Austria’s JJ brought the drama, the vocals, and the glitter to Basel — and the Eurovision crown came home with him. The openly queer countertenor stunned Europe with his powerhouse performance of “Wasted Love,” an operatic-dance mashup that gave diva and club goddess in one breath. With a whopping 436 points, JJ emerged victorious over tough competition, including the politically charged Israeli entry and Switzerland’s crowd favorite.
In a contest where queer fans are often the loudest and proudest, this year’s Eurovision finale was a glitter-soaked mix of music, protest, and camp. JJ’s soaring vocals opened with a cinematic orchestral swell and exploded into a queer disco fantasia, snatching wigs and hearts across the continent. The song’s message of heartbreak and resilience hit home with Eurovision’s LGBTQ devotees, who’ve long seen the contest as a celebration of survival through spectacle.
Despite no surprise appearance from Eurovision legend Celine Dion (who sent love in a pre-recorded message), the show pulsed with big energy and bigger politics. Israel’s entry, “New Day Will Rise,” was performed by Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Her appearance was met with both cheers and boos, highlighting the sharp divide over Israel’s presence in this year’s show. Outside the arena, protestors lit smoke bombs and waved Palestinian flags, demanding Israel’s exclusion from the contest — just as Russia was expelled in 2022.
Raphael still soared to second place with 357 points. But unlike JJ’s rapturous reception, Israel’s score revealed the fissures in European sentiment: while some nations awarded high marks, others held back, reflecting a tense geopolitical divide over the Gaza conflict that’s left over 53,000 Palestinians dead. Critics accused Eurovision of turning a blind eye to this devastation, while supporters insisted the song’s hopeful message transcended politics.
Meanwhile, fan favorites from Sweden (whose act performed in towels from a faux sauna), Poland (with Game of Thrones-style theatrics), and Finland (with a sex-charged mic stand moment) didn’t quite manage to clinch the crown. The glitz, however, remained unparalleled.
Eurovision has always been more than a song contest — it’s a global queer phenomenon. For LGBTQ fans, the annual event is the Super Bowl of camp. It’s a space where drag, gender fluidity, and melodrama reign supreme. JJ’s win is more than just a trophy for Austria. It’s a validation of queer artistry on Europe’s biggest stage. His countertenor vocals, historically tied to baroque opera and rarely spotlighted in pop, broke through to a mainstream audience — an artistic flex that underlines the growing acceptance and celebration of gender-diverse voices in global music.
With last year’s viewership topping 163 million and expectations for this year even higher, “Wasted Love” is set to dominate playlists and Pride parades across the continent. JJ may not be ABBA or Celine Dion yet — but he’s officially entered Eurovision’s royal family. And with queer kids from Vienna to Tel Aviv belting his chorus in glittery bathrooms and karaoke bars, his message of dramatic heartbreak and survival is sure to echo far beyond the contest.
Because in Eurovision, as in life, the queers always bring the show — and this year, they brought the crown too.