Who is JJ, the young Austrian-Filipino who won Eurovision for Austria?

With "Wasted Love" , which propels high soprano notes between two ballad refrains before culminating in a techno surge, the Alpine country made a risky but rewarding choice: the song obtained 436 points.

"This is beyond my wildest dreams. It's crazy," he said after his victory, holding the trophy.

"It surprises people that a man can sing so high," the 24-year-old Austrian-Filipino told AFP in late April from Vienna, while preparing for the competition in the studios of the public television service ORF.

A surprise turning into fascination to which the music lover has become accustomed, having grown up in Dubai before learning the ropes with small roles at the Vienna Opera.

Although he says he appreciates the "classical world" that makes Austria shine beyond its borders and where "everything is very strict," JJ - his real name is Johannes Pietsch - also wants to have the "freedom to let off steam" and "experiment."

Tips from Conchita Wurst

So he set his sights on a mix known as operatic pop, an "interdisciplinary and genre-crossing approach" that "enriches thinking and fosters creative exchange," applauds Andreas Mailath-Pokorny, the rector of the very serious school where JJ still studies opera.

Explosive on Saturday in his aerial performance all in black and white compared to the not always subtle chords of the very explicitly sexual propositions of Finland or the frank laughter of the Swedes, JJ innovates above all as a counter-tenor.

Although some associate his song with that of Swiss artist Nemo, last year's winner, the classic has been heard at Eurovision since the 1950s and has gradually merged into other genres with varying successes, with the Italian group Il Volo managing to reach third place in 2015.

His melancholic performance speaks of a time in his life when he "wasted too much love" without receiving any.

Misfortune for the couple, glory on stage: heartbreak had already succeeded in the Alpine country in 1966, during its first victory with "Merci, Chérie" by Udo Jürgens, a breakup hit, already covered on stage by Helene Fischer, the queen of German pop.

"When JJ sings, it's like the clocks stop ticking," says drag queen Conchita Wurst, seeing this "impressive professional," with whom she recorded a duet, as her worthy successor.

The artist had offered his valuable professional advice, as had singer Louane, a good friend, whose lyrics JJ had studied in French class.

Bach and Celine Dion

From the vast repertoire of the 68 previous editions of Eurovision, "L'oiseau et l'enfant" by Marie Myriam, which earned France its last victory in 1977, remains one of his favorite songs and he performs it with joy in its original version.

His gift for languages ​​comes from his schooling in an international establishment in the Emirates, where his Austrian father, a computer scientist, had set up his business.

It was from him that he inherited his taste for classical music, Bach and Mozart in particular, while his mother, originally from the Philippines and a cook, listened to Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.

German, English, Tagalog, Arabic and French: JJ can use his four octaves as he sees fit, an asset when the competition is so massively followed outside the European continent.

"On stage, everyone has their place," says the reserved JJ, while gay, lesbian, and transgender people are seeing their rights regress in countries that have left the competition, regularly accused of being too rainbow-colored, like Hungary.

"Not just the LGBT+ community," but everyone, because "music is a unique language that every human being can speak and understand." Whether it's pop, classical, or... non-binary.