Austria Wins 2025 Eurovision Song Contest With JJ’s “Wasted Love”

Victor Nwoko
13 hours ago
2 min read

Austria has emerged as the winner of the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Basel, Switzerland. The country’s representative, 24-year-old Johannes Pietsch — known by his stage name JJ — secured victory with a powerful performance of his emotional ballad “Wasted Love,” earning a total of 436 points from both the public and jury vote.

Austria’s JJ during his energetic performance of ‘Wasted Love’

JJ, a queer countertenor, was visibly emotional as he accepted the iconic glass trophy following the nearly four-hour-long broadcast. “Love is the strongest force in the world. Let’s spread more love,” he told the cheering crowd. He also expressed gratitude to Europe for “making my dreams come true.”

UK entry Remember Monday perform during the second Eurovision semi-final, for which they had automatic qualification

Austria’s win came after a dramatic vote count, narrowly edging out Israel, whose entrant Yuval Raphael earned 357 points with the song “New Day Will Rise.” For much of the public voting announcement, Israel appeared to be the favorite to win before Austria took the lead in the final moments.

Estonia’s Tommy Cash secured third place with 356 points, while Sweden, represented by KAJ — the first Finnish act to perform for Sweden — landed in fourth place with 321 points. Italy's Lucio Corsi rounded out the top five with 256 points.

The United Kingdom had another disappointing year, finishing 19th. Female trio Remember Monday, performing “What the Hell Just Happened?” received zero points from the public and 88 points from the judges — just one point lower than last year’s entry by Olly Alexander. Switzerland also failed to gain any public votes.

This year’s Eurovision marked a homecoming for the contest, taking place in the very country where the event first began in 1956. Hosted in the St. Jakobshalle Arena in Basel, the show was led by German-Swiss comedian Hazel Brugger, veteran Swiss Eurovision participant Sandra Studer, and Swiss-Italian TV host Michelle Hunziker.

A total of 26 countries competed in the grand finale, following the elimination of 11 nations during the semi-final rounds. This edition also marked the return of Switzerland as host for the first time in 36 years. The last time the country hosted was in 1989, a year after Celine Dion’s victory for Switzerland in 1988. Though there was widespread speculation about a surprise appearance by Dion, the music icon did not perform.

Instead, co-host Sandra Studer paid tribute to Eurovision’s history with a live rendition of her 1991 entry “Canzone Per Te,” and the audience joined in a lively singalong of ABBA’s “Waterloo” under vibrant pink stage lighting.

The grand finale opened with a high-energy performance of “Code” by last year’s winner, Nemo, setting the tone for a night of fierce competition and emotional moments.