Austria’s JJ wins Eurovision Song Contest with pop-opera song ‘Wasted Love.’ Israel comes 2nd

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.

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.