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).

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. Another act, singer

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