Conchita Wurst Is Not The Worst — And This Is Why Eurovision Fans Love Her

Fans of Eurovision will know the name Conchita Wurst. The Austrian drag queen, aka Tom Neuworth, won last year’s Eurovision with a beard, a fabulous frock, and the power ballad, “Rise Like A Phoenix.” Conchita also managed to poke fun at Russian president Vladmir Putin’s “Europe-wide gay parade” comment and shot down all the homophobes that caused her grief in the lead up to Eurovision 2014.

But, even though Conchita Wurst was not competing in Eurovision this year, she still performed her hit from last year as well as hung around to enjoy the spectacle. And this is what fans love the most about Conchita, her wicked wit blended with her delightful charm.

Here’s a list of why we love Conquita Wurst so much:

1. In the lead up to Eurovision, Australia managed to nab Conchita Wurst for their TV Week Logie awards. Australia is a country that doesn’t normally compete in Eurovision because, even though they fall under the Commonwealth of England, they rest within the Pacific region. However, many Aussies are rabid Eurovision fans — and by extension, Conchita Wurst fans — even more so this year as Eurovision celebrates its 60th anniversary with the inclusion of an Australian act, Guy Sebastian. Although, if Sebastian manages to win, Australia will not only be included in next year’s Eurovision, but will be able to chose which country to host it in as well, since time zone difficulties would make it hard to host there. Something many Eurovision contestants used in their ploy to get Australian votes this year. However, it seems Austrian Conquita Wurst is a staunch supporter of Australian Guy Sebastian and has praised him highly when interviewed by Australian magazine, Woman’s Day, even claiming Guy could “probably” win this year.
2. Still in Australia, Conchita Wurst talked beards and admitted her fakery in regards to it. While Wurst may be stunningly beautiful she is not beneath hiding what enhancements she uses. And then, in her interview about this on Australian show The Project, Conchita also defers to co-host, Waleed Aly’s natural beard as being the better of the two.
3. Back to Vladimir Putin and when asked about him recently, Conchita Wurst admitted she would “love to spend at least a week with him” in order to truly understand what it was like to “be President Putin.” The sass in this one is great.
4. Conchita Wurst’s name literally translates to “sexy lady who doesn’t care.” Conchita being Spanish for sexy lady and wurst is a term that means “I don’t care” in German-speaking areas.
5. Conchita wore skirts to kindergarten, therefore making Jaden Smith’s fashion statement invalid.
6. When referring to Conchita Wurst, the correct term to use is “she” or “her”even though Conchita still maintains her life as a man. “I’m a drag artist, and we put so much effort into creating characters, so the easiest way to show us respect is to call us by the name we gave ourselves and refer to the gender we have chosen to be on stage.”
7. And how did that beard come about? According to Wurst, she just decided to leave it there one day.

“I did every kind of drag that you can imagine, but I remember trying new make-up just for myself, and I still had the beard and I looked in the mirror and I had done my eyes and I thought, actually, that looks quite cool. That’s how I ended up being a bearded lady.”

Love her or hate her, there is no disguising the fact Conchita Wurst is simply one of a kind.

[Image credit: Getty Images / Miquel Benitez / Stringer]