It’s been a good while now since Austria last used a national final format, but 2025 wouldn’t change that. Back in January we got to learn that JJ had been selected to represent Austria, and now, we finally also get to know the song.
Internal Selection
Austrian broadcaster ORF is usually very silent about their details regarding their selection, and it has been the same for 2025. With the broadcaster mainly only announcing their artist and the release day of the song. Austria has in fact, been selecting internally since 2017, with mixed results since then.
Now that we’re near the deadline for submitting songs for the 2025 contest, Austria has finally released “Wasted Love“.
The way the song was selected, was by having various groups of people evaluating the shortlisted songs from the closed selection. Groups that were made up of Eurovision experts, OGAE fans from various countries, as well as people from the international music industry.
Among the song writers, we find JJ himself, Thomas Thurner and even Austria’s 2023 representative Teya. Austria will compete in the first half of the second semi-final on the 15th of May 2025.
Who is JJ
Being the child of an Austrian IT specialist and a Filipino chef, the family moved back to Austria in 2016, after growing up in Dubai. It was first in 2020, when the young countertenor in televised singing competition.
Despite trying to take part in The Voice Germany, he ended up participating in the UK version instead, after missing out on the application deadline. In 2021, he then participated in the Austrian show Starmania, a contest that both former Austrian representatives Nadine Beiler and Conchita Wurst also participated in.
Best described as a “soprano” performer, the young singer also attends the university of music and arts in Vienna. Other than that, he also speaks 4 languages, which includes his native German, as well as English, French and Tagalog.
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