Austria's JJ wins Eurovision Song Contest with pop-opera song 'Wasted
Love.' Israel comes 2nd
[May 19, 2025]
By JILL LAWLESS
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Classically trained Austrian singer JJ won the
69th Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland on Saturday with “Wasted
Love,” a song that combines operatic, multi-octave vocals with a techno
twist.
Israeli singer Yuval Raphael came second at an exuberant celebration of
music and unity that was shadowed by the Gaza war and rattled by discord
over Israel’s participation.
JJ, whose full name is Johannes Pietsch, was Austria’s third Eurovision
winner, and the first since bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst in 2014.
The 24-year-old countertenor, who sings at the Vienna State Opera, has
called Wurst a mentor.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams. It’s crazy," said the singer after
being handed the microphone-shaped glass Eurovision trophy.
JJ won after a nail-biting final that saw Raphael scoop up a massive
public vote from her many fans for her anthemic “New Day Will Rise.” But
she also faced protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for
Israel to be kicked out of the contest over its conduct of the war
against Hamas in Gaza.
At a post-victory press conference, JJ said the message of his song
about unrequited romance was that "love is the strongest force on planet
Earth, and love persevered.
“Let’s spread love, guys,” said JJ, who added that he was honored to be
the first Eurovision champion with Filipino heritage, as well as a
proudly queer winner.
He said his message was "acceptance and equality for everyone.”
Political leaders in Austria, which will host the contest next year,
congratulated JJ on his win.
“What a great success - my warmest congratulations on winning #ESC2025!
JJ is writing Austrian music history today!” Chancellor Christian
Stocker posted on X.
Eclectic and sometimes baffling
The world’s largest live music event, which has been uniting and
dividing Europeans since 1956, reached its glitter-drenched conclusion
with a grand final in Basel that offered pounding electropop, quirky
rock and outrageous divas.
Acts from 26 countries — trimmed from 37 entrants through two
elimination semifinals — performed to some 160 million viewers for the
continent’s pop crown. No smoke machine, jet of flame or dizzying light
display was spared by musicians who had 3 minutes to win over millions
of viewers who, along with national juries of music professionals,
picked the winner.
Estonia’s Tommy Cash came third with his jokey mock-Italian dance song
“Espresso Macchiato.” Swedish entry KAJ, who had been favorite to win
with jaunty sauna ode “Bara Bada Bastu,” came fourth.
Several highly praised singers who had been tipped to win fell short,
including French chanteuse Louane and soulful Dutch singer Claude.
The show was a celebration of Europe’s eclectic, and sometimes baffling,
musical tastes. Lithuanian band Katarsis delivered grunge rock, while
Ukraine’s Ziferblat channeled prog rock and the U.K.’s Remember Monday
offered country pop.
Italy’s Lucio Corsi evoked 1970s glam rock, while Icelandic duo VAEB
rapped about rowing, Latvia’s six-woman Tautumeitas offered gorgeous,
intertwined harmonies and leather-clad Finn Erika Vikman belted out the
innuendo-filled electro-pop song “Ich Komme.”
There were divas aplenty, including Spain’s Melody, Poland‘s Justyna
Steczkowska, participating in Eurovision for a second time after a
30-year gap,, and Malta’s outrageous Miriana Conte, who performed the
saucy “Serving” on a set including a glitter ball and giant lips.
[to top of second column]
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Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest JJ from Austria holds up the
trophy onstage he won with the song "Wasted Love" during the Grand
Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland,
early Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
 Dean Vuletic, an expert on the
history of Eurovision, said the competition has become more diverse
over the years, and the days are gone when the key to winning was "a
catchy, innocuous pop song, usually in English.”
“An entry needs to be memorable and it needs to be authentic in
order to succeed these days," he said.
The war in Gaza clouded the contest
This year’s contest was roiled for a second year by disputes over
Israel’s participation. Raphael — a survivor of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023,
attack on a music festival in southern Israel that triggered the
Gaza war — was met by a mix of cheers and boos as she sang.
Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR said a man and woman were stopped as they
tried to climb over a barrier to the stage at the end of her song.
It said a crew member was hit by paint thrown by the pair. Raphael's
team said she was left “shaken and upset.”
Dozens of former Eurovision competitors, including last year's
winner Nemo of Switzerland, have called for Israel to be excluded,
and several of the broadcasters that fund Eurovision sought a review
of the country’s participation.
The Oct. 7 cross-border attacks by Hamas militants killed 1,200
people, and roughly 250 were taken hostage into Gaza. More than
52,800 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory
offensive, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests both took place in Basel,
though on a much smaller scale than at last year’s event in Sweden,
where thousands marched in the streets and tensions spilled over
backstage, leading to the expulsion of Dutch contestant Joost Klein.
Hundreds of people marched through Basel just before the
competition, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Boycott Israel.”
Earlier, a group of Israel supporters gathered in Basel’s cathedral
square to root for Raphael and to show that “Jews belong in public
spaces in Switzerland,” Zurich resident Rebecca Laes-Kushner said.
She said that “it would be such a strong statement against
antisemitism,” if Raphael won.
“This is supposed to be about music, not about hate,” she said.
The European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, which runs Eurovision,
tightened the contest’s code of conduct this year, calling on
participants to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality,
diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.
Eurovision director Martin Green told reporters that the organizers’
goal was to ”re-establish a sense of unity, calm and togetherness
this year in a difficult world.” He said all 37 national delegations
"have behaved impeccably.”
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Hilary Fox and Kwiyeon Ha in Basel, Maria Sherman in New York,
Sylvia Hui in London, Stefanio Dazio in Berlin and Stephanie
Liechtenstein in Vienna contributed to this report.
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