Who Is Jamala? Ukraine Singer Wins Eurovision 2016 With ‘1944’ [VIDEO]

Eurovision, the weird and wonderful global singing competition, crowned a winner Saturday.

Ukrainian contestant Jamala took the top prize at the 61st annual show after impressing millions of viewers around the world with her performance of "1944" in Saturday's Grand Final.

Jamala, born Susana Jamaladinova, is a 32-year-old Osh-born jazz singer who writes music with elements of world music, rhythm and blues, and gospel. She first garnered international attention after winning another global talent competition, New Wave, in 2009.

Jamala's win comes even as her song, "1944," drew criticism from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's government, which alleged that the song, written by Jamala, was anti-Russian and in violation of Eurovision rules. According to CNN, the song's lyrics describe the deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union on orders of Josef Stalin. Many also drew parallels to Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The controversy is nothing new to Eurovision, which has a rich political history. In 1978, the country of Jordan edited its broadcast of the competition to show flowers in lieu of Israel's performance. When an Israeli contestant named Nurit Hirsh eventually won, the Jordan broadcast said instead that a Belgian had won.

Watch Jamala perform "1944" at Eurovision 2016 below:

Eurovision has been going strong since 1956. Its popularity stems, in part, from its reliance on viewers to determine the winner. Votes from the general public are responsible for half of a country's final score, with the other half coming from professional juries. Voting starts right after the final song and lasts for 15 minutes via phone, app and text message. There is only one catch: Viewers cannot vote for the contestant from their own country.

2016 was the first year the weekend-long competition was broadcast in the United States. Viewers in the U.S. could tune in via Logo TV and YouTube. It also became the first year to feature a performance from a global artist not in competition when American singer Justin Timberlake took the stage to perform his new single, "Can't Stop the Feeling."