Austrian fans enthusiastically welcomed classically trained singer JJ back home at Vienna airport on Sunday, after he won the 69th Eurovision Song Contest with "Wasted Love." As JJ walked through the gate, hundreds of fans cheered, some played his song, and others surrounded the new star, hugging him and asking for autographs, the AP reports. The 24-year-old countertenor, whose winning song combines operatic, multi-octave vocals with a techno twist, and who also sings at the Vienna State Opera, held up his trophy in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other. He smiled, wiped away tears and told the crowd "that victory is for you."
JJ, whose name is Johannes Pietsch, became Austria's third Eurovision winner after the four-hour competition in the Swiss city of Basel on Saturday night. "What a success! What a voice! What a show!" Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen said in a video posted on X. "All of Austria is happy." Israeli singer Yuval Raphael came in second with her anthemic "New Day Will Rise" at an exuberant celebration of music and unity that was shadowed by the Middle East war and rattled by discord over Israel's participation. Israel received the most points in the public vote, per the New York Times, which accounts for half of the overall tally. JJ and Raphael alternated the lead until the result became clear at the last moment.
But she faced protests from pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for Israel to be kicked out of the contest over its conduct of the war against Hamas. 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." Expressing pride in being the first Eurovision champion with Filipino heritage, as well as a proudly queer winner, he added, "Let's spread love, guys." Raphael, a survivor of the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023, was greeted with a mix of boos and cheers as she sang. AP notes that the world's largest live music event "has been uniting and dividing Europeans since 1956."
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