Songfacts®:

• Born in Vienna in 2001 to an Austrian father and a Filipina mother, JJ (real name Johannes Pietsch) spent much of his childhood in Dubai before returning to Austria in 2016. A countertenor, he has performed in operatic productions at the Vienna State Opera, including Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Mahler's Von der Liebe Tod. Somewhere along the way, JJ also popped up on two televised talent contests - Starmania in Austria and The Voice in the UK - where he made it to the finals.
  
  JJ has a vocal range that soars into the soprano register - something rarely heard in pop music. In "Wasted Love," his debut single, he transitions between breathy, intimate verses and powerful, operatic peaks.
• JJ co-wrote "Wasted Love" with Teodora Spiri (known as Teya, Austria's 2023 Eurovision representative), and Thomas Thurner.
• Sung entirely in English, the turbulent ballad explores the pain of unrequited love and emotional abandonment. JJ, overwhelmed by an "ocean of love," is left alone when the object of his affection pulls away, leaving him "adrift in an emotional abyss" and unable to fill the void.
  
  "There's a unique kind of heartbreak," JJ mused in an interview, "in having so much love to give but nowhere for it to land."
  
  He likened it to being lost at sea in a flimsy paper boat, clutching at any faint hope, only to feel it vanish beneath him. "And yet, there's something undeniably beautiful in that naïve devotion," JJ said. "Because, in the end, simply being able to love- no matter how wasted -is a beautiful thing in itself."
• JJ, who is openly queer, said "Wasted Love" was directly inspired by his own experience with a past breakup and unreciprocated love. He described the song as a reflection of giving a lot of love to someone and receiving nothing in return, leading to a feeling that his love was "wasted" on the wrong person. Writing and performing the song helped JJ process and move on from that chapter in his life.
• The music video, directed by Viennese filmmaker Marek Vesely, spares no drama. There are underwater scenes filmed at a diving school and shots in a pine forest near Wiener Neustadt. A studio in Lower Austria recreated a magical setting with a water surface and a snow landscape.
• Austria internally selected JJ to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, held in Basel, Switzerland. "Wasted Love" was announced as Austria's entry on January 30, 2025, during the radio show Ö3-Wecker.
  
  JJ performed ninth in the grand final on May 17, 2025, and won the contest with a total of 436 points, receiving 178 from the audience and 258 from the jury. It was Austria's third win, following previous victories in 1966 with Udo Jürgens's "Merci, Chérie" and in 2014 with Conchita Wurst's "Rise Like a Phoenix."
• The song's staging, with a monochromatic palette and maritime elements to reflect the song's themes, was designed by Spanish creative director Sergio Jaén and inspired by the 2019 film The Lighthouse.