WURST’s ‘Hit Me‘ music video seems so simple but you can’t take your eyes off it
Austrian singer Tom Neuwirth first hit it big back in 2014 when his alter ego, Conchita Wurst, won the world’s biggest singing competition — the Eurovision Song Contest.
In the five years since then Neuwirth has honed his main stage persona, Conchita Wurst, into a world-class artist.
Perfectly dressed, coiffed and behaved, Conchita became the darling of the news media, a welcome guest at TV shows all over Europe and, of course, a celebrated and very successful singer with the release of her first two albums — Conchita and From Vienna With Love —Â a collaboration with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
Related: Conchita Wurst’s debut album Conchita — perfect
This month, however, fans were shocked to see Tom Neuwirth stepping away from Conchita and into a new persona. The much more masculine-identifying WURST.
First with WURST’s debut single release ‘Trash All The Glam‘, followed by ‘Hit Me‘ — the second single from his upcoming album Truth Over Magnitude.
WURST’s ‘Hit Me’ breaks the million views mark
WURST’s second single ‘Hit Me‘ released almost a week ago. It immediately captivated fans all over the world, not just for the catchy electro pop song that worms its way into your head, but also because of the simple but mesmerizing music video that came with it.
A music video that hit 1 million views this morning and, since then, already has almost 100,000 more.
Why is WURST’s ‘Hit Me‘ so mesmerizing?
‘Hit Me‘ is one of only a handful of music videos Tom Neuwirth has ever created because, let’s face it, vids are rarely inexpensive to produce.
But, in true Neuwirth fashion (he’s a man who does not waste money!), with ‘Hit Me‘ he has managed to create a stunning and extremely effective music video that is really nothing more than him marching or dancing backwards and forwards in a Vienna wind tunnel (Rail Tec Arsenal) or towering over a table in the dark, while berating and interrogating a bearded opponent.
Together, however, these scenes create a mesmerizing video that, if you watch it once, you will have watched it 20 times before you realize it.
The colors
The first thing you will notice about WURST’s ‘Hit Me‘ music video is the simple but striking color palette. In blues and greens for the wind tunnel scenes, and in blacks and greys for the interrogation scenes.
Color palettes that have then been further color graded by Jazztime‘s Johannes Dürhammer to produce a muted wash on every scene that adds a depth of emotion to the video a brighter color palette would not.
The walk
The first thing I noticed about WURST’s ‘Hit Me‘ music video is the walk he does backwards and forwards in the wind tunnel, while he sings to the camera “Hit me with the bullets you make up in your head/Hit me with the pain that you came to get”.
Because what is fascinating about this walk is that it alternates between feminine and masculine — a feminine Paris catwalk-style way of moving with swinging hips and thrust out chest, and a masculine glaring at the camera while stomping around in a circle and licking his lips.
Throw in the mainly feminine (and fabulous!) dancing, and we get the two sides of Tom Neuwirth — the overtly feminine Conchita and the masculine WURST — now come together in the latter persona.
And a delight to watch as, after seeming to struggle for several years with acceptance of both his male and female sides, Neuwirth has finally embraced both sides of his personality and now seems to be in love with them both.
(And no, I am not going to go off on a tangent here, but is it just me that finds men with a pronounced feminine side far more interesting than the stereotypical macho dude?
After all, it takes more courage to accept yourself for who you are and then run with it, than it does to bury the feminine and fakely and sadly decide to ‘man up’).
The power
What is also interesting about the wind tunnel scenes in WURST’s ‘Hit Me‘ is that, even though much of his walk is ultra-feminine, the enormous power emanating off him most definitely is not.
In fact, it is all-male, and takes over every scene.
So that, even in the scenes where the bearded guy being berated is one studly and very masculine-seeming specimen, it is still impossible to take your eyes off WURST. His power is that strong.
The ass
Come on, you cannot watch that lovely man strutting, dancing and spinning through a green and blue world with hips wildly swinging and not notice that magnificent ass.
Because, even if you are not remotely sexually attracted to him, that perfectly shaped and sized ass will always be The Best Ass in Europe, and one a million other men (and 100 million women, including me!) would kill to own.
Tom Neuwirth
He might be blond as WURST but that doesn’t do much when it comes to hiding Tom Neuwirth. Not like Conchita has always been able to do.
But hey, blond or dark-haired, in an evening gown or tight leggings and a dark t-shirt, shaved bald or wearing a wig, that fabulous man will always be gorgeous.
And as, after five years in the shadows, Tom Neuwirth boldly thrusts himself front and center, I say “You go, dude! After all, it’s nice to finally see you.”
And thanks for WURST!
Fuck you, I’m invincible
Of course, the lyrics for ‘Hit Me‘ are just as important as that ridiculously catchy tune.
Because these lyrics are Tom Neuwirth’s message to every asshole that has ever put him down, made him feel small, or tried to destroy his dreams.
“You don’t get to point the gun and you don’t get to force my hand cause i don’t get to mend the matters, i don’t get to fight back you don’t get to raise complaint and you don’t get your rights back cause i won’t let you threaten me and i won’t give you parts of me just to heal and to lead.”
Because you get the idea that, after years of abuse from people who, as my father so eloquently often puts it “I wouldn’t piss on if they were on fire”, Tom Neuwirth has completely taken his power back.
As, after five years of wrestling with Conchita and her wants and needs, he has realized he doesn’t ever have to be anything for anyone — parents, friends, fans, business partners, lovers, enemies, homophobes, bigots — he only has to be himself, and do what he wants to do.
And that everyone who isn’t along for this magnificent ride can, quite frankly, go fuck themselves.
The catchy tune
And finally, that catchy ‘Hit Me‘ tune.
A tune I detested the first time I heard it, but then found myself coming back to for more and more. To the point that, in the last week, I have listened to that song and watched that video over 100 times.
It is a tune that earworms itself into your brain and, mixed with the simple but effective lyrics, will have you in your kitchen at midnight, headphones in, music cranked as loud as it will go and on repeat, and you trying to strut around like Tom.
Now, watch WURST’s ‘Hit Me‘ music video below to see just why you should be watching it 100 times.
It is bold, powerful, fun, cool, will make you laugh delightedly when you see those swinging hips and that ASS, and is one of the best music videos I have seen this year so far.
And, at almost 1.1 million views right now, I predict it will be hitting 2 million and beyond in the next few days. Count on it.
The music for WURST’s ‘Hit Me‘ was written by Albin Janoska, Eva Klampfer and Thomas Neuwirth. The lyrics are courtesy of Eva Klampfer and Thomas Neuwirth.
The concept and the Creative Director was the multi-talented Thomas Neuwirth. The video was produced and directed by André Karsai.
That fabulous make-up and hair was also Thomas Neuwirth, styling for ‘Hit Me‘ was by Julia Philippitsch and photo stills are from Vienna-based photographer Markus Morianz.