Conchita Wurst

Born in Gmunden, Austria on November 6, 1988, Conchita Wurst is the stage persona of Austrian vocalist and bearded drag queen Thomas Neuwirth. Wurst is best known as the winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Rise Like a Phoenix”. Although his school studies were focused on fashion, Neuwirth began his musical career in 2007 on the televised talent competition called Starmania. This led to him being a founding member of short-lived boy band Jetzt Anders! By 2011, he began performing as Conchita Wurst. Neuwirth prefers masculine pronouns when referring to himself but female pronouns when referring to Wurst. She released two singles in 2011: “I’ll Be There” and “Unbreakable”. Her association with the Eurovision Song Contest began in 2012 when he competed for the Austrian national final. She performed the song “That’s What I Am” and came in second in the pre-selection. Two years later, Wurst represented Austria in the 2014 Eurovision competition with the song “Rise Like a Phoenix”. While her appearance as a bearded drag queen initially caused controversy, it led to her becoming a gay icon. When she won the contest, Wurst became an international celebrity. The song was released as a single and hit the Top 10 in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Austria, where it hit Number 1. Wurst released her debut album, Conchita, in 2015, which went to Number 1 and was certified Platinum in Austria. Three years later, she released the album From Vienna with Love, recorded with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Like her debut, this release hit the top of the Austrian Albums chart. In 2019, Wurst released the album Truth Over Magnitude, which reached Number 3 on the albums chart.