldn't sound out of place at a Russian bar mitzvah or a Gogol Bordello concert, Eurovision is truly brain-boggling television at its finest.
And this year's Eurovision, which
