Austrian bearded drag queen Conchita to release debut album

Austria's bearded drag queen sensation Conchita Wurst, winner of last year's Eurovision Song Contest, said Thursday that her debut album would be released on May 13.

"Conchita" the album contains 14 tracks but will not feature "Rise Like a Phoenix", the rousing James Bond-like song that won Wurst -- real name Tom Neuwirth, 26 -- Eurovision in Copenhagen last May.

Wurst, whose name was among the top 10 Google searches of 2014, has also used her new fame to campaign for gay rights, performing in front of the European Parliament and for UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

"As Conchita, I've got everything that I need to be glamourous and in the spotlight, giving interviews, doing photo shoots," she told AFP in an interview in December.

"And on the other side, there's Tom, this shy, boring boy. And I love to be shy and boring when I'm in private."

In May Austria's capital will host this year's Eurovision, and Vienna's public transport operator announced this week that during the annual extravaganza recorded announcements would be made by none other than Wurst.