When Vietnamese singer Duc Phuc held aloft the crystal cup trophy in Moscow’s Live Arena on Saturday night, he became the inaugural winner of new song contest Intervision — a Russian answer to Eurovision that some say is as much about politics and power as it is about performance.

In a show overflowing with thundering vocals and pyrotechnics, Duc Phuc's song “Phu Dong Thien Vuong,” a heady mix of pop, rap and dubstep, saw off second-place Kyrgyzstan to take home the grand prize of 30 million rubles (about $360,000).

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The final also brought the unexpected. Moments before the U.S. entrant, Australian-born Vassy, was due to take to the stage, the show's presenters announced that she would not be able to perform due to “political pressure” from the Australian government.

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