🇦🇹 Road to Basel: Austria

Road to Basel: Austria

Road to Basel: Austria! As the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel approaches, we continue our daily spotlight on this year’s contestants. Today, we focus on Austria.

ORF/Thomas Ramstorfer

JJ

Johannes Pietsch, known professionally as JJ, is a 23-year-old Austrian-Filipino countertenor born in Vienna in 2001. He spent his early years in Dubai before returning to Austria in 2016. JJ studied at the Vienna State Opera’s opera school and currently attends the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. His musical style blends classical opera with contemporary pop elements. JJ gained national recognition as a finalist on the Austrian talent show Starmania in 2021. ​

“Wasted Love”

JJ’s Eurovision entry, “Wasted Love,” is a pop-opera fusion track co-written by JJ himself, Teodora Ĺ pirić (also known as Teya), and Thomas Thurner. The song delves into the emotions of unrequited love, starting with minimal instrumentation and building to a techno-influenced climax. The accompanying music video, directed by Viennese filmmaker Vesely Marek, features symbolic imagery set in a forest, reflecting the song’s themes of sadness and solitude. ​

Internal Selection Process

Austria’s national broadcaster, ORF, opted for an internal selection process for Eurovision 2025. Interested artists submitted their entries between July and September 2024. A songwriting camp was held in Vienna in August 2024 to create potential songs for the contest. From eight shortlisted entries, “Wasted Love” by JJ was selected by a panel comprising 30 music industry experts, 30 international OGAE fan club members, and the ORF Eurovision editorial team. JJ was announced as Austria’s representative on 30 January 2025 during the radio show Ă–3-Wecker, and the song was released on 6 March 2025. ​

Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest

Austria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since its debut in 1957. The country has won twice: in 1966 with Udo JĂĽrgens‘ “Merci, ChĂ©rie” and in 2014 with Conchita Wurst‘s “Rise Like a Phoenix.” Austria has experienced varying success over the years, with several last-place finishes and instances of receiving zero points.

A Random Austrian Entry

Reflecting on Austria’s Eurovision history, random.org chose 1997. Bettina Soriat represented Austria with the song “One Step”. It was not one of Austria’s biggest successes, with a 21st place. Before Eurovision, Bettina had a career in musical, with roles in “Robin Hood,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Sweet Charity”and  “Grease”.

Betting Odds

As of now, JJ’s “Wasted Love” is one of the most succesful songs in the odds. It has a 2nd place with 17% chance to win the contest. The song is 3rd in the odds in order to win the 2nd semifinal.​

We eagerly await the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel and look forward to witnessing JJ’s performance on the grand stage.

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Eurovision 2025

Top Finalists React to Their Results

Top finalists react to their results at the Eurovision Song Contest. We have collected the reactions of some of the artists.  Austria (JJ) Austria’s JJ won the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with his ballad “Wasted Love.” He said he was “so pleased” that people connected with the song. JJ, trained in opera, had taken a break from the Vienna State Opera to join the contest. He explained the meaning behind the song: “There’s no wasted love… it’s the strongest force on planet Earth.” After the final, JJ thanked fans for their support. He said he was proud to bring classical music to a large pop audience. “This is the biggest pop stage in the world,” he noted. JJ appeared humble about his victory. When asked how he would celebrate, he smiled and said he needed sleep after the long night. Estonia (Tommy Cash) Tommy Cash placed third for Estonia with “Espresso Macchiato.” He received 356 points, just one point behind the runner-up. He spoke openly about the result. “Too bad we didn’t get that one point. Things got a bit political there. Sorry we came in third, but second and third place are pretty good too,” he said. Estonia had a modest jury result with 98 points, but the public gave him 258 points. Cash thanked his fans for the strong televote. He also joked that now he could say he could sing, as even the jury gave him nearly 100 points. “Estonians, we’re still the most popular and the most famous in this game,” he added with a smile. news.err.ee. Sweden (KAJ) KAJ from Sweden ended in fourth place. Their song “Bara Bada Bastu” was seen as a favorite before the final. They scored 321 points. Axel Åhman from the group said, “It’s clear one is a little surprised. You can’t deny that.” The band received 126 points from juries. Finland gave them only 10 points, even though KAJ has Finland-Swedish roots. “We’ll probably have a serious talk with [Finland’s] government,” Åhman joked. Still, they were happy with the 195 televote points. “We had a great time on stage,” they said, thanking their supporters. svt.se. Italy (Lucio Corsi) Lucio Corsi placed fifth for Italy with “Volevo Essere Un Duro.” He got 256 points. Corsi had said before the final that he did not expect to win. “Music is not a competition,” he told reporters. “It goes beyond the ranking. I care about my song and giving a good performance.” After the final, Corsi said he was happy with the top-5 result. He outperformed expectations and thanked his listeners. Lucio was glad that people liked his Italian-language ballad. The Italian singer ended by saying that the experience mattered more than points. “This journey was a success for me,” he said. spettacolomusicasport.com Greece (Klavdia) Klavdia came sixth for Greece with “Asteromáta.” She earned 231 points, one of Greece’s best scores in recent years. After the show, she was emotional and thankful. “I feel the luckiest, most blessed, happiest, and most protected person on the planet right now,” she said. “I feel like a winner.” Klavdia said she had dreamed of fifth place. “But sixth is also a victory,” she added. Greece came second in the “Rest of the World” vote and got a strong televote overall. She thanked everyone who voted and supported her. “We did this together,” she said. “This night was unforgettable.” en.protothema.gr. Share

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Eurovision 2025
Martijn

Top Finalists React to Their Results

Top finalists react to their results at the Eurovision Song Contest. We have collected the reactions of some of the artists.  Austria (JJ) Austria’s JJ won the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with his ballad “Wasted Love.” He said he was “so pleased” that people connected with the song. JJ, trained in opera, had taken a break from the Vienna State Opera to join the contest. He explained the meaning behind the song: “There’s no wasted love… it’s the strongest force on planet Earth.” After the final, JJ thanked fans for their support. He said he was proud to bring classical music to a large pop audience. “This is the biggest pop stage in the world,” he noted. JJ appeared humble about his victory. When asked how he would celebrate, he smiled and said he needed sleep after the long night. Estonia (Tommy Cash) Tommy Cash placed third for Estonia with “Espresso Macchiato.” He received 356 points, just one point behind the runner-up. He spoke openly about the result. “Too bad we didn’t get that one point. Things got a bit political there. Sorry we came in third, but second and third place are pretty good too,” he said. Estonia had a modest jury result with 98 points, but the public gave him 258 points. Cash thanked his fans for the strong televote. He also joked that now he could say he could sing, as even the jury gave him nearly 100 points. “Estonians, we’re still the most popular and the most famous in this game,” he added with a smile. news.err.ee. Sweden (KAJ) KAJ from Sweden ended in fourth place. Their song “Bara Bada Bastu” was seen as a favorite before the final. They scored 321 points. Axel Åhman from the group said, “It’s clear one is a little surprised. You can’t deny that.” The band received 126 points from juries. Finland gave them only 10 points, even though KAJ has Finland-Swedish roots. “We’ll probably have a serious talk with [Finland’s] government,” Åhman joked. Still, they were happy with the 195 televote points. “We had a great time on stage,” they said, thanking their supporters. svt.se. Italy (Lucio Corsi) Lucio Corsi placed fifth for Italy with “Volevo Essere Un Duro.” He got 256 points. Corsi had said before the final that he did not expect to win. “Music is not a competition,” he told reporters. “It goes beyond the ranking. I care about my song and giving a good performance.” After the final, Corsi said he was happy with the top-5 result. He outperformed expectations and thanked his listeners. Lucio was glad that people liked his Italian-language ballad. The Italian singer ended by saying that the experience mattered more than points. “This journey was a success for me,” he said. spettacolomusicasport.com Greece (Klavdia) Klavdia came sixth for Greece with “Asteromáta.” She earned 231 points, one of Greece’s best scores in recent years. After the show, she was emotional and thankful. “I feel the luckiest, most blessed, happiest, and most protected person on the planet right now,” she said. “I feel like a winner.” Klavdia said she had dreamed of fifth place. “But sixth is also a victory,” she added. Greece came second in the “Rest of the World” vote and got a strong televote overall. She thanked everyone who voted and supported her. “We did this together,” she said. “This night was unforgettable.” en.protothema.gr. Share

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