Austria's entrant, JJ, wowed crowds and more than 160 million watchers worldwide with their song Wasted Love, a ballad turned club anthem with operatic vocals.
"Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true," the 24-year-old said.
"Love is the strongest force in the world. Let's spread more love.
"This is beyond my wildest dreams. It's crazy."
Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest JJ from Austria holds up the trophy onstage he won with the song Wasted Love. Source: AP / Martin Meissner
It is the third time Austria has won Eurovision, with Udo Jürgens taking home the top spot in 1965 and Conchita Wurst in 2014.
"When JJ sings, it's as if time stops," Wurst said.
Earlier this year, the two performers released a duet, while JJ said Wurst provided "many tips" ahead of Saturday's contest.
Described by Eurovision as "A countertenor with a distinctive voice that can reach soprano heights", the Austrian-Filipino artist's music is classical meets club.
"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 Agence France-Presse during Eurovision week.
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.
Who is JJ?
JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, was born in Vienna in 2001 — his father is an IT specialist, and his mother is a Filipino chef.
He got a taste for classical music from his father, especially for Bach and Mozart, while his mother listened to Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.
He was raised in Dubai, where karaoke parties and his father first introduced him to pop and opera.
In Vienna, he later uncovered classical music, refining his skills through talent shows and minor opera roles before Eurovision.
He speaks German, English and Tagalog and has learned Arabic and French.
In a recent interview with The Independent, he said that he was "surrounded by music" growing up and started singing at a young age.
For those following The Voice UK music contest, he should seem familiar as he participated in the ninth series in 2020 and reached the finals alongside his coach, William James Adams, also known as will.i.am.
How was the winner chosen?
An estimated 160 million people across Europe and beyond were expected to tune in for the annual TV spectacle, where kitsch, glam and spectacular staging go hand in hand.
In the grand final, JJ triumphed over 25 competitors, with performers from 37 nations participating in Eurovision 2025.
Separate jury and viewer votes from each of this year's participating countries -- with equal weight -- plus an extra vote from the rest of the world combined, decided who won the coveted microphone-shaped trophy.
Austria earned 178 points from the audience and 257 from the jury, taking them to 435 points in total.
Israel came in second place with 357 points. They also topped the Australian public vote.
After a surge in audience votes, Estonia came in third with 356 points for their coffee bop, Espresso Macchiato.
The favourites coming into the competition were Sweden's KAJ, with their catchy tune about heading to the sauna, Bara Bada Bastu.
But they faded away as the votes came in, finishing fourth ahead of Italy, Greece and France.
Switzerland, France and Italy dominated jury votes but fell short in praise from the audience.
Eleven were knocked out by public voting in the semi-finals, including Australia's Go-Jo Marty Zambotto, with his tongue-in-cheek Milkshake Man.
- Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse.
