I wasn’t going to write about Conchita Wurst at a Q&A fan meet and greet at Facebook Hamburg, Germany yesterday, as I already have a few other articles about her I’m trying to find time to write. But…..videos surfaced on YouTube this morning, taken by fans at the Facebook offices, and they really are delightful. Not just because of being able to see the lovely Ms. Wurst one more time, but also the little secrets they show about her.
Conchita Wurst meets fans at Facebook Hamburg
The first video was shot by Julia K, and it’s just a snippet of Conchita Wurst being photographed with fans.
What strikes me about this video is what always hits me when I see Conchita meeting fans, or interacting with people she has just met. She has incredible people skills, and she is the warmest, friendliest celebrity I think I’ve ever seen.
Just watch as she meets a new person. A firm handshake, she always makes eye contact and holds it, and for the few seconds she’s with them, it’s all about them (and that is rare with many celebrities who are often already looking to meet someone ‘better’ the minute they’ve met you). It’s also all completely genuine. There’s no manufactured persona here.
Well, there is, but not when it comes to the actual person beneath the wig, false eyelashes and ‘Conchita’ image. Because, while Conchita is an illusion, she is and she isn’t.
That’s because no matter what someone does to create an image, it is a physical and emotional impossibility to completely hide the real person beneath. They always comes through in tiny little instances — a blink of an eye, an irritated second, a smile they can’t quite conceal, — in good and in bad ways.
And when it comes to the real person Conchita Wurst is, in the hundreds of hours I’ve spent watching videos of her, I’ve never seen one ‘bad way’ or one non genuine moment. Not one. And how many celebrities can you say that of? (And I’m talking about who she is here, and not about what she says, as there are times where, like anyone, she’s said things I don’t believe longer than the half second they take to register. But those are between her and me).
Conchita Wurst sings ‘Rise Like a Phoenix‘ and ‘You Are Unstoppable‘ at Facebook Hamburg
(Thanks Doris W for the videos)
Now these two performances are interesting to watch as, since Eurovision, normally the only time you see Conchita singing ‘Rise Like a Phoenix‘ and ‘You Are Unstoppable‘ is on a massive stage in front of several hundred people. Not up close and personal like this.
And what’s interesting here is her demeanor.
With ‘Rise‘, she’s so used to singing this song she’s completely comfortable, wrapped in the emotions of the song, and somewhat removed from the audience. Her body language is of someone confident, and every movement she makes is perfectly smooth and flowing.
What made me laugh out loud here too, so much so I watched it five or six times and laughed every time, is that thrusting backwards of her elbows she does to the final note of the song. Now that’s all boy, and fabulous to see.
‘You Are Unstoppable‘ is a little different. Same powerhouse vocals, same star quality, but from the minute that song starts, she’s ever so slightly removed from it, and just the tiniest little bit self conscious.
From the kicking motion she does as the music begins, showing she’s outside the song instead of in it, to the way she’s distracted by her hair, it’s a song that, while she’s completely embedded in it on a huge stage, when it comes to singing it here so close to a small audience, emotionally she’s sitting on top of the song instead of letting it wrap around her. (Don’t get me wrong, Conchita, it’s still a beautiful performance).
Personally I think that’s touching as, to me, someone who is convinced Conchita Wurst is an introvert (and I’m getting to that in an upcoming article as God, that just makes me love her even more), it shows how, for all the amazing abilities she has being able to connect so warmly with people, there are times when she still feels a little unsure.
Her vocals, of course, are gorgeous and spot on – and she does have the most amazing voice (which is why those ridiculous comments about Conchita lip syncing in Spain were just that, ridiculous. With a voice like that, why would she ever need to?).
And one final comment here, about something that just touched my heart.
There’s a moment towards the end of ‘You Are Unstoppable‘ that I watched over and over. It’s between 3:02 and 3:04, and it’s a fleeting look in her eyes and on her face I’ve only ever seen once before – in her audition performance at Die Grosse Chance (around 1:15). A look of such absolute vulnerability, if I was gay and a boy, that right there is that split second in time when I would fall in love with her.