Tomorrow the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest takes place in the St Jakobshalle in Basel. 16 countries compete for a spot in the final. One of them is Austria , represented by JJ.
But who is he? Let’s give him a spotlight.
Johannes Pietsch, aka JJ, was born on April 29, 2001, in Vienna, Austria. He grew up with his father, an Austrian IT Specialist, and his mother, a Filipino chef, and his 2 siblings, in Dubai. In 2016, when JJ was 15 years old, the family returned to Vienna, Austria.
Studies and Career.
After his return, JJ started his education at the opera school of the “Wiener Staatsoper”. This education was followed alongside his secondary school and marked the beginning of his classical singing career.
During his time at the opera school, Pietsch performed in several productions of the Wiener Staatsoper, including roles in “Macbeth”, “Billy Budd” and “Die Zauberflöte”. This stage experience laid the foundation for his further musical development. He is fluent in German, English, French and Tagalog (a Central Philippine language within the Austronesian language family).
In 2020 he made his first appearance in front of the cameras when he took part in The Voice UK, where he reached the 2nd round. After the Voice UK, he participated in Austria’s Starmania ( You can watch here) in 2021, where he reached the final.
In 2023 he started taking singing lessons at the Music and Arts University in Vienna, under the guidance of Professor Linda Watson.
Eurovision.
In January 2025 it was announced that JJ will be represent Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the song “Wasted Love”. JJ was selected after an internal selection. He wrote this song together with Teodora Špirić and Thomas Thurner.
Will he make it to the final? We think he will qualify easily.
