The 60th Eurovision Song Contest begins Tuesday in Vienna, with 39 nations competing for the title and a chance for artists to kickstart, or add to, their careers. Many previous winners have seen their careers grow successfully on a global stage; winning artists in the past include Swedish group ABBA and Céline Dion, who won with Switzerland in 1988. Finnish hard rock band Lordi parlayed their 2006 win into a spot on the following year’s Ozzfest Tour.

This year’s contest is hosted by Austria, following the country’s triumph in the 2014 Contest. It was a break from precedence in multiple ways; the winning artist was drag queen Conchita Wurst, who used his victory speech to acknowledge the pro-LGBT crowd in Copenhagen. Also, the winning song was a breakaway from previous tracks, which usually fit in either the “bubblegum pop” or “Top 40” genres. Wurst’s song, “Rise Like a Phoenix,” is more of a power ballad, similar to a title track in a James Bond movie. With “Rise Like a Phoenix” winning last year, most of the entries in 2015 are ballads, trying to replicate the success of a year ago.

2015 is a unique year for the Eurovision Song Contest, as Australia will be entering the competition as a guest entrant. Australia has broadcast the Contest to the point where there is a Eurovision cult following in that nation, and will be in Saturday’s Grand Final. Should Australia win, they would choose the host of the 2016 Contest.

There have been many controversies about the voting patterns of nations in past versions of the Contest. The ESC has drawn criticism for how Eastern European countries tend to vote for each other, and other political issues that give some nations a tough path to victory. Last year, the Contest took place amidst the tense circumstance of whether or not Russia would annex Crimea. Upon Russia being voted into the Final, neutral reaction was mostly negative because of the Crimea situation and Vladimir Putin’s stance on certain human rights issues. Will there be a similar controversy this week?

16 nations will compete in the first semifinal Tuesday, with 17 more in the second semifinal on Thursday. The top ten from each semifinal, as voted by a combination of national juries and the public, advance to Saturday’s Grand Final, where they will join hosts Austria, Australia, and the “Big Five” nations: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The winning country will host in 2016.