Ukraine

Debuting in 2003 in Riga, Ukraine finished 14th with popular singer Oleksandr Ponomaryov.  But no other country, in the history of Eurovision, was able to flip the disappointment of their first appearance with a win the following year.  In 2004's contest hosted in Istanbul, Ruslana (dubbed "Xena, Warrior Princess" by Terry Wogan, the sublimely sarcastic long-time commentator of the BBC), literally jumped and danced her way into first place with Wild Dances and a resounding victory that took the Contest to Kiev in 2005, in the midst of the political and reformist Orange Revolution that was taking place in Ukraine.

In Kiev, Ukraine was disappointed to find itself in 19th place on home turf, but went back to placing in the Top Ten in 2006 in Athens.  The next two Contests brought Ukraine two second place finishes (in Helsinki in 2007 and Belgrade in 2008).  In particular, the drag queen discombobulated disco song (if it can be called that) by Verka Serdushka made quite the splash in Helsinki and even became a hit on a few European national charts.  Still, Ukraine is probably one of the most successful new entrants (along with Azerbaijan) since its debut and manages to collect points for even the most "what did I just witness" songs.

This year Ukraine goes to Malmo with Zlata Ognevich's song Gravity.  The ballad is a bit, how shall I put this, screamy for my taste (though it can't even compete with the dog-whistler scream queen from Albania last year).  Ukraine's track record of six Top Ten finishes in its first decade as a participant in the Contest makes it a force to be reckoned with (even the oddsmakers are in agreement giving this entry 1 in 12 odds of winning):