What better way to ring in a new year than with another season of RuPaul’s Drag Race? Though they haven’t officially announced the date the show will premiere its 7th season, we do have some preview material on each of the fabulous queens set to rule the next runway. Let’s work the beat of these beaten mugs, shall we Margaux?
Margaux: Let us enter the Interior Illusions Lounge! I must say, I am bummed that none of the incoming queens said Ivvvvvvvvvyyyyy Wiiiiiinnnnnttttteeerrrrssss was their favorite former Drag Race contestant. But points for their dream guest being LaToya Jackson, if only to have RuPaul bring up another moment LaToya cannot recall. And that it’s embarrassing.
Samir: I feel your pain, I can’t imagine that anyone ever says Ivy’s name any differently.
But yes indeed, let’s instead untuck the pack of new ladies preview videos available on the LogoTV app and website. With no firm premiere date and teaser trailers, this is as close to an episode that we have, and there were definitely a few standouts. Which contestant snagged your attention like Phi Phi O’Hara’s or Trinity K. Bonet’s teeth?
Margaux: I thought Ginger Minj, Trixie Mattel, Jaidynn Diore Fierce, and Kennedy Davenport – because without fail, there is always a queen with the name ‘Davenport’ – were the stand outs. They were the only ones who really brought the fun and funny to the Q and A – AHEM, Violet Chachki and Pearl.
Diore Fierce, I thought, was one of the funniest and I think she’ll have a lot of memorable one-liners to come; “My dream judge is Beyonce but I don’t think we have enough in the budget to get her”.
Samir: I love Ginger Minj’s tagline “I’m a cross-dresser for Christ.” Jaidynn was also a standout to me, effortlessly sassy and full of character. I definitely loved Trixie, and that her spirit animal is “lip gloss,” her celeb crush was Zack from Saved By the Bell, and her favorite queen was Sharon Needles. While a lot of the other queens chose Latrice Royale, who’s not a bad choice, but an expected one. The different choice on that question made some of the queens stand out a little more as potential front-runners. There is another Davenport! She is the drag sister of former (and sadly deceased) Drag Race contestant Sahara Davenport, trained in the same drag family. It’s nice to see the Davenport house still kicking padded ass!
Margaux: I noticed the Latrice Royale trend too, and in a close second was JuJuBee – who I loved too. But Trixie gets extra brownie points for naming Sharon Needles, here’s to hoping Trixie can come up with similar name-puns like Sharon was so terrific at – Robin Houses? COME ON! SO GOOD.
Samir: YES!! I was gonna say the same thing! Jinkx- you owe me a coke 🙂
Margaux: Happy to know the Davenport name will always live on somehow so that I can always think about daytime soap operas when the name Davenport is mentioned and smile.
Samir: I also got a good vibe from Max; I love the kooky humor, and antiquated Old-Hollywood noir-esque style, but still with tongue-in-cheek. Her makeup reminded me of Detox’s drop-dead ghost lady look from the “Reunited” finale of Season 5, and I like that.
Margaux: To sort of piggy-back on a RuPaul saying, how any man who leaves the house in a wig and heels is a hero, Max is my hero for committing to such a quirky character, not many could attempt and succeed at that (plus I loved her hat). I’m intrigued and would love to see Dita von Teese on the show again too.
I loved that Miss Fame’s inspirations were all models, she was giving angles like she took a Tyra modeling class. GURL, YOU BETTA WERK.
Samir: Speaking of guest judges, rumors online suggested that the current season was delayed a bit in production to work around the schedules of some A-listers for the panel. When I saw John Waters do his Christmas show last month, a fellow audience member asked in the meet-and-greet (paying money to talk to John Waters was still worth it) if, in light of the highly entertaining “RuPaul Drives” episode with Waters, if we would see him as a guest judge on Drag Race. His answer, with an evil grin, and a wry, knowing laugh: “No comment.” Fingers crossed he’s not just toying with us and we DO see him on the show. I wonder what episode it would be though, possibly one of the acting challenge episodes?
Margaux: After John Waters did that webisode with RuPaul, and they clearly hit it off (WHY DON’T THEY HAVE A REALITY SHOW, HOLLYWOOD TV GODS?!?!), anything is possible. I don’t want to, but I am getting my hopes up that John Waters guest judges an episode…or all of them!
While we’re spreading rumors, any other A-listers you think would make an appearance?
Samir: Like Tyra’s definition of top model, it depends on your interpretation of “A-list.” For me Roseanne is A-list as much as Angelina Jolie is. But I love this show because it is so much more than a drag twist on ANTM. I love me some ANTM hunty, but RPDR is the utter perfection of the reality TV format. The producers don’t have to work as hard as other shows to manufacture drama because these people have fought and suffered through discrimination, violence, abandonment and rejection to get where they are. They aren’t there to avoid adult responsibility like the kids on ANTM or other similar shows. This really is their passion and purpose in life, and it takes tremendous bravado to stay on this path.
Margaux: As a queen told camera, it’s because her house is being foreclosed. Or to just increase her booking fee from $75 to $95. Either way, I will say this for RuPaul’s Drag Race vs Tyra’s America’s Next Top Model, Ru has single handedly launched every single career of every queen who’s won and they’ve got on to do a lot. Even a lot of queens who don’t win-win end up doing really well, look at the trailer for This Is Drag – majority of the queens are former Drag Race contestants.
Samir: Totally agree-all these contestants have really helped make drag more mainstream than it ever has been. RuPaul and her girls are beautiful artistic angels on Earth to me. The added bonus is that they also really want the money and the title. Drag is already majorly competitive, so naturally that is amplified with a huge prize and aids the entertainment quality of the show. I thought I was bitchy, but damn I could take lessons in how to read someone to filth!
Margaux: The open competitiveness is why I find myself loving and relating to these women. There are stakes on the line that actually feel real and along the way, there are these artfully crafted quips that make my best days of joke writing look bush league as hell.
“If I were stranded on a desert island? I’d need the LORD’S PRAYERS!”
Samir: Me too dear, me too. It’s the endlessly clever play on words, so essential to drag, that just slays me. I’m most jealous of every RuPaulism, she is always a savvy saleswoman and wordsmith in the same breath. I wonder what these queens will promote for RuPaul this season and what the variations to the challenges will be? The challenges, like the cast of queens, always follows a rubric: there’s always music/video/acting challenges, that are combined with a drag ball for the finale. Team challenges, The Library #ReadingIsFundamental and #EverybodyLovesPuppets mini-challenges, etc. The last couple seasons have featured stand-up comedy to great effect. And the tradition of a unique makeover challenge, turning straight guys into drag relatives, will reveal something special as always should it return again. I will be sad that there’s no more “You’ve got She-Mail.”
Margaux: Sigh, RIP “She-Mail”. Just don’t touch my Snatch Game!
Speaking of, some newbie queens were pulling out some WEIRD shit for the song they’d lipsync for their life to. Some were expected, like Liza or Judy Garland, but funeral dirge..yeah…don’t ever wanna know what that sounds like.
Samir: Yes, one said a “funeral dirge,” that would not be an entertaining performance. She’s just asking to sashay away with that one. Katya wanted some Russian song? I loved that Zamo, little dynamo gymnast, was her inspiration though. But rest assured, as much as Snatch Game is definitely here to stay, RuPaul will never allow funereal music on the runway. That’s another big question I can’t wait to have answered: Who will these girls play on Snatch Game?
Margaux: Katya cracked me up when she said her name was partly for a Russian gymnast – just gave me flashbacks of Aliya Mustafina from the 2012 Olympics and her sad, sad eyes.
Samir: Eyes so heavily laden with glitter it was a miracle her eyelids weren’t shut from the weight. You’d think she would be a bigger drag inspiration than Zamolotchikova.
Margaux: But to answer your original question, I hope Tempest DuJour plays Cher and Max plays Coco Rocha.
Samir: After San Diego queen Chad Michaels amazing Cher in Season 4, no one else is ever allowed to do Cher, ever. As legit drag star and stage-puker Willam put it then-”Don’t anyone do anything Cher or Cher-adjacent.”
Max as Coco, interesting, but it has to be someone with a big personality too-I feel she’d probably choose someone Old-Hollywood, maybe she’s the one to do Joan Crawford right? Only one queen has attempted it (Mariah Balenciaga, Season 3) and failed miserably.
Margaux: That explains why I haven’t seen it attempted too often. Someone will undoubtedly go as Beyonce.
Samir: Kenya Michaels from Season 4, and Tyra Sanchez from Season 2 both biffed that one, but invariably I think Bey always returns to Snatch Game.
Margaux: I don’t know what else we have to look forward to beyond what we’ve covered. OTHER THAN A DAMN PREMIERE DATE, LOGO!
Samir: Don’t expect a RuPaulogy for the extended tease. It will just make us salivate all the more. Especially in our new podcast.
Margaux: Until we know when we can officially our wigs ready for the new season, we’ll just have to tide ourselves over with re-runs of past season. Or until we get to go to the Drag Ball: Battle of the Seasons – whichever comes first.
Samir: Either way, I’m so excited, I could just explode. All T, all shade straight ahead!
Check out all the news on the new queens, and dish the latest dirt, for Season 7 at www.logotv.com
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