BASEL, Switzerland — Classically educated Austrian singer JJ gained the 69th Eurovision Tune Contest in Switzerland on Saturday with “Wasted Love,” a track that mixes operatic, multi-octave vocals with a techno twist.
Israeli singer Yuval Raphael got here second at an exuberant celebration of music and unity that was shadowed by the Gaza battle and rattled by discord over Israel’s participation.
JJ, whose full title is Johannes Pietsch, was Austria’s third Eurovision winner, and the primary since bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst in 2014. The 24-year-old countertenor, who sings on the Vienna State Opera, has referred to as Wurst a mentor.
“This is beyond my wildest dreams. It’s crazy,” stated the singer after being handed the microphone-shaped glass Eurovision trophy.
JJ gained after a nail-biting ultimate that noticed Raphael scoop up an enormous public vote from her many followers for her anthemic “New Day Will Rise.” However she additionally confronted protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for Israel to be kicked out of the competition over its conduct of the battle towards Hamas in Gaza.
At a post-victory press convention, JJ stated the message of his track about unrequited romance was that “love is the strongest power on planet Earth, and love persevered.
“Let’s spread love, guys,” stated JJ, who added that he was honored to be the primary Eurovision champion with Filipino heritage, in addition to a proudly queer winner.
He stated his message was “acceptance and equality for everyone.”
Political leaders in Austria, which is able to host the competition subsequent yr, 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 typically baffling
The world’s largest stay music occasion, which has been uniting and dividing Europeans since 1956, reached its glitter-drenched conclusion with a grand ultimate in Basel that supplied pounding electropop, quirky rock and outrageous divas.
Acts from 26 nations — trimmed from 37 entrants by means of two elimination semifinals — carried out to some 160 million viewers for the continent’s pop crown. No smoke machine, jet of flame or dizzying mild show was spared by musicians who had 3 minutes to win over hundreds of thousands of viewers who, together with nationwide juries of music professionals, picked the winner.
Estonia’s Tommy Money got here third together with his jokey mock-Italian dance track “Espresso Macchiato.” Swedish entry KAJ, who had been favourite to win with jaunty sauna ode “Bara Bada Bastu,” got here fourth.
A number of extremely praised singers who had been tipped to win fell quick, together with French chanteuse Louane and soulful Dutch singer Claude.
The present was a celebration of Europe’s eclectic, and typically baffling, musical tastes. Lithuanian band Katarsis delivered grunge rock, whereas Ukraine’s Ziferblat channeled prog rock and the U.Ok.’s Keep in mind Monday supplied nation pop.
Italy’s Lucio Corsi evoked Seventies glam rock, whereas Icelandic duo VAEB rapped about rowing, Latvia’s six-woman Tautumeitas supplied attractive, intertwined harmonies and leather-clad Finn Erika Vikman belted out the innuendo-filled electro-pop track “Ich Komme.”
There have been divas aplenty, together with 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 carried out the saucy “Serving” on a set together with a glitter ball and big lips.
Dean Vuletic, an skilled on the historical past of Eurovision, stated the competitors has turn out to be extra various over time, and the times are gone when the important thing to profitable 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 stated.
The battle in Gaza clouded the competition
This yr’s contest was roiled for a second yr by disputes over Israel’s participation. Raphael — a survivor of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault on a music pageant in southern Israel that triggered the Gaza battle — was met by a mixture of cheers and boos as she sang.
Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR stated a person and girl have been stopped as they tried to climb over a barrier to the stage on the finish of her track. It stated a crew member was hit by paint thrown by the pair. Raphael’s staff stated she was left “shaken and upset.”
Dozens of former Eurovision rivals, together with final yr’s winner Nemo of Switzerland, have referred to as for Israel to be excluded, and several other of the broadcasters that fund Eurovision sought a evaluate of the nation’s participation.
The Oct. 7 cross-border assaults by Hamas militants killed 1,200 individuals, and roughly 250 have been taken hostage into Gaza. Greater than 52,800 individuals in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, based on the territory’s well being ministry.
Professional-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests each befell in Basel, although on a a lot smaller scale than ultimately yr’s occasion in Sweden, the place hundreds marched within the streets and tensions spilled over backstage, resulting in the expulsion of Dutch contestant Joost Klein.
A whole lot of individuals marched by means of Basel simply earlier than the competitors, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Boycott Israel.”
Earlier, a bunch of Israel supporters gathered in Basel’s cathedral sq. to root for Raphael and to point out that “Jews belong in public spaces in Switzerland,” Zurich resident Rebecca Laes-Kushner stated.
She stated that “it would be such a strong statement against antisemitism,” if Raphael gained.
“This is supposed to be about music, not about hate,” she stated.
The European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, which runs Eurovision, tightened the competition’s code of conduct this yr, calling on individuals to respect Eurovision’s values of “universality, diversity, equality and inclusivity” and its political neutrality.
Eurovision director Martin Inexperienced instructed reporters that the organizers’ purpose was to ”re-establish a way of unity, calm and togetherness this yr in a troublesome world.” He stated all 37 nationwide delegations “have behaved impeccably.”
