Eurovision 2014 will go down in history. And all because the transvestite became the winner of a prestigious competition for the first time. The bearded woman Conchita Wurst managed to win the sympathy of both strict members of the jury and the multimillion-dollar European public. What is the phenomenon of this artist? What is Conchita Wurst offstage? You will find answers to these and other questions in the article.
Childhood and family
Hometown of the winner of Eurovision - Gmunden (Austria). Conchita Wurst is just a stage name. Singer Thomas Neuwirth tried on the image of a bearded woman. He was born on November 6, 1988. As a teenager, Thomas realized that he was not attracted to women, but to men. And he loved to try on women's outfits and brightly painted.
From an early age, Thomas was discussed and condemned by neighbors, relatives and classmates. The guy was not easy, but he could not adapt to the laws and rules of a conservative society.
Creative way
From school, Thomas Neuwirth dreamed of getting into show business. Having received a certificate in his hands, a talented guy decided to proceed with the implementation of his plan. The first music competition in which he had a chance to participate was the Starmania show. It happened in 2006. Tom beat many rivals and took second place. The winner was Nadine Beiler.
Neuwirth was not at all upset by the fact that he got only triple place. On the contrary, participation in the show pushed him to further development. To avoid numerous rumors and gossip, Thomas honestly admitted that he was homosexual.
Our today's hero created a boy band, but soon the group fell apart. Then Thomas realized that he needed to build a solo career. But in order to somehow stand out from the crowd of novice pop singers, a bright and original image was needed. In 2011, Neuwirth entered the Fashion School in Graz.
The appearance of Conchita Wurst
Having received a diploma from the end of the Fashion School, Thomas went to the casting of the show “Big Chance”, which was then watched by all of Austria. Conchita Wurst was first presented on this show. A bearded woman in a long dress sang a song from the repertoire of Celine Dion. Conchita did not make much impression on the jury and took only 6th place.
Despite the failure in the popular show, Thomas was not going to give up his image. In this form, he has repeatedly performed on stage and local television.
Many are interested in knowing exactly how Tom creates the image of Conchita. Let's start with the beard. She is natural. But to enhance the effect, you have to tint it with black paint. Bright makeup, a long dress and a long wig - all these are mandatory elements of the image.
The long-awaited popularity
Vocalists from different European countries gathered in Copenhagen to participate in the song contest. Already a few months before the alleged event, the Russian print media reported on the artist nominated by Austria. Conchita Wurst - this is the name of the singer who went through all the stages of the qualifying competition in her native country.
Bookmakers bet on three participants: Aram Sargsyan from Armenia, Karl Espen from Norway and singer Sannu from Sweden. It never occurred to anyone that the winner would be Austria (Conchita Wurst). And for many viewers, and for the singer herself (singer?), This was a complete surprise, because the competition was quite strong.
Participants from some countries not only sang live, but also prepared whole performances for the audience. Why did Austria (Conchita Wurst) turn out to be the winner? Eurovision 2014 once again proved that shocking is in fashion today. A non-standard and outstanding appearance is what is evaluated first. And vocal data fade into the background. The victory of Conchita Wurst caused a storm of discontent in many countries, including Russia. You can ask for a long time about this. But the winners, as you know, are not judged.