Austria’s reigning Eurovision Song Contest champion Conchita Wurst has given a revealing interview to Germany’s Zeit magazine.
Twenty-six year old Conchita, who famously soared to victory at the Copenhagen contest of 2014 with Rise like a phoenix, speaks candidly about her journey from struggling to find acceptance as a young boy in a small Austrian village to her unstoppable and life-changing Eurovision success.
She says:
There was a period in my life when I wanted to be like others.. I grew up in a small village in Styria.
I often wondered about becoming interested in football so that I could be a “normal” boy.. It took a few years before I realised that there is nothing wrong with me and there is no such thing as “normal”. From that moment on I never wanted to be different to the person I am.
Conchita continues:
I was a very imaginative child with lots of ideas and daydreams. These fantasy worlds were at times a refuge for me. The attic at my parents’ house was another important refuge: there I was able to wear women’s clothes and live out my female alter ego that I had to lock up every day.
Conchita on how winning Eurovision has changed her life:
Many of my dreams have become reality.. I’ve always dreamed to be able to entertain people and be famous. Since my victory at the Eurovision Song Contest my voice has been heard and my ideas and visions taken seriously. The success opened the door to a world in which I always wanted to live. All of the fantasies of my youth get their permission.. I’m very glad that I have my fantasies and dream worlds and never gave up.
Read the full interview (in German) at here (Ich habe einen Traum – I have a dream).
In other Conchita news, the official music video for her first post-Eurovision single Heroes (released in November 2014) has reached 1,000,000 YouTube views.
Conchita will also be the Green Room host at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, to take place at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna in May.
Conchita Wurst won the Eurovision Song Contest of 2014 for Austria, accumulating a Grand Final total of 290 points. Watch the triumphant performance of her winning entry Rise like a phoenix below:
