The rumored son of King of Pop Michael Jackson will represent America this month at an international song contest at Moscow that’s been revived for the first time in decades by President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Brandon Howard — stage name B. Howard — will perform at the 2025 Intervision Song Contest, a Soviet-era alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Mr. Howard has been subject to speculation that his father was Michael Jackson, who passed away in 2009. Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, managed Mr. Howard’s mother, gospel and R&B singer Miki Howard.

Rumors about Mr. Howard’s paternity have been swirling since 2014 when TMZ reported that a DNA test allegedly showed a 99 percent chance that the singer was Michael Jackson’s biological son. 

The test results were reportedly obtained by a Cypriot-British businessman, Alki David, and his company, FilmOn.com. The lab, however, turned out to be fake.

Mr. Howard bears a resemblance to Mr. Jackson and his mother reportedly went by the name “Billy” in 1982. That led some fans to speculate that Mr. Jackson’s 1983 hit “Billie Jean,” which contains the famous line, “But the kid is not my son,” is about Ms. Howard.

Ms. Howard denied, in an interview with Essence magazine in 2020, having had a child with the King of Pop. She made clear that she is not Billie Jean.

“I’m not. If anything, I’m more Billie Holiday than Billie Jean, baby,” Ms. Howard said.

And what about that uncanny resemblance between her son and Michael Jackson?

“Yeah, whatever,” Ms. Howard said with a laugh at the time. “I know he’s my son. And I know that I’ve been the father for the last 30-odd years. OK? I know that I’ve been the one that’s supplied every emotional need, every financial need, every physical need. So the whole question is really and truly — it’s like get the f— out of here.”

On September 20, Mr. Howard will represent America as he competes against singers from countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Belarus, Vietnam, and Russia, which is represented by a pro-war singer who has been sanctioned by the European Union, “Shaman,” whose real name is Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov.

“Since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, he has repeatedly participated in Kremlin-organized concerts, including the Kremlin’s anniversary event for that war, and given concerts in the illegally occupied regions of Ukraine, including as part of troop entertainment events for the Russian Armed Forces,” the Council of the European Union wrote in a decision published in June 2024.

“Therefore,” the council added, “Yaroslav Dronov is supporting actions and policies that undermine the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”

Venezuela’s Omar Acedo is planning to participate even as American warships position themselves off the coast of his country in what the Pentagon has described as an operation aimed at Latin American drug cartels.

The move has led Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, to call up millions of recruits to “defend their sovereignty with dignity and courage.”

Intervision was held intermittently between 1965 and 1980. Initially taking place in Communist Czechoslovakia until 1968, the song contest was later hosted by Communist Poland between 1977 and 1980.

The Soviet Union won the contest just twice, with Czechoslovakia racking up six wins. Intervision was not held after 1981. Former Eastern bloc countries have competed frequently since then in the Eurovision Song Contest, which began in 1957.

Russia last won Eurovision in 2008 with Dima Bilan’s “Believe,” but following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow was banned from competing. Russian broadcasters withdrew from the European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision.

Mr. Putin in February signed a decree reviving the Soviet-era song contest and naming the deputy prime minister, Dmitry Chernyshenko, as chairman of the organizing committee. Mr. Chernyshenko is also subject to sanctions. It is not known if Mr. Putin will attend the event. 

Mr. Howard’s chances of winning are also a matter of speculation. Unlike the Eurovision Song Contest, the winning country does not necessarily host the following year’s competition.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry denounced the Moscow-based song contest in May, calling it “an instrument of hostile propaganda and a means of whitewashing the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation.”