From her 2014 Eurovision crowning to becoming International Ambassador for a long-running LGBTIQ festival in a previously unheard of city on the other side of the world, Conchita Wurst‘s career  has taken plenty of interesting turns.

When we meet Feast Festival‘s big 2015 drawcard there are fancy teacups everywhere from the last interview and the flow of celebratory champagne for her first day in Adelaide is steady. Prior to teeing up this Festival gig Wurst admits she had never heard of Adelaide, but she’s embracing the opportunity to experience places previously unimaginable.

“I’m collecting,” she says of the seemingly endless train of new experiences she is now exposed to. “Thoughts and inspirations, I’m really like a sponge – I really want to get everything that helps me become a better version of myself. Just being in Australia for a second time is something that two years ago I would never have imagined,” she says of her post-Eurovision life. “I thought I’d be lucky to go to London once or Madrid.”

While the world became enamoured with Wurst seemingly overnight following her win last year, she points out it was in fact the tip of the iceberg of a decade’s work. That long, hard slog is something that continues to frame her current success. “I spent most of my career, which is now lasting for 10 years actually, being not successful and not famous, so this is something that I’m not used to at all,” she explains. “If I’m honest I still have this plan B in my head, like, ‘OK if this does not work out what could I do? Could I study?’.”

In addition to delivering a damn fine power ballad in Rise Like A Phoenix, Wurst’s win had a particularly resonant symbolic value, which has proved inspiring in ways Wurst sometimes struggles to fathom. “For me it’s so hard to believe that anyone gets a benefit out of what I do, so if people refer to me as an inspiration or something they look up to or whatever if feels strange because it’s just me – at the end of the day it’s just little Tom dressing up as the bearded lady and having a great time… and that’s it.

“I’ve received many messages on social media and also face to face, I hear those stories and I’m like… it’s so hard to say anything. A lady wrote me that [saying] she always wanted to own a floral shop and she was working in an office but wanted to quit her job, and now she’s going into it,” she says. “And I was like ‘WHAT DID YOU DO DON’T QUIT YOUR JOB!!!’”

Conchita’s win and the growing popularity of shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race are big mainstream examples of drag becoming more readily embraced and accepted both by the mainstream and queer community. “This show did a lot for the drag community, especially within the LGBTIQ community, because many many gay men saw the art of drag in a whole different perspective,” she says. The opportunities and newly opened doors have cut right across demographics, tastes and communities. “I got many offers, some quite sophisticated ones like the Viennese opera house or on the other hand being booked in Tel Aviv for one of the biggest gay parties.”

With her recently released debut album Conchita also had an opportunity to let the world know her a little better than a single YouTube video watched 30 million times. “I wanted to basically introduce myself to the music industry with all my musical interests, and I love big ballads and I love big theme songs, but I love to have songs I could dance to. So I really wanted to have a nice mixture of everything.”

It’s that diversity that Conchita is bringing our way, both for her ‘A Night With Conchita’ event on Sunday, November 15 and the festival as a whole. Despite being a recently converted Adelaide fan, the significance of Feast is definitely not lost on her. “I enjoy every moment and I truly enjoy being here for a festival which is now 19 years old,” she explains of her Feast Festival appearance. “And the fact that for 19 years the LGBTIQ community has been a strong and important member of society is something so great, and it’s not a common thing. It’s an honour.”

The Art Of Drag: A Night With Conchita will hit George Street on Sunday November 15, for tickets and more information head here.

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