With every new project Conchita Wurst creates, I always feel like I’m witnessing the laying down of another brick in the road to greatness. But not just any brick. The most delicately hand-crafted, lovingly-carved, perfectly-fired brick imaginable. That’s because everything she does is exquisitely formed, and beautifully presented.
Such is the case of Conchita Wurst’s new music video — the official video for her latest single ‘Heroes‘. A song Conchita herself has said talks about the basic innocence of people, and why we should look inside a person, to see why they turned out the way they did.
Her video, however, takes this idea one step further.
Obviously influenced by the French musician Woodkid, (whom I discovered a few weeks ago thanks to Conchita — and he is brilliant), the video begins with Conchita cradling a sleeping boy in her arms. He opens his eyes and stares blankly, as she sings, “Someone shot you down and your blood went cold”.
From there, we see a group of men — representing world leaders, politicians, businessmen, gangsters? We don’t really know. But we do know they are all that is wrong with the world. Particularly when we realize most of them are armed with guns, and are soon hiding behind masks. Masks representing their ill deeds? Masks that hide the innocence into which they were born?
Suddenly the floor gives way beneath the men’s feet, and they are falling. Falling through a dark sky, full of thunder clouds. But also falling gently, and falling down through rays of sunshine.
As they fall, the camera switches back to Conchita, dressed all in white, looking almost bridal. The epitome of goodness and perfection.
Her hands softly gesture, and the falling men see their guns suddenly exploding into a splatter of liquid.
It’s then we realize she is controlling the men. Bringing them back from the dark place they were living in, to a world of light. She moves her hands again to slow their falling, and they land safely on the ground below.
One of the men appears before Conchita, who kisses him on the forehead. When he steps back, he unclenches his fist, and he is holding the tiny crucifix the boy was wearing around his neck as he lay in her arms.
That symbolism alone says, we are all intrinsically innocent and, no matter what we have done in life, it is never too late to turn away from evil, and back to become the child who still had all the world before him. There is still time for everyone to be a hero.
But what makes Conchita’s ‘Heroes‘ video even more beautiful to me, is this. Something I have sensed since I first learned about her.
If you look carefully at Conchita Wurst — behind the wig, the false lashes, and the dress, beyond the incredible professionalism and maturity, you will see a person who is deeply, irrevocably innocent and childlike.
A person who, no matter what happened to him when he was a child (and, yes, I’m going with him here), has still managed to hold onto one of the most beautiful souls you will ever sense.
And, just as Conchita’s hands cushion the men’s fall into grace, it’s that soul that cushioned everything bad that ever happened to that boy. It’s that soul that made sure he was never shot down and his blood didn’t go cold. And it’s that soul we see in everything Conchita Wurst does. Pure innocence and love — personified.
As for ‘Heroes‘, the video is quite simply a work of art, and Conchita Wurst should be very very proud.