ESC winner JJ: Opera or Pop? So it goes on for him

With his song “Wasted Love”, JJ delighted the audience and the juries of Europe on Saturday. With the wild mix of opera, pop and techno, the 24-year-old won the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. So next year the competition will take place in its homeland Austria. And JJ already has plans for the ESC 2026. He dreams of a “huge opera opening”. Best in the role of the moderator. “To host the ESC – that would be really great,” he said on Sunday in a press conference.

It is not yet clear which city of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will take place. If it were up to JJ, his hometown Vienna would be the ideal host – because of the short distances.

In the Austrian capital, on April 29, 2001, he was born as Johannes Pietsch, the son of an Austrian IT specialist and a Filipino cook. JJ is proud of his origin. After his victory, he emphasized that he was the first ESC winner with Filipino roots. Again and again he emphasized that the presence of his family at the final in Basel meant the greatest luck for him.

But JJ grew up in Dubai, where his family’s center of life was at the time. He attended the German International School Dubai. Today he speaks fluently English and French, of course German and Tagalog, the most widespread language in the Philippines.

In 2016 the Pietsch family returned to Vienna. There JJ completed the Matura and then attended the opera school of the Vienna State Opera. He chose the rare voice compartment countertenor. After the voice break, he had noticed that he could still sing quite high. As a “party trick”, as he once called it, he liked to imitate soprano. He then taught himself the classic vocals via YouTube videos. At the moment he refines his knowledge of the MUK, the music and art of private university of the city of Vienna.

JJ not only mentions opera singers such as Maria Callas and Anna Netrebko, but also the pop-divas Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Beyond the opera stage, he also ventured into trendy realms. After missing the registration deadline for “The Voice of Germany”, he took part in the British version of the show in 2020. There he made it into the third round.

At the Austrian casting show “Starmania” he penetrated into the first final show in 2021 – and got to know co -candidate Thea Devy there. Together they wrote “Wasted Love”, a song that is inspired by real lovesickness. JJ has been with his friend Carl for a few months now.

And what’s next for the ESC winner? In which direction should it go, opera or pop? “Why not both?” JJ had previously used to answer this question. At the press conference after the ESC, JJ was more of a pop. “I see myself more in the charts – because I notice how well this art form is,” he said. “But here and there there will also be classic concerts,” he pushed. With his victory, he hopes to have reduced the “Stigma against Countertenors” in the industry. He wishes that a counter can also take on a soprano role.

Pop, opera or popera: In any case, not much stands in the way of a career from JJ. He is under contract with Warner Music. A successor to his debut “Wasted Love” and an EP are already being planned.