San Francisco Frontiers - Austria's JJ soars to Eurovision victory with operatic pop

With "Wasted Love", which fuses pop and lyrical elements in a crescendo that flows into techno sounds, the Alpine country made what some thought a risky choice -- but it paid off in spades.

The song raked in 436 points at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Basel, placing him ahead of Israel in second place and Estonia in third.

"This is beyond my wildest dreams! It's crazy!" said JJ, who gripped viewers with his ethereal performance, filmed in black and white, in the 4:3 ratio of the monochrome television era.

The Austrian-Filipino countertenor, 24, said he had wanted to give viewers "an insight (into) my deepest soul, how I felt when we wrote the song".

He wanted there to be "no wasted love".

"There's so much love that we can spread around, and we should use love. It's the strongest force on planet Earth."

JJ grew up in Dubai before discovering classical music in Vienna, where, before Eurovision, he was honing his skills between talent shows and minor roles at the opera.

In April, he told AFP: "It surprises people that a man can sing so high."

Even though he says he appreciates Austria's "very strict" and famous "classical world", he also wants to have the "freedom to let loose" and "experiment".

- 'Something new' -

His Eurovision entry was sung from the heart.

"My song is about my personal experience with wasted and unreciprocated love. I had too much love to put out there; not much came back," he told AFP during Eurovision week.

"My message is to stay strong and you'll get out of any situation, no matter how tough it is. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel."

The song pivots from high soprano notes into a blend of lyricism and balladry, before ending with a techno flourish.

"We wanted to bring in something new, something unexpected," he told AFP last month, adding that the song's success surprised him.

"I did not expect that the mixture of pop and classical music would be so well received, because classical music is something different and not many people listen to it."

The singer has set his sights on a blend known as operatic pop, a "cross-genre and cross-disciplinary approach (which) demonstrates exceptional versatility and innovative strength", said Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, rector at Vienna arts and music university MUK, where JJ studies.

Austria first won Eurovision in 1966 with "Merci, Cherie" by Udo Juergens -- a ballad about a break-up.

- Bach and Whitney Houston -

"When JJ sings, it's as if time stops," said Austria's 2014 Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst, describing the "impressive professional" as a worthy successor.

Earlier this year, the two performers released a duet, while JJ said Wurst provided "many tips" ahead of Saturday's contest.

JJ got a taste for classical music from his father, an Austrian IT professional, especially for Bach and Mozart, while his mother, a cook from the Philippines, listened to Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.

He went to an international school in Dubai, where his father set up his company. He speaks German, English and Tagalog and learned Arabic and French.

He hails Eurovision's massive international following -- and the contest being a "platform for everyone", including the LGBTQ community.

"Music is a unified language that everyone speaks and understands," he said.

Z.Phillips--SFF