It is described by JJ as a song that describes his own personal experiences withunrequited love and its conflicting feelings between pain and beauty. The song drew positive reception in most critical reviews, receiving praise for its musical composition and JJ's vocal abilities. After the song's victory in the contest, "Wasted Love" enjoyed commercial success in numerous countries, peaking at number one in its native Austria and Greece, within the top five in Lithuania and Switzerland, and within the top ten in five additional countries. It was also certified gold byIFPI Austria.
In press statements and interviews, JJ stated that the song was inspired by his own experiences withunrequited love in 2024,[8][9] describing the feeling as "floating on a fragile paper boat at sea" that disintegrates. He further added that the feeling was "undeniably beautiful in this naïve devotion. Because in the end, it is beautiful to simply be able to love – no matter how wasted."[10] He later added that he wanted to emphasise the importance of love for humanity, stating in a press conference, "Love wins. In my song I was talking about how love is wasted, but love wins. Spread love, forget hate, love is the strongest force."[11][12]
Along with the song's release, an accompanyingmusic video directed by Vesely Marek was released on the same day.[7] The video itself was filmed in numerous locations across Austria, including a pine forest nearWiener Neustadt, a diving school, a studio inLower Austria, and a theater inBaden,[7] with filming on the video taking place over the course of five days in February 2025.[13][14] In a statement given toWiwibloggs, Marek stated that the video was split into five acts, detailing a "visual journey into the deep abyss of unrequited love".[15] One shot within the music video features JJ placing a paper boat into a body of water, which proceeds to sink.[16]
To promote the song, JJ participated in various Eurovision pre-parties before the contest throughout the months of March and April 2025, including Eurovision in Concert on 5 April,[17] the London Eurovision Party on 13 April,[18] and Pre-Party ES on 19 April.[19] On 11 April, JJ released a duet mashup of "Wasted Love" and "Rise Like a Phoenix", thewinning Austrian entry of theEurovision Song Contest 2014, with its performerConchita Wurst.[20]
Die Presse's Klemens Patek described the song as a "well-rounded song without seeming too contrived" compared to other songs in the contest, praising the musical composition of the song's verses.[21]Der Standard's Ljubiša Tošić commended JJ's vocal abilities and the song's high energy musical composition, stating that the song was a "perfect fit for the Song Contest".[22]Andi Knoll, the Austrian commentator for Eurovision, stated toKurier that he thought the song's classical musical composition was "incredibly Austrian", adding, "It's an opera in three minutes. And although it's so demanding, it's also so catchy."[23] "Wasted Love" received positive reception from multiple past Austrian Eurovision contestants, including1991 representativeThomas Forstner,2003 representativeAlf Poier, and2021 representativeVincent Bueno.[24]
In aWiwibloggs review containing several reviews from several critics, the song was rated 7.87 out of 10 points,[25] earning fifth out of the 37 songs competing in that year's Eurovision in the site's annual ranking that year.[26]ESC Beat's Doron Lahav ranked the song fourth overall, writing that "this is one of the few songs that gave me winner vibes this year" due to its musical composition and gradual buildup in intensity.[27] Jon O'Brien, a writer forVulture, ranked the song 12th overall, describing it as an "Über-dramatic effort" but admitting that "classical purists" would not like the song "particularly for the fact its outro suddenly veers from the concert hall into the warehouse rave".[28] Rob Picheta, writer for American outletCNN, ranked it second out of the 26 finalists in Eurovision 2025, commending JJ's vocal abilities and proclaiming it as "the best song at the competition". However, he also admitted that the song was "far too similar to 'The Code'", which he thought could affect the song's chances at victory.[29]The Times' Ed Potton ranked it eighth out of the 26 finalists, rating the song four out of five stars, also praising JJ's vocal abilities alongside the song's "boshing techno finale".[30]
NPR'sGlen Weldon included the song in his honourable mentions of their list of best songs in Eurovision 2025, describing the song as a "great big bowl of opera sauce with a bit of club banger crumbled in".[31]Yle'sEva Frantz gave the song an 8 out of 10 rating, writing that the song had a high chance of scoring high in the juries. However, she also admitted that she thought chances at the song winning were hindered by the similarities it had toNemo's "The Code", the Eurovision 2024 winner.[32]Aftenposten's Robert Hoftun Gjestad rated the song 5 out of 6, praising JJ's "powerful" vocal abilities and the song's transition towards the high-energy, techno finale.[33]The Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick described the song as a "pretentious hodgepodge style of music you only ever really get at Eurovision", stating that it was "contrived and deeply irritating if you listen to it more than once".[34] German satiristJan Böhmermann stated on anFM4 radio show that "We think JJ has to be number one... If JJ manages to perform like in the single... then JJ really has a chance of winning!”[35]
Austria's broadcaster for theEurovision Song Contest,Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), officially announced their participation in theEurovision Song Contest 2025 on 7 September 2024, deciding their representative via an internal selection.[36] In October 2024, it was reported by Austrian media that eight entries from seven artists, including Dodo Muhrer who previously represented Austria at Eurovision in2015 as part ofThe Makemakes, as well as Johannes Pietsch, Kayla Krystin, Nnoa and Philip Piller, had been shortlisted following a live casting round at the ORF studios.[37][38] On 30 January 2025, "Wasted Love" performed by Pietsch, under the stage name JJ, was announced by ORF as the Austrian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 during the radio showÖ3-Wecker.[39] "Wasted Love" was selected from the eight shortlisted entries by a panel of 30 local and international music industry and Eurovision experts as well as nearly 30 internationalOGAE fan club representatives from five countries and the ORF Eurovision Song Contest Team.[40]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 took place at theSt. Jakobshalle inBasel, Switzerland, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 13 and 15 May and the final on 17 May 2025.[41] During the allocation draw held on 28 January 2025, Austria was drawn to compete in the second semi-final, performing in the first half of the show.[42] JJ was later drawn to perform in sixth, afterArmenia'sParg and beforeGreece'sKlavdia.[43]
JJ performing "Wasted Love" at a Eurovision 2025 dress rehearsal before the grand final.
For its Eurovision performance, Sergio Jaen was appointed as the staging director.[44] The performance featured JJ alone in a black denim outfit designed by Finnish designer Teemu Muurimäki;[45] according to Muurimäki, the outfit was "inspired by a stormy black ocean".[46] The performance is filmed under ablack-and-white filter, with a boat prop made out of crates, a wooden mast, and a white sail being predominantly featured.[47][48] During the performance, JJ performs choreography that symbolizes a boat out in rough seas, with JJ shown struggling to cling onto the boat while a wind machine blows during the song's second chorus.[47][49] Nearing the end of the performance, an LED background of waves and stormy clouds with strobe lights appear, amplifying a chaotic environment.[47][49] At the end, the storm and chaotic nature of the performance dissipates, with the background showing alighthouse as a symbol of hope.[47][49] "Wasted Love" secured a position in the grand final, finishing in fifth with 104 points.[50][51]
JJ performed a repeat of his performance in the grand final on 17 May. The song performed ninth, after theUnited Kingdom'sRemember Monday and beforeIceland'sVæb.[52] After the results were announced, JJ finished with a total score of 436 points, with a split score of 258 jury points and 178 televoting points.[53] Regarding the jury, the score was the highest out of any finalist.[54] JJ's total score was enough to earn him the victory, finishing 79 points above the runner-up,Yuval Raphael's "New Day Will Rise" fromIsrael.[55][56] Regarding the jury vote, the song received eight sets of the maximum 12 points. However, the song did not receive any sets of 12 points from the televote; the highest amount of points given via televote was five sets of 10 points.[57] In response to his victory, JJ encouraged in a post-Eurovision press conference to prioritize and to spread love.[58] JJ, who identifies asqueer,[59] later added that as the third consecutive LGBTQ+ victor at Eurovision, his victory was a representation of "amazing acceptance and equality for everyone".[60]
In aGuardian live blog, Martin Belam praised the genre change within the song, predicting a top-three finish and adding that "I’ve also added it to my all-time “Eurovision bangers” playlist... I really want it to win."[61]El Mundo's Andrea M. Rosa del Pino described JJ's performance as strong due to his "incomparable voice",[62] adding that "at the end of the performance, the euphoric shouts were even louder. There were 37 seconds of noise."[63]El País' Carlos Marcos praised the performance's choreography and JJ's vocal abilities, but lamented that "he is not accompanied by a better song".[64]The Times's Bianca Schofield wrote that the song was an "obligatory dull ballad accompanied by mounds of dry ice", comparing the song to entries sent that year byMontenegro,Serbia, andIsrael.[65]
In response to the victory,The Independent's Mark Beaumont stated that with the song being the second consecutive opera-pop victor, "expect future Eurovisions to be awash with tracks resembling rave remixes ofTosca. And for the event to become ever more about optics than earworms."[66]Kurier's Gert Korentschnig wrote that the song showcased JJ's "versatile personality" and that it was "a worthy successor toUdo Jürgens andConchita at the ESC".[67]Der Spiegel's Felix Bayer compared the victory toNemo's "The Code", last year's winner, writing that both songs had "a rapid succession of very different musical parts. This in turn lends itself to telling a story to the music with changing images". Bayer added that the message of love within the song was "a message that can't be the wrong one in these times".[68]Die Weltwoche's Thomas Renggli praised the performance, writing that JJ "makes it clear what it takes to turn the heads of the jury and audience: big gestures, a good voice, a concise song, and the corresponding story that also captivates the queer clientele".[69]
Spanish singerMelani García impersonated JJ in the first semi-final of the twelfth season ofTu Cara Me Suena, winning the semi-final.[70] Her performance was praised by JJ as well.
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