JJ impresses at the ESC: Wasted Love” as a big favorite!

JJ impresses at the ESC: Wasted Love” as a big favorite!

On May 17, 2025, the highly anticipated final of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) took place in Basel, Switzerland. Austria's representative, the talented JJ, performed his touching piece "Wasted Love" and attracted the attention of 180 million viewers worldwide. The performance, which was supported by Jan Böhmermann and Olli Schulz, presented haunting tweeters and atmospheric changes in a spectacular production.

The dress rehearsal was designed by JJ to protect his voice in order to be in top shape on the evening of the big performance. In an impressive setting on a boat battling against huge waves and shown in black and white, JJ showcased his strong voice sonorously. Jubilant comments from the audience included “The winner,” “The others don’t actually need to sing anymore,” “Vienna, here we come!”

Awards and jury evaluations

The Wiwi jury, which evaluated 37 songs for EUROVISION 2025, gave JJ consistently high scores. Antranig awarded 10 points and called the song “Wasted Love” the obvious winner. Deban awarded 8 points and highlighted JJ's emotional depth and strong voice. Tomas, with 6.5 points, also saw potential for a possible Eurovision victory. Simon was critical of the pre-recorded vocals, but wished for a more powerful orchestral build-up and gave it 9 points. The average rating from the Wiwi jury was 7.87/10.

The jury was composed of 17 members, with only four ratings published to avoid bias. Still, views on the song were clear: most reviews were positive, living up to the high expectations for JJ.

Context and ratings

The ESC has a long tradition dating back to 1956 and is organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The 69th edition of the competition shows that, despite falling ratings, the event is still one of the most relevant music events in the world. In 2024, around 163 million households tuned in, a slight increase compared to previous years. In Germany, the number of viewers in 2024 was around 7.38 million.

The last edition of the ESC was won in 2024 by Nemo from Switzerland with the song “The Code”, which scored a total of 591 points. The start of this year shows that the competition among the participating countries, including Germany with the duo Abor & Tynna, who are competing with “Baller”, is consistently high-class.

The excitement remains until the final award ceremony, which is expected to take place after 1 a.m. It remains to be seen whether JJ will win the race with “Wasted Love”. The Eurovision community is ready to follow this exciting competition until the last second.

For more information on the events of the Eurovision Song Contest, visit oe24, wiwiblogs and Statista.