A number of disgruntled music fans have slammed Saturday night's Eurovision Song Contest results, with some branding the final leaderboard "the worst ever."
Austria's JJ, 24, won the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest with his operatic song Wasted Love, scoring 436 points in a nail-biting finale in Basel, Switzerland.
JJ's performance, which combined elements of opera and techno and was broadcast in black and white, secured Austria its third Eurovision victory, following Conchita Wurst's win in 2014. The singer finished 79 points ahead of Israel's Yuval Raphael in second place, with Estonia's Tommy Cash just one point behind in third.
Israel's Raphael, an October 7 survivor, finished second with 357 points after receiving the highest public vote with his song New Day Will Rise. Estonia's Tommy Cash came third with 356 points for Espresso Macchiato, featuring his distinctive wobbly-legged performance.
BBC Eurovision: JJ won this year's contest after he performed his song Wasted Love on Saturday
GETTYPre-competition favourites Sweden, represented by comedy trio KAJ, failed to dominate as expected and finished fourth with 321 points for their sauna anthem Bara Bada Bastu.
Italy's Lucio Corsi took fifth place with 256 points, followed by Greece's Klavdia (231 points) and France's Louane (230 points). Albania and Ukraine tied for eighth place with 218 points each, while host nation Switzerland rounded out the top 10 with 214 points.
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The United Kingdom's entry, Remember Monday, finished in 19th place with a total of 88 points, all of which came from the jury vote. The trio received zero points from the public vote for the second consecutive year, following Olly Alexander's similar fate in 2024.
The night wasn't short of talking points, particularly surrounding Israel's involvement. Three protestors were detained by security for attempting to storm the stage during Raphael's performance in a display against the current conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Combined with criticism of the quality of songs on offer, several diehard Eurovision fans felt this year's ceremony failed to live up to the standards of yesteryear.
"Literally worst top 3 EVER omg," one X user fumed, while a second echoed: "This is gonna be remembered as one of the worst Eurovision scoreboard of all time. This is actually disgusting to look at."
A third concurred: "Worst #Eurovision ever. Insane strobe lights burning my retinas. The dumb televoting. Lack of any real bangers. Just plain ass. Mainly the strobe lights tho."
Another echoed: "Sorry, but for me this was one of the worst Eurovision contests ever. I just couldn’t make sense of the voting results. #Eurovision2025."
"This has literally been THE worst Eurovision ever, I'm sorry, nothing beats this crap of a score... #Eurovision2025," a fifth weighed in on X before a sixth social media user hit out: "The top 3 is so trash, we just witnessed the worst Eurovision of the 21st century, the jury and public votes are so random, JJ has less than 4th in 2024. #Eurovision2025 #Eurovision." (sic)
BBC Eurovision: Israel's Yuval Raphael finished as runner-up
GETTYIsrael's participation in the contest has sparked protests in Basel throughout this year's competition, with demonstrators opposing Israel's inclusion due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
During Raphael's performance, loud whistles could be heard from the audience, and two people attempted to rush onto the stage.
"At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier onto the stage. They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint," a Eurovision spokesman told AFP.
Elsewhere, JJ was visibly emotional during his victory speech, thanking European viewers for "making my dreams come true." The Austrian-Filipino singer told the audience: "There's no wasted love. Love is never wasted.
"There's so much love that we can spread around, and we should use love as the strongest force on planet Earth."
His triumph was celebrated by Austria's Chancellor Christian Stocker, who said: "What a fantastic success! My warmest congratulations on your victory. JJ is making Austrian music history."
The grand final was hosted by Hazel Brugger, Sandra Studer, and Michelle Hunziker at St. Jakobshalle in Basel, which was packed with 6,500 excited ticket-holders. An estimated 160 million people across Europe and beyond tuned in for the annual TV spectacle.
BBC Eurovision viewers weren't impressed with the results
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This marked Switzerland's first time hosting the contest since Celine Dion's victory in 1988, ending a 36-year wait. Despite rumours that Dion might make an appearance, organisers confirmed she was unable to attend.
The show featured performances from previous Eurovision stars, including last year's winner Nemo who opened the ceremony with their song The Code, as well as Baby Lasagna and Käärijä during the interval.
