MOSCOW - A Russian group known as the Buranovo Grannies has swept aside glamorous opposition in a bid to represent the country at this year's Eurovision song contest.
The eight women beat a double act, including 2008 Eurovision winner Dima Bilan, in a televised show late Wednesday.
An outfit from a village in Russia's Udmurtia Republic, the women blend modern pop sounds with their own traditional singing style.
While some countries compete for the Eurovision title in earnest, the contest has for many become an object of mockery.
The refrain of the Buranovo Grannies "Party for Everybody" is in English, but the remainder of the song is in Udmurt, a distant relation of Finnish spoken by some 325,000 people.
The 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in May in Baku, Azerbaijan.
