18 May 2025

Austria won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, thanks to JJ and his operatic ballad, Wasted Love. An exemplary vocal performance complimented by an interesting and artistic stage presence was enough to beat Israel (Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise) and Estonia (Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato). The final margin of 79 points, while looking convincing, actually hid some minor worries during the reveal of the public votes as some of the more popular entries received lower votes than expected. Could Austria be similarly afflicted?

Ultimately, once down to the final two of Austria vs Israel, the big lead Austria accrued from the jury vote meant 100 points was all that JJ needed to win. Yuval, who launched to the lead very early in the proceedings and held off several challengers, immediately looked resigned to second place. Indeed, JJ got 178 points and erupted into celebration. From the jury, Israel only got 60 points compared to 258 points for Austria. Curiously, all three songs performed quite early in the running order, at 9, 3, and 4 respectively. This win is Austria’s second in 11 years after Conchita Wurst won with Rise Like A Phoenix in 2014, and their third in total.

Yes, it was another year in which the jury’s choice beat the public’s choice convincingly. While not as a devastating an impact as the past two years with Croatia (Baby Lasagna – Rim Tim Tagi Dim) and Finland (Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha) losing to Switzerland (Nemo – The Code) and Sweden (Loreen – Tattoo), respectively, Israel still won the public vote handsomely and smashed Austria, 297 points to 178. Austria were only the public’s fourth favourite, with Estonia second on 258 points and Sweden third on 195. Also, there was much affection for Croatia and Finland whereas the sentiment towards Israel is clearly polarising. If only Nemo, a staunch hater of Israel, was required to hand over the trophy to Yuval of Israel, it would have been a sight to see. Where the juries were pariahs of Eurovision for the past two years, suddenly they’re saviours. It’s funny how Eurovision works.

Jury/Public Vote Comparison

Jury Vote

01 Austria 258
02 Switzerland 214
03 France 180
04 Italy 159
05 Netherlands 133
06 Sweden 126
07 Latvia 116
08 Greece 105
09 Estonia 98
10 United Kingdom 88
11 Finland 88
12 Malta 83

15 Israel 60

No coincidence that the top four of the jury were the most artistic songs of the grand final.

Public Vote (+/- vs Jury)

01 Israel 297 (+237)
02 Estonia 258 (+160)
03 Sweden 195 (+69)
04 Austria 178 (-80)
05 Albania 173 (+128)
06 Ukraine 158 (+98)
07 Poland 139 (+122)
08 Greece 126 (+21)
09 Finland 108 (+20)
10 Italy 97 (-62)

14 France (-130)
15 Netherlands (-133)

24 Malta 2 (-81)
25 United Kingdom 0 (-88)
26 Switzerland 0 (-214)

Switzerland were officially last in the public vote due to tiebreak rules (running order used).
Last year the public vote difference over the jury for Israel was +271.

For all the jury craziness recently, in 2025, the juries at least did spread their 12 points around. Where Switzerland got a ridiculous 22 sets last year, Austria only got 8 sets this year. Italy were next with 6 sets, then France on 5 and Greece on 4. Israel got 13 sets of 12 points from the public this year compared to 15 last year. Next best was Estonia with 5, Sweden with 4, then Greece and Ukraine with 3 sets each.

Is it time we create a Zero Points Hall of Fame? Switzerland became the highest placed jury song ever (2nd place) to get zero from the public, while the UK became the second highest ever (10th). The four (UK, Germany, Spain, and Netherlands) that got zero points in the brutal smackdowns of Rotterdam 2021 were all at the foot of the table after the jury vote. Switzerland were 12th with the jury for their zero public points in 2022. The UK were 13th for theirs in 2024. Austria were 16th in 2019. The year 2019 was the first year that the public votes were revealed directly to a country, starting with the one with the fewest jury points and then ascending through the jury rank.

Review & Scores

01 Norway – Kyle Alessandro – Lighter (6)
02 Luxembourg – Laura Thorn – La Poupee monte le son (9)
03 Estonia – Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato (7)
04 Israel – Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise (8)
05 Lithuania – Katarsis – Tavo akys (7)
06 Spain – Melody – Esa Diva (8)
07 Ukraine – Ziferblat – Bird of Pray (6)
08 United Kingdom – Remember Monday – What The Hell Just Happened (8)
09 Austria – JJ – Wasted Love (8)
10 Iceland – Vaeb – Roa (5)
11 Latvia – Tautumeitas – Bur man laimi (6)
12 Netherlands – Claude – C’est la vie (8)
13 Finland – Erika Vikman – Ich komme (9)
14 Italy – Lucio Corsi – Volevo essere un (7)
15 Poland – Justyna Steczkowska – Gaja (7)
16 Germany – Abor & Tynna – Baller (6)
17 Greece – Klavdia – Asteromata (7)
18 Armenia – Parg – Survivor (7)
19 Switzerland – Zoë Më – Voyage (9)
20 Malta – Miriana Conte – Serving (5)
21 Portugal – Napa – Deslocado (4)
22 Denmark – Sissal – Hallucination (7)
23 Sweden – Kaj – Bara bada bastu (5)
24 France – Louane – Maman (9)
25 San Marino – Gabry Ponte – Tutta l’Italia (5)
26 Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm (8)

Norway was perfunctory. I grew a little weary of Estonia so the addition of a stage invader was a nice touch. Still a fun song and performance, and the vocals were probably Tommy’s best ever. Third overall is an outstanding result. The strength for Lithuania was always the slow build and moody vocals, and 16th spot is good for them. Excellent presentation by Ukraine for a song that never quite hit the groove. Vocals were distinctive. Iceland were just going through the motions and got zero from the jury. Second last is about right. I came to appreciate Latvia the more I saw it. It reminds me of alien culture, the six hot girls help, and it was superbly staged even if quite basic. The song is just too repetitive even if it’s meant to be by repeating the same chants. It still sounds like they sing “never, never, never, never going going to be 6 foot 3”.

Italy brought a lovely song and message. Is this the first time we heard the word “magpie” at Eurovision? We got “diplomas” thanks to Slovenia in the first semi final. The use of a harmonica was a nice touch. So much for no live instruments at Eurovision! I hated the subtitles. Too distracting, and I dropped a point from my score due to it. Poland – an amazing woman. A wonder woman. Does everything. A shame the song doesn’t hit the same strides. I loved the dragon emerging on the giant screen and then Justyna running to the front of the stage to escape it. Pretty girl and a nice vibe from Germany. That’s all you need if sloshed at 3am. Eurovision needs more.

The vocals were celestial from Greece. Especially the long notes starting the chorus and Klavdia’s use of her vibrato. The song just never matched the level. Armenia was a huge surprise in the semi finals. It lost some impact in the grand final and the song is on the generic side. The initial stages of the song remind me of We Could Be the Same by Manga from Turkey in 2010. Malta was over hyped due to the vulgarity in the initial version. The public agreed by serving just 8 points. Vocals were good and the main redeeming feature. It was nice of Portugal to offer a change of pace and allow us to simply listen to a song. Of course, the song isn’t much and I lost interest. The proverbial toilet break between two fan favourites.

Denmark definitely provided powerful and smooth vocals thanks to Sissal. She reminds me of Australia’s own Anja Nissen, who competed for Denmark in 2017 with Where I Am. Just 2 points from the public is a bit of a slap. She took it with good humour. I always felt Sweden was more a novelty song and I was over and done with it by the end of Melodifestivalen 2025. I was also offended by the inequality displayed whereby the men were topless and the women weren’t. Fourth place is a wild over achievement and I personally believe it’s mostly due to it being Sweden. If it were Estonia performing this song, we’d get its true position. I had no idea the DJ for San Marino was from Eiffel 65. Ethnic dance vibes were fine. Otherwise, a bit boring. Finishing last was fair enough.

My Top 10

10 Spain – Melody – Esa Diva (8)

What a voice. What a body. What a performer. Super finale to the performance, including that final flip and pose. The song, like most we get from Spain, moves in one gear, so always felt a bit limited. A bit of a slap from the audience with 10 points and only a 24th placed finish. Melody deserved much better.

09 United Kingdom – Remember Monday – What The Hell Just Happened (8)

Super vocals and harmonies. Voices meshed well instead of trying to sound louder than each other. Staging was excellent and the song is easily one of the better British entries in recent years. The 88 points from the jury was a fair reward. With the zero points from the public, the girls knew it was coming and took it with great humour. The public only has two modes when voting for the UK: vote big or vote nothing. Spain seems to get a bit of that too.

08 Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm (8)

Could have done better portraying the conflict that is at the heart of song’s message. Besides that, distinctive sound and outstanding vocals made it an excellent finale to the grand final.

07 Israel – Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise (8)

Again, Yuval provided some really lovely vocals. The ending was especially emotional, and then the entire stage turned white. The flapping material on Yuval’s right arm got caught in the prop towards the end of the semi final. No issues this time. A bit more to the staging and it would rank higher. Curiously, Yuval got 12 points from Azerbaijan’s jury.

06 Netherlands – Claude – C’est la vie (8)

Claude seemed unsure at start and got really emotional at end. Such an infectious song and voice. Finishing 12th is lower than expected and that simply could be due to votes going elsewhere. Ironically, the jury had plenty of options this year, as did the public. I’ve said from the start that 2025 is an even year.

05 Austria – JJ – Wasted Love (8)

Staging still doesn’t quite connect for me. Do the stormy seas represent a stormy relationship? The song is actually about unrequited love. I at least picked up the tempo change reflects anger of the wasted love. No denying this as a quality song and performance with unbelievable vocals, and a deserving winner.

04 Switzerland – Zoë Më – Voyage (9)

Wonderfully presented with a single camera shot, especially with the fast switches of focus towards the end and the illumination. Part of the light frame visible for a brief second was the only hiccup. Vocals were exquisite, and Zoë definitely took us on an exquisite journey. The zero points from the public was ridiculous. I just put it down to “that’s Eurovision!”

03 Finland – Erika Vikman – Ich komme (9)

Perhaps we all came too often and were out of energy? A rather inexplicable 11th place for a song expected to challenge for the win. In terms of interpreting a song, none better this year. If I’m to analyse the result, especially just 108 points from the public, I think back to the UMK national final and I was never fully sold on the song. Not a huge amount of instant appeal, and it’s no where near the outright banger like Käärijä’s Cha Cha Cha.

02 Luxembourg – Laura Thorn – La Poupee monte le son (9)

My favourite overall presentation this year and I’ve really grown to love the song. Laura didn’t disappoint again, and while I didn’t expect a great result for Luxembourg, 22nd spot is a bit harsh, especially just 24 points from the public. That’s only one more than from the jury.

01 France – Louane – Maman (9)

Such a powerful and emotional finale to Maman, and it gets me every time. The tone of Louane’s voice is delightful and she beautifully sings with strong emotion throughout. I never actually felt France had a strong chance to win because the first half is arguably a bit too slow, and a good portion of the song’s appeal resides in resonating with its message. Louane experienced the pain of losing her mother when she was just 17 and now it’s her own daughter calling her “Mamma”. A magical expression about maternal love and the circle of life. With Luxembourg and Switzerland, that’s all three song songs entirely in French in the top four. The substance falling during the presentation was shredded cork and, presumably, represents the sands of time. No doubt too abstract for most people, and Louane would have been better served with staging that included imagery directly relating to the song.

Every song that scored at least 8 points made my top 10. Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Greece, Armenia, Poland and Denmark would be the ranking of those that scored 7 points. Average score of 7 makes this grand final one of the best ever. Rotterdam 2021 scored 7.3 while Basel’s second semi final scored 7.1. The first semi final was only a 5.9, which would make it one of the weakest Eurovision shows ever.

My Overall Top 10

Unusally, nothing eliminated from the semi finals would have made my overall top 10. Czechia (Adonxs – Kiss Kiss Goodbye) would be the closest as it scored 8 there. Difficult to know if I would bump Spain and the UK. Czechia could look weaker among a strong set of grand final songs.

01 France – Louane – Maman (-)
02 Luxembourg – Laura Thorn – La Poupee monte le son (+3)
03 Finland – Erika Vikman – Ich komme (-1)
04 Switzerland – Zoë Më – Voyage (+2)
05 Austria – JJ – Wasted Love (-3)
06 Netherlands – Claude – C’est la vie (-)
07 Israel – Yuval Raphael – New Day Will Rise (-3)
08 Albania – Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm (+5)
09 United Kingdom – Remember Monday – What The Hell Just Happened (+7)
10 Spain – Melody – Esa Diva (+7)

Then…

11 Ireland – Emmy – Laika Party (-3)
12 Czechia – Adonxs – Kiss Kiss Goodbye (-1)
13 Estonia – Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato (-4)
14 Italy – Lucio Corsi – Volevo essere un (-2)
15 Lithuania – Katarsis – Tavo akys (-5)

The +/- represent the changes from my Top 37 before Eurovision. Albania, the UK and Spain made the biggest jumps, which subsequently bumped the lower five songs down the rankings. Note that I’ve placed Ireland just above Czechia despite scores of 7 and 8, respectively, in their semi final. Simply, I much prefer Ireland’s song!

The Betting

The market had it Sweden, Austria, France, Israel and Netherlands before Eurovision. Just prior to the grand final, Netherlands rose to fourth, Finland improved to fifth, and Israel fell to sixth. So much money is bet on Sweden before any songs are released and more betting arrived when Måns Zelmerlöw was announced as entering Melodifestivalen. Through a solid group of fans, the reputation of Sweden itself and probably sheer belief Sweden were a winning chance, Kaj kept Sweden at the top. In hindsight, it was never a jury song, and the smart betting on Austria proved correct.

France, similarly, saw a lot of betting before anything was announced, and then when the popular Louane was announced. Behaviour like this makes the betting a deceptive predictor when he comes to countries like this.

Israel falling from a $15 chance to a $25 chance was probably driven more by betting elsewhere and the knowledge that the juries simply won’t let them win. If there’s a market for a top 3, they would be second favourites.

Predictions

Initially I went for Austria, Netherlands and Finland before pushing Finland to the top just prior to the grand final. I got duped by my heart and Finland’s place at 13th in the running order being a strong signal from the producers. Lesson learnt! The juries of recent years simply won’t vote for fun or frivolous songs with huge enthusiasm. To win Eurovision, you need a song with strong appeal to the jury that will also attract decent public votes. That’s the formula for three years now.

Yes, good to see the clash of the two recent public vote winners that won our hearts and were denied by crazy jury voting. Dare to wonder, or hallucinate, if Israel’s Yuval Raphael will be added to the mix next year?

Marcel Bezencon Awards

France won the Media Award (decided by the accredited media) and the Artistic Award (decided by the commentators). Switzerland won the Composer Award (decided by all the composers of this year’s entries). These awards began in 2002 and were named after the creator of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Semi Final Results

Ukraine won the first semi final with quite a low score of just 137 points. Next were Albania (122), Netherlands (121), Sweden (118) and Estonia (113). Iceland (97), Poland (85) and Norway (82) all qualified comfortably, with Portugal next on 56 points. San Marino were the lucky ones by just beating Cyprus by 2 points, 46 to 44. Then came Croatia (28), Slovenia (23), Belgium (23) and Azerbaijan (7).

Israel easily won the second semi final with a whopping 203 points, ahead of Latvia on 130, Finland on 115, Greece on 113, and Austria in fifth spot with just 104 points. Lithuania were just behind on 103. Then came a big gap to Luxembourg (62), Denmark (61), Malta (53) and Armenia (51). A significant gap of 10 points to the 11th placed entry meant there were no real excuses for the rest. Czechia were 12th on just 29 points. Next came Ireland, Serbia and Georgia (all with 28 points), with Montenegro last on 12 points.

Finally

Despite the early trepidation due to the lacklustre group of songs, Basel 2025 proved to be an excellent Eurovision Song Contest. Everything ran like a precision watch, as you’d expect from the Swiss, and the hosts were equally efficient while adding their own distinct personalities and humour. I especially liked Sandra Studer, who performed for Switzerland in 1991 and performed Insieme (Italy’s ESC winner in 1992 that means Together) to farewell the second semi final. We’ll leave Basel with that and a simple goodbye! Switzerland have four official languages, so best to stay neutral.

Basel 2025: Semi Final 2 Review & Grand Final Preview

Basel 2025: Semi Final 1 Review

Basel 2025: Full Preview, Betting Odds & Predictions

Basel 2025: My Top 37 – All Songs Reviewed