We’ve been very impatient for the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race to start, a wait that has been all the worse without knowledge of the release date. Logo has been spoonfeeding us short video clips and a fabulous drag race tour to tide us over until the recent (finally!) revelation of a premiere date and their release of the Official Super Trailer for Season 7. Read on, as Margaux and I pick this thing to pieces:
Samir: Finally after many anxious days and nights, The Ru Gods have bequeathed to us an official start date for Season 7. Monday, March 2, 2015 we will finally get to meet all the new queen-testants in full. In addition, the “Official Super Trailer” gave us several clues to who may last and who may trip down the runway once the season begins. Margaux, let’s break it down shall we?
Margaux: Not sure why this trend of unveiling premiere dates has to be some multipart event all the time but fine, happy to know I can officially get excited for something happening in two weeks instead of two months.
Samir: For reals, squirrel-friend. I’ve been wondering if the footage is intended to give us clues, or am I just too much of a nosy Nancy who overanalyzes things too much. Probably a little from both columns, but I have a sinking suspicion that Trixie Mattel isn’t lasting as long as I hope she will in the competition now, they don’t feature her much in this clip.
Margaux: It’s a fact that withholding of solid information and footage from super fans will only force you to over analyze every little nugget we’re blessed with. That being said, Ru must know that her fans will be replaying the Official Super Trailer for clues on whom to hedge their bets and girl ain’t gonna give too much away. That’s how she keeps us coming back…for trailers! That’s some PR magic.
Samir: Always the crafty business woman that RuPaul. If you like it, buy it on iTunes. But I think it’s safe to say that a potential standout star this season is going to be Katya Zamolodchikova, we get quite a bit of her in the super trailer. And the fact that the dreamy music man of the show Lucian Piane (sigh) is seen gasping at her extreme corset while she huffs on an oxygen mask pulling a tank behind her on the runway, that she lasts a long time. Because the challenges he’s involved with usually don’t come until at later the last half of the season. IF the editing of that bit is all culled from the same episode. No guarantees that’s the case.
Margaux: True but you brought up a good point worth mentioning, though, there have been times in past seasons where the preview for next week give the illusion that a guest judges gasp is suppose be amused/horrified. And then, it turns, it’s the opposite reaction you were anticipating. So that Mad Men style of smoke-and-mirror reaction editing always make me question. Also, like you said, who even knows what episodes editors Frankensteined together to make up the Super Trailer.
Samir: Exactly, that one’s tricky because that corset pulled that tight was sure to elicit a shocked gasp or reaction when she came out in it. I made the exact same sound out loud when I saw the closeup. But we also saw Kathy Griffin gasping in the trailer so who really knows. But it’s a legitimate notion that they wanted to sell this season with something that crazy. I think that guy really must have had a rib removed, my heart still races a little bit thinking about someone even trying to move in that.
Margaux: Yeah, let’s move on to some other unfounded predictions, thinking about that corset is making my side hurt. GIRL, WHY?
Samir: Our early favorite Jaidynn Diore Fierce gets quite a bit of play in this super trailer as well, including an awesome horror-do with barb wire coming out of her head. I didn’t know she had horror queen potential too, this makes me like her even more. The more footage you have on the runway to work with for a trailer, per queen, leads me to believe they walked it more than a few times, and thus must have stuck it out for a while. I hope Ms Fierce proves me right.
Margaux: Tempest DuJour made quite the first impression that I was honestly not ready for. In my mind, I’d remembered Tempest’s character from the individual Drag Race “First Look” videos, and something Mother Hen about her, in a good way – then she dropped that baby from between her legs. Not sure if that was a confirmation of my first impression but it wasn’t what I’d expected.
Samir: Also surprising was that Pearl’s Paris Hilton makeup looked more beautiful and less cougar-fabulous here in the workroom clips, than it did in her “First Look” video. A shot of Violet Chachki in the workroom saying she hates Michelle Visage I think pretty clearly indicates her limited shelf-life on this season.
Margaux: That was foretold in the stars when Violet was unable to come up with ONE, JUST ONE, RuPaul quote from the show. Doesn’t matter if you’ve figured out white power for camera by the time you’ve hit the trailer – you don’t quite belong here.
And also, how ballsy to go on RuPaul’s Drag Race and A. know nothing about the brand and then B. insult one of the people who decide your fate. Dumb. Ass.
Samir: Yeah she doesn’t have that quality that Adore Delano had as the ingenue queen. Adore you could tell from that season’s preview had STAR just oozing out of her, it just shined through. I’m not seein much shine through except an excellent look, and that’s not nearly enough to win.
Margaux: Thoughts on one of our other initial faves, Ginger Minj? I’m trying really hard to remember her in the Super Trailer but drawing a blank on any stand-out shots of her. This isn’t the greatest of signs.
Samir: She was in one shot in a studded white leather get-up intercut with another queen (Sasha Belle I think) mocking her petite height and ample frame. There was one flash of Minj in the workroom, making a pursed lips stank-face out of drag, and she looks kind of fishy even when not all done up. I don’t have her pegged as a favorite for the final 3, but maybe through about 4-5 episodes.
Margaux: For some reason, your prediction of 4-5 episodes until Ginger’s (most likely) elimination just feels right to me.
Samir: Perhaps the Minj will find some staying power I’m not seeing. It hasn’t done much for me in the past, but I’ll pray for her. She is a cross-dresser for Christ after all.
Margaux: Haha good point.
Samir: I’m also hoping Max, as the quirky queen, doesn’t go the same way as Milk last season. I need more fingers to cross. BUT I am ecstatic to confirm that one of my predictions came true. JOHN WATERS IS A GUEST JUDGE THIS SEASON!!!!!!!!!!!!! This Jinkx Monsoon gif explains how I feel to the T:
I’m shocked that Santino is out as a full-time judge, to be replaced by Ross Matthews and Carson Kressley, who I think will be great high-energy additions. Santino will be back as a guest-judge though, at least according to the press release. I liked the little snippets we saw of some of the other guest judges, including Mel B (perfectly timed to coincide with those unearthed Spice Girls song). But they didn’t give us a glimpse of the King of Filth or what challenge he might have been judging. I’m so excited, I’m about to lose control and I think I like it.
Margaux: Are you so excited but also, so so scared?
*and possibly eleven dollars richer?
Samir: I’m more excited than Jessie hopped up on caffeine pills trying to get into Stanford. If they have the finale in Vegas again and we go, we are hitting up the casinos!
*the next time a drunk man bets me on the proper quotation of anything from television, especially Saved By the Bell, I am sure to come home $11 richer 🙂
Margaux: One guest judge this season though, I’d like to kindly tell her to get back in the fucking skybox, and that’s you Kelly Osbourne. I just don’t want hear her tell queens about alterations for 20 minutes.
It’s poetic they’re having the finale in Vegas since they kicked off Drag Race Ball Tour this year in Vegas- wonder if it’ll be at Planet Hollywood this year because I’d like to suggest a crossover finale with the Britney Spears’ residency. JUST SAYIN’, it’d be sickening.
Samir: Oh don’t worry, the editors will trim that shit to a minimum. 1-2 minutes tops if that’s all she contributes. She’s a longtime fan of the show, I think lots of the judges really love coming to this RPDR because they can go a little more wild and tend to be a bit freer than their public relations handlers usually reign them in to be. Side note: I’m not really a fan of Ariana Grande, but she is an impressive get for the show, even if she’s not Beyonce like Jaidynn Diore Fierce wanted.
Margaux: I hope one of the contestant queens calls Ariana Grande a giant baby to her face. That’d be hilarious…for me.
Samir: Wishes do come true sometimes, you never know. I know that I have liked the queens’ looks we’ve seen so far from this super trailer, a lot of variety and polish. Of course this show isn’t like American Idol where they get the most viewers for dragging out the worst train wrecks to parade their non-talents on national TV. They aren’t going to show us the brokedown travesties on the runway in the preview for this show, but we all know said travesties will provide raggedy fodder for our amusement. I fear there won’t be as many this time, since the bar has been raised so high now that to even get on the show you need to be that much better.
Margaux: Exactly. I love a good competition where everyone is on their A-game because, shock, this show actually does have the ability to launch your career or take you the next step. And no one here wants to fuck it up – get in a good quip or so, sure of course – but it’s nice to see women so focused not on winning the affections of some dipshit dude.
Samir: Yes, because a spot on that Drag Race tour is a golden ticket. You can show more of what you have to offer too, and keep doing it if you want to and earn a steady paycheck. So there’s always an incentive to bring it every time as RuPaul implores them to. Even those eliminated before they should have been, such as Ivy Winters and Ben De La Creme, made enough of an impression on their seasons to earn spots on the tour. Queens from Season 2 like Pandora Boxx, or Raja the winner of Season 3, are still on this tour years later, traveling the country and the world. Well Canada and Europe, not like Africa or Asia, but still they added more dates in the European leg. And that tour is amazing! If anyone gets a chance to go, plan to be wowed by what all the queens have tucked in store for their performances. Even though I loved Ivy and De La in their respective seasons, they were big revelations on the stage of the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, so I hope wherever you are when the tour gets to you, they will be performing. (Stay Tuned to our Shady Ladies podcast for more on the Battle of the Seasons Tour performance)
Margaux: The stakes are high, the queens are fierce, all we need is the calendar to fast forward to March 2nd. COME ON LOGO, MAKE IT MARCH.
Samir: We gays do have magic powers Margaux, but I haven’t mastered the manipulation of time yet. Soon as I do, I’ll be having my Drag Race viewing parties in a mansion in the hills with a private limo to pick you up from the parking structure a mile down the hill, by the entrance gate to the property. Never mind the hounds, I’ve trained them only to snap at homophobes (they react aggressively to the scent of Craigslist).
5 stars (of anticipation and for the BOTS tour)
Also, if you want to catch up on more from us about RuPaul’s Drag Race be sure to catch our podcast here. The RuPaul’s Drag Race ‘Shady Ladies Podcast’ can also be found on iTunes or you can check it out on YouTube below.
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