Verka Serdiuchka

Meet Verka Serdiuchka (rough translation: Faithy Heart), Ukraine's selection to represent the country at the Eurovision contest in Helsinki in May. Eurovision is a televised talent competition, the European version of American Idol, which is very popular in Ukraine because the Ukrainian singer Ruslana won a few years ago.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, Verka is a large drag queen who spins disco beats. You can catch her in action here.

Many Ukrainians are outraged by the selection. Drawn to conspiracy theories as they are, some allege that the voting was rigged by the Russians to favor this (Russian-speaking) goof and to make Ukraine look ridiculous at the international competition. The conspiracy theorists don't mention, however, that his main competition was a duo called NeAngely (NoAngels), who riff on the faux lesbian chic pioneered by tAtU--one brunette, one redhead. They also sing in Russian and spend most of their act groping themselves and each other, until they appear topless, in thongs, for the grand finale. Because they'd make Ukraine look less ridiculous, right?