Vienna – The Viennese women’s punk band Black SunZet won the 23rd annual Protest Song Contest on Thursday, February 13, 2026, at the Rabenhof Theater in Vienna. The band’s song, “My Body, My Choice,” which addresses femicide and sexualized violence, resonated with both the jury and the audience, securing their victory over nine other competitors. The win underscores a growing focus on personal experiences within protest music.
According to FM4, this year’s submissions covered a wide range of issues “from war to endometriosis, from the climate catastrophe to redistribution upwards.”
“it was noticeable in this year’s submissions that the focus of anger was not on war-mongering, power-obsessed, and reality-denying dictators, but rather on the personal negative life experiences of the individual artists, which they are no longer willing to accept unheard,” said co-initiator Gerald Stocker in a press release.
Black SunZet’s performance of “My Body, My Choice” was described as a powerful statement “that one never tires of repeating like a mantra.” The event, a collaboration between FM4 and the Rabenhof, was moderated for the 13th time by Michael Ostrowski, who will also host the Song Contest shows in the Vienna Stadthalle in May alongside Fiona Swarovski.
The judging panel included director, author, and musician Marie Luise Lehner; label operator Hannes Tschürtz; singer-songwriter Nelavie; musician and entertainer Slivo Slivovsky; environmentalist Hanna Simons; and music journalist and presenter Christoph Sepin. The audience served as the seventh member of the jury, both in the theater and online. A tie between Black SunZet and solo act Liböön with the song “Oma, dazö ma vom Kriag” was ultimately broken by the audience vote.
Those who missed the event will have an opportunity to view it on ORF III on February 19, starting at 11:50 PM.
