Singer-songwriter Queency, aka Quentin Thony, spent his entire life being told he was too loud before one day deciding it was more that other people were too quiet.
“I’m not one to blend in,” 36-year-old Queency shares.
“I’m unapologetic, loud, flamboyant and colourful. Some people might call me obnoxious, but other people’s opinion of myself are none of my concern because at the end of the day, I just live my truth.
“Life is too short not to be noticed so that’s pretty much what transpires on stage.”
A proud Creole man from Reunion Island, he moved to Australia 17 years ago, fresh out of high school, to study marketing management which was more his parents’ choice of profession than his own.
“My parents didn’t consider music to be a viable career option,” Queency says.
“It took me four-and-a-half years to complete a three-year bachelor degree, so that tells you how interested I was in it.
“I’ve always sung and it’s forever been a dream of mine, but I never had the resources to invest in myself in that specific area of my life.”
It was during a post-graduation working holiday around Australia that Queency started to get serious about pursuing his dream, and by 2015 he was the frontman of Soukouss Internationale, performing with the Perth-based Congolese music ensemble for eight years.
“That’s what really got me two feet into the music industry, and then from there I diversified,” he states, having appeared on The Voice Australia in 2024 with Adam Lambert.
“Queency, my solo project, really started in 2018. I mean, I’d been writing songs, but I never had the knowledge, the industry contacts, and the balls to just go for it until 2018 when I really started putting songs out.”
A tumultuous 2026 with a long-term relationship breakup prompted Queency to return to his roots and spend time with family, making the move back to Reunion Island in recent months.
Having lived his entire adult life in Australia, it has proven more of an adjustment than he expected.
“I feel like a stranger in my own island because I’ve lived in Australia longer,” he says.
“It’s a conflicting feeling in a way because I do feel as Australian as I feel French. Australia is really part of my identity too now, and there will always be this connection between France, Reunion Island and Australia for me.
“Australia will always be there in my life so I wouldn’t be surprised if I make regular stints back to my second home as well.”
One such Aussie stint is already underway after WA Youth Jazz Orchestra invited Queency, before his relocation, to perform as feature vocalist on Queer Anthems with WAYJO’s 18-piece Resonance Jazz Orchestra.
A PrideFest 2026 event, directed by WAYJO artistic director Gemma Farrell, the evening will celebrate pride, power and pop with iconic queer anthems transformed into big band arrangements.
Singing with an 18-piece jazz orchestra for the first time is a bucket list moment for Queency who is honoured to be back in Perth to celebrate Pride in such a style.
“The takeaway from Queer Anthems as a celebration is that it’s OK, you’re not on your own in this, and no matter where you stand within the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, you are worthy and you are welcome,” he explains.
“They’re songs the community loves. Being a minority who has been ostracised and shunned throughout history, our safe space has always been the club. The gay community would meet in the club in an underground way, a safe space that would allow us to be who we are unapologetically.
“The songs that our predecessors, the people who came before us and fought for our rights, the songs they were partying to are the true OG queer anthems for me, but the new generation also has its fair share of anthems to add to the list.”
The set list will feature artists from Gloria Gaynor, Diana Ross, Madonna, ABBA and Kylie Minogue to The Village People, Sister Sledge and Chappell Roan.
“Queer anthems are songs from the artists who have been advocates for the community, like Cher, Madonna and more recently Lady Gaga,” Queency says.
“But they are also songs from incredible singers, incredible vocalists who gay men assign to themselves at birth and will defend on their deathbed — think Mariah Carey, Celine Dion. For me, it is Whitney Houston.”
At the concert, Queency will sing Houston’s I Will Always Love You, written by Dolly Parton, along with his request to WAYJO for queer artist Billy Porter’s song Love Is On The Way from The First Wives Club soundtrack.
“This is an ensemble that is not focused on Pride events, it’s a mainstream orchestra, so for them to branch into this specific celebration of queer music is opening the door to our community,” Queency adds.
“Art is a central piece of our community. Art carried our struggle through, and the struggle is not done. There’s still work to be done.”
Queer Anthems is at The Rechabite Hall, Northbridge, November 8. Tickets at moshtix.com.au.
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