Work the World "Power" - Power Ranking RuPaul's Drag Race S16E10

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, Episode 10 was a mash-up of a Girl Groups songwriting challenge and an election year voting challenge with Werq the World “Power” – a legit funk tune produced by Leland with a message of empowerment. Plus, a “True Colors” runway that let the queens play to their strengths (even when that turned out to be a weakness).

As a rock music nerd, I cannot tell you how excited I was to see a band on Drag Race credibly miming along to a track. “Power” is a legit funk pop and I love the nasty hook that uses Dorian Mode to give us a tritone of the major sixth against the minor third.

(The melody on the hook is E – F# – G – D – C#. In E-Minor, that C# would be a C. An E-Minor scale with a sharp 6th is called Dorian Mode. The G-(D)-C# leap is a tritone – it’s using the flatted 5th of the G to make a discordant sound even though they’re both a part of the Dorian Mode scale. Think “The SIMP sons” but as “The sons SIMP.”)

Pushing the queens to put on a high-energy performance to such a rocking track gave us one of the most energetic, entertaining music challenges we’ve had on the show. I’m only able to make some of the nitpicks I do in the Power Rankings below because I’ve rewatched this so many times!

This funky challenge proved the power queens have to control their own fate on this show when it comes to challenges that hinge on pure talent. In last week’s Neo-Goth design challenge Power Rankings I had Morphine Love Dion locked in for elimination because the judges weren’t giving her many positive notes. She week she delivered a decisive win, schooling the entire cast on what it means to show up and show out in a singing performance while other queens struggled. That means some major shake-ups in the Power Rankings… and not from the queen you might expect.

Readers, start your engines. And, may the best drag queen win!

Reminders: I consistently refer to Drag Race artists with their drag names and with she/her pronouns even when they are not in drag, which is the convention of the show. Some performers may have different personal pronouns. Drag is inherently brave, political, and artistic, and all drag is valid. It’s also hard to do. Every drag artist in the world deserves endless essays dedicated to their talents and life stories. I’m commenting on drag artistry in how it fits the established expectations of this specific television program, but the reason I’m commenting at all is because I am obsessed with drag and the people who create it.

RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 16 Episode 10 – Werq the Word “Power” & True Colors runway Power Rankings

Before we get to our Power Rankings, let’s take a moment to… I won’t say “appreciate” RuPaul’s looks. Let’s go with “evaluate.”

First, in the workroom, I love these pants and I don’t mind the yellow jacket, but… a plain white button-up shirt? I think the yellow of the blazer was too light and bright to make this shirt work. I don’t want to see a white shirt on Ru unless it is some kind of frilly, lacy, pirate shirt that Prince would’ve worn.

You already know what I’m going to say about this runway look, right?

WHY IS THERE NUDE ILLUSION IN PLACES A WOMAN WOULD NEVER HAVE NUDE ILLUSION? WHY CAN I SEE THE OBVIOUS NUDE ILLUSION SHAPEWEAR WHERE IT ENDS ON THE HIPS ABOVE RU’S STOCKINGS? WHY?!

I don’t care if nude illusion is popular and I don’t care if it’s a standard part of the drag toolbox. If it looks bad, it looks bad. I refuse to pretend it looks good when it’s not only unsightly but ruins the actual illusion of drag – female or otherwise.

#1 – Sapphira Cristál, 2 wins (was #2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 1)

Sapphira Cristál continues her season-long dominance with a spectacularly powerful funk verse and a runway that felt lifted right off of a Broadway stage. We’ve reached a point in the season where her win seems as inevitable as Bianca Del Rio or Bob The Drag Queen.

PHILLY REPRESENT.

Sapphira delivered a strong set of lyrics for Werk the World “Power” and an outstanding performance. How do you give notes on a funk performance from a queen who just so flawlessly inhabited James Brown in Snatch Game? You don’t.

All right kids, let me learn you something
Ow! Let’s vote
I am American, bleed red, white, and blue
I got the freedom to love with so much love for you
And if we lift every voice together
Use our power in that booth
We can stand whatever the weather
Make ’em see we know the truth
And the truth is, I got the power

I love that she worked in “red, white, and blue” in a non-awkward way. However, I think Leland’s production did her some disservice because her syncopated vocal isn’t quite “in the pocket” of the rhythm of the song. After having her perform in such a hasty recording session they could’ve at least snapped her vocal to the click track a little better. There are points in the middle of the verse where she is fighting against the rhythm in the wah guitar.

Sapphira’s “True Colors” runway goes right up to the line of “too much” without crossing it. This dress has so much sparkling and stoning and lace that I almost get lost looking at it. There’s just enough of a pattern of gold and contrasting blue that my eyes know where to go (although I question if it needed the dangling gold beads).

My early season concerns about Sapphira’s looks being too boxy were completely unfounded. This is a queen who understands her stature and silhouette and knows how to play with scale. Over the years of commenting on Drag Race, I’ve mentioned so many times when a queen needed a bigger wig, more shoulders, wider hips, or a fuller skirt to balance her look. Sapphira very rarely gives me the chance to type one of those comments. This is an artist who is always thinking about how she will look on a massive stage.

And, yes, I got a nod to The Wiz before Ru even mentioned Evillene!

What else is there to say about Sapphira’s rank in the competition at this point? She has gone from a potential frontrunner to an arc of total domination just as strong as Sasha Colby’s last season. Even if she has a brief bobble that leads to a lip sync in the next three episodes, she has headed to the finale as the queen to beat.

#2 – Dawn (was #5, 4, 7, 8, 5, 6, 7, 6, 6)

Dawn could have easily tanked in a funk challenge where all she brought to the table was mayonnaise. Yet, in staying authentically on-brand while pushing hard in the performance, Dawn has made the case for herself as the most authentic queen still in the running this season.

Let’s get this out of the way: Dawn is not a funky human being.

However, she is fully game to try anything. Dawn was beaming in this Werq the World “Power” challenge. She delivered her moves without a single hesitation. She was fully feeling her pop star fantasy. She even managed to tamp down her typical elven qualities to look like a pop star. In fact… dare I say that this is the hottest Dawn has looked all season long?

Past all of that, this verse is GOOD. Even if Dawn slightly departed from the theme of voting, her lyrics track so well. The rhythm on “being true to love” was some legit funk phrasing and I love the slowed-down line on “healing up our inner child.”

Y’all ready for a therapy session?
Here we go
We’ve got power
Being true to love will always make them cower
Writing up laws won’t stop our wild
Healing up our inner child
Who you are cannot be tamed
So bears don’t bear their shame
Connect use your privilege, making change
It takes a village, that child in you
Can put up a fight too

If I have one qualm, it’s that there’s one or two too many syllables in those final two lines. She could have simplified them to “Use your privilege, make change, it takes a village” and probably still hit the rhythm. Having those lines so packed with content took a bit of the impact out of “that child in you can put up a fight too,” which is objectively a great line.

Dawn’s “True Colors” runway should NOT have worked… but it did. This was a ridiculous before-and-after mashup of “Sleep Paralysis Demon Twink” (with a tiny hint of Star Wars Togruta) that hits Dawn’s brand as true as anything she has worn all season long.

(Dawn, I know you are reading this. Let’s hang out and read comics when you tour NZ.)

If Dawn pulled out this runway any earlier it might have flopped for being too weird, or not sparkly enough. But, Dawn achieved what Nymphia couldn’t and managed to be on-brand without feeling repetitive (including these heels being a better fit here than on her Polka look).

Am I delusional for not only giving Dawn a bump in the power rankings but moving her to second place? It could come back to bite me if she flops in the comedy challenge next week, but right now I’m feeling secure in this placement. Dawn has gotten a “close runner-up” edit to Q twice now, and the judges seemed enamoured with her tonight rather than growing tired of her schtick. Meanwhile, every other queen other than Sapphira is treading water, narratively.

With the amount of weight she is maintaining in the edit, it feels like we’re building to something. That could be a heartbreaking elimination in fifth place, but it could just as easily be a stealthy trip to the finale as she sneaks past one of the other season-long front-runners. I think next week is going to be very revealing for Dawn. There’s no one in this cast who is an obvious winner of a comedy challenge, which gives her room to score yet another high placement even if she doesn’t snatch a win.

#3 – Plane Jane, 2 wins (was #4, 5, 5, 3, 2, 4, 1, 2)

Plane Jane showed cracks in her confident façade for the first time this week as she delivered a stiff performance without a whiff of funk in it (despite a terrific set of lyrics). She also showed an unexpected human side in saving a floundering sister. We love some humanity in our Drag Race villains, but that also means Plane Jane’s initial 10-episode story arc has come to an end.

I felt like I could see exactly where the wheels came off Plane Jane’s Werq the World “Power” performance. It was on the word “ignorance” when she had to do her side-to-side rocking followed by a body roll. She didn’t quite hit it, and as soon as that happened you could see the perfectionist math start to calculate behind her eyes.

She managed to snap back into the vibe by “beaten overnight,” but the cracks were already showing at that point. After the end of her verse, she looked tentative throughout her paired session with Nymphia. She never got deep enough into any of her leg extensions, and there was one moment at the end where she had a complete “deer in the headlights” look as she missed a move.

It was still a strong performance! But, at Top 7 against this cast of queens, minor cracks stand out in a major way.

That’s all a pity because these lyrics are great! Plane figured out how to walk a rhetorical tightrope of hitting the theme while staying in her slutty character.

(Moans) Miss Jane if you’re nasty
Yeah I’ve got the power and Imma have to use it
They coming for our freedom and bitch, I’m gonna lose it
Their ignorance is strong so we gotta flex
Spreading the love like I’m spreading my legs
Drag it up and fight for what’s right
No great battle can be beaten overnight
So groove to the beat and tell hate to kick rocks
And if you at the polls, you can catch this box (Box, box, box)

I hate this dress. The fit is great, but WHY IS IT NUDE? WHY?! If this nude illusion was an actual sheer panel, Plane’s breasts and genitals would be proudly on display. If you’re going to do that look, do that look – make it sheer and let us see the illusion of body beneath.

The same green sequins would have looked just as good on a white, black, or yellow base. But… I’m not actually convinced they do look good. Why do they start with organic tree root shapes at the top and then splinter into geometric shapes at the bottom? Why are some of the tendrils at the top red and white but the bottom of the dress is all green? What is the story?

Plane Jane calls this “pageant perfection,” but I think it would look even more hideous in a lineup of stylish pageant gowns.

Also, Plane’s makeup is just wrong tonight. The harsh white in the middle of her face is giving me “friendly ghost” and the asymmetrical pools of blush are giving me, “I missed the apple of my cheek so I just kept going” (a feeling I have become all too familiar with over the course of the past year).

Basically, this episode was a top-to-bottom fail for Plane Jane. Surely she must have sensed it. That’s what made her play of using her Immunity Potion on Nymphia Wind so fascinating! Plane is one of the smartest queens of the season, which means there’s an element of self-production in her choice that we need to unravel.

Clearly Plane clocked that Nymphia would be at risk based on her verse alone, if not for her slightly-frantic performance and double-dose of bananas. Who did Plane think would be in the Bottom Two once she took Nymphia out of the mix? Was Plane angling to lip sync against Q or Dawn to knock out some competition? Or, was Plane so sure that production was angling for her to lip sync against Nymphia that she thought that saving Nymphia would foil their plans (but also cement their storyline)?

Plane’s choice becomes even more fascinating since this episode turned into a “Lip Sync For the Win.” Since next week is a comedy challenge with loose team size requirements, this could have easily been an elimination episode. Did Plane force production’s hand into a double-win? Maybe not on her own, but with Morphine firmly removing herself from consideration for the Bottom Two this might have been a chance to throw Nymphia into a first-time lip sync to eliminate Mhi’ya, Dawn, or Q. With that option off the table, there wasn’t enough of a narrative to justify eliminating a runway powerhouse like Q or back-pocket contenders like Mhi’ya and Dawn… and Plane could have easily lost a lip sync to either of the latter two.

As a result, next week we get a Top 7 redux on a comedy challenge, one of Plane Jane’s strong suits. Will she grow to regret saving Nymphia if Nymphia makes it into the finale? Perhaps, but I think Plane understood that it was critical to her face-turn storyline to show some empathy to save another top queen without there being a whiff of “fuck you” strategy in the mix.

#4 – Q, 2 wins, 1 lsft-win, 1 lip sync (was #3, 3, 4, 7, 4, 3, 4, 4)

Q managed to sell a highly entertaining funk verse despite the edit painting her as full of delusion in her vocal recording session. I’m just not sure if a queen the edit mocks this hard can make it to the finale.

The way the edit treated Q in her recording session for Werq the World “Power” was a revealing look at how Drag Race controls the narrative on each queen. Did Q deliver some off-key yowling in the session? Yes. But, that was all throwaway stuff to use under the hook of the song.

Her actual verse not only works great in context with the music, but she taps into some of the inherent silliness of funk delivery. Yet, the show now has all of fandom believing that Q is delusional and tone-deaf. They don’t do that kind of thing by mistake.

Here we go, here we go, get down with me
If you want to make change, get up and sing
Now, we all live in a crazy place
We’re not all the same, but we need our space
Fighting for the right to live
Keep my man and save the kids
If you ain’t loud, then how can they hear?
Fun to be proud and fight ’cause we’re real
Cast your vote and tell the ones above
Take your power and spread the love

Do you think most funk genre lead vocal tracks would sound rational if you heard them solo with no music and zero reverb? Hell no! Q captures that with lines like, “Fighting for the right to live, keep my man and save the kids.” In a way, this verse took me to actual 70s funk the most because it wasn’t afraid of a little bit of stupidity.

I can’t defend Q’s dancing, but I think she disguised it with an outstanding outfit she could toss around to obscure her actual moves (which is what she was missing in the Girl Groups challenge). Performing a song on Drag Race is never only about the vocal. In fact, it is rarely about the vocal at all. It’s about the spectacle of the performance, and Q brought enough of that to be safe.

Was this “True Colors” runway from Q… actually bad?

The beaded fringe on Q’s hat is gorgeous and she walked it perfectly. Of that I am sure.

Yet, this garment has some problems beyond just the fabric dangling from the bra cups, as clocked by Michelle. I don’t think you can do flare-leg pants and festoon them with ruffles. Flare legs rely on shape, and the ruffles here obscure that shape. Also, these pieces don’t make sense together.

Is this supposed to be giving me deconstructed Mariachi? I’m just not seeing it.

Q occupies an interesting and precarious spot in the season at the moment. She’s lacking any narrative other than “designer” and “delusional.” With Plasma gone, it feels like the show is pushing the “eliminated in the semi-finals” narrative at her pretty hard. Yet, Q has the power to reverse that! With comedy next week and very possibly a makeover after that, Q can notch some high placements to remind the judges (and viewers) that she’s not a design powerhouse. She needs to put the “Q” back in “quirky” to shore up her edit in the home stretch before she gets usurped by a surging Dawn.

#5 – Nymphia Wind, 2 wins (was #1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 5, 6, 3)

Nymphia Wind floundered in yet another challenge, skipping out on the lip sync by the grace of Plane Jane. The shine is completely off this early frontrunner, who is an undeniable fashion queen but seems to have nothing interesting to say other than “banana.” I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m very ready for her to sashay away.

I’m not sure what I can sa7 about Nymphia’s verse on “Power.” There’s not much to it.

I think there is something recognizable about pairing a spoken verse with a fun track, but if Nymphia was building something serious and impactful she tossed it away with the final lines. Also, I hated the cheap paper bananas on the dance costume. Literally anything other than this would’ve looked better in a line-up against these other slinky, sexy looks.

Ooh, it’s getting windy
Aspire to community
Nymphia for equality
Do not ban my beauty
You better get that power within your flower
Have a seat at the table when you vote yellow

Nope.

Look, I get it. Your brand is bananas. There’s a Josephine Baker reference here. But, we’ve just seen this too many times already – including in the challenge itself! If there was ever a time to pull anything else from your suitcase as a substitution, this was it.

Even if we were viewing this in a vacuum, it isn’t really all that impressive. I hate the neck piece. I hate the bra cups. I wanted the bananas at the waist to be fuller. I wanted the entire skirt to have a banana fringe instead of a ruffle.

I’m not against branding yourself, but all of Nymphia’s major runway triumphs have been while not wearing her banana branding.

Plane Jane gave Nymphia a major gift by handing her the Immunity Potion, but could it turn out to be a curse in the long run?

The fandom wants to see the winner of Drag Race lip sync. We’re never going to have another Bianca del Rio or Violet Chachki who wins without a single competitive lip sync. That’s why Ru installed the “Lip Sync for the Crown” starting in Season 9 – and, it’s how Sasha Velour snatched the crown! It’s also why the past two seasons had a lip sync LaLaPaRUza. It’s a chance to see top competitors swear.

Since there is no LaLaPaRUza this season, I don’t think Nymphia has a credible chance of winning against Sapphira unless we see her lip sync for vulnerability to atone for her string of bottom-worthy performances. If she lip syncs and wins fair and square, then she becomes a valid underdog fans can root for instead of an unfairly protected queen.

This would have been the perfect week for that lip sync – there’s no way Nymphia would have been sent home only a week after Plasma’s shocking ouster. At worst, it would have resulted in a double sashay with Plane Jane. Now, Nymphia only has three more weeks to sneak in that vulnerability lip sync – and each week it gets more and more dangerous as the chances of pulling Sapphira as an opponent grow. It could be that Plane Jane not only did Nymphia a favor but also sabotaged her chances to walk away with the crown.

#6 – Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige, 1 win, 3 lip syncs (was #13, 13, 10, 6, 6, 9, 5, 5)

(Website | Instagram | Merch | TikTok | Twitter)

Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige got positive notes on this challenge, but all I saw was a slightly-stiff queen whose confidence sometimes outstrips her capability. With a comedy challenge on the horizon, I think it could be time to say farewell after a lovely arc of growth.

I am not here to try to convince you that Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige cannot dance. But, there was a certain R&B stiffness to the way she delivered her Werq the World “Power”choreo that evoked 80s Janet Jackson to me when funk needs to be slinkier. You can see it most distinctly in her side-by-side with Morphine and Dawn, who deliver the arm movements in the choreo much more smoothly than Mhi’ya does.

She isn’t getting any of the moves wrong and I believe what she’s doing is a conscious choice. It’s a minor failure to adapt that shows that Mhi’ya can get stuck in her Queen of Flips box, as exciting as that box might be. I just never felt the power in this “Power” performance.

V-O-T-E
Living in a country where our rights should be equal
Just because I’m gay don’t make me l?ss equal
Let’s take a chanc? to make a difference
We got the power, lets use our voices
Don’t let them win lets keep it going
Martin Luther King, I have a dream

Rhyming “equal” with “equal”? Really? No one suggested “people” as a slant rhyme? Also, that cringe “I have a dreaaaaam” in her Kermit Cher voice at the end. Nope. No ma’am. I actually enjoyed her vocal delivery, but after the high-water-mark of Mhi’ya’s clever Girl Groups verse earlier this season, I thought these lyrics were a letdown.

This True Colors runway is absolutely the best Mhi’ya has looked all season long. She isn’t wrong about red being her best color, and this is a pared-down version of a similar dress from her “I Can Buy Myself Flowers” runway. Yes, the high neck is still cutting off her lines, especially combined with such massive dangling earrings.

I can forgive the neckline because the nude illusion on this dress actually makes sense! Mhi’ya is nude in places where it makes sense for a woman to be nude, the appliqués are all placed in ways that make sense, and the backing color of the dress is a good match for her skin tone. Maybe the feathers on the backside were a bit much, but the judges loved them!

I think if the challenge order was working in Mhi’ya’s favor there would be a real chance for her to knock off Q and make a strong case for herself to be in the finale. If next week was a makeover challenge she might have a shot. Unfortunately, it’s comedy. Mhi’ya is good at getting in a quick barb in the workroom, but she’s not the most confident public speaker. Unless she can harness the same “around the way girl energy” as her Snatch Game, I think she’s doomed to face her fourth lip sync.

#7 – Morphine Love Dion, 1 lsft-win, 1 lip sync (was #9, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 8, 7)

Morphine Love Dion delivered a masterful performance that made the case that she may have been a real contender this entire time! Yet, are the judges already done with her after this brief moment in the spotlight?

Morphine’s verse on Werq The World “Power” is AMAZING. IT GIVES ME CHILLS. I am literally crying right now as I write because Morphine was so fucking amazing and I am so proud of her

Ooh, la única llego
I got my place in the front lines
I got that heat that inspires
I got my space in the hard times
I got that beat that, that desire
I got that drag that they ban on
I got that skin with the armor
I got that ballot to write on
They know they can’t take our power

Y’all better get up and mother-tucking vote
’cause it’s getting serious up in here

Starting from “I got that drag that they ban on” I truly believe that Morphine wrote the best lyrics we’ve heard on an English-language season for at least half a decade. This is giving me Asia & Aquaria’s verses in “American.” The lyrics are straight fire, it nails the theme, and it sounds like a song you could hear on the radio while still being identifiably about Morphine and her experience.

This is 11 out of 10, absolutely no notes. Go off, Diva.

(Okay, one note: the bra cups on this body suit are a little low.)

This look. Whew. Morphine crushed this “True Colors” runway without going too far over the top. The ostrich feathers on the hat. The perfectly patterned translucent cape. The choice to go with such a saturated makeup with a wet, glossy lip. I’m even okay with the white above her breasts – at least it’s a contrasting color and not just nude illusion!

The entire look is eye-catching, impeccably crafted, and great on Morphine’s body. A+ effort.

How can I have Morphine Love Dion at the bottom of my rankings after such a masterful performance? In terms of trajectory, I think she’s peaking at the right time – just like Dawn. However, in terms of the narrative of the show, they simply aren’t editing her as a potential black horse (wonk wonk) to sneak into the finale. Comedy challenges are known for delivering late-season assassinations in the critiques and I suspect Morphine will get an unceremonious chop next week in a lip sync against Nymphia or Mhi’ya.

Morphine has no choice but to be a “Best in Show” standout again next week to survive to Top 6.

8th Place – Plasma, 2 wins, 1 lip sync (was #7, 6, 3, 4, 7, 2, 3)

(Cameo | Instagram | Merch | TikTok | Twitter)

9th Place – Xunami Muse, 1 lip sync (was #10, 11, 9, 9, 10, 7)

10th Place – Megami, 1 win, 1 lip sync (was #14, 9, 8, 5, 8)

11th Place – Geneva Karr, 1 win, 1 lsft-win, 3 lip syncs (was #6, 10, 12, 11)

12th Place: Amanda Tori Meating, 1 lip sync (was #11, 7, 6)

13th Place: Mirage, 1 lip sync (was #8, 8)

(Instagram | Links | Merch | TikTok | Twitter)

14th Place: Hershii LiqCour-Jeté, 1 lip sync (was #12)

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Corporate Queens - Power Ranking RuPaul's Drag Race S16E11 – Crushing Krisis says:

March 22, 2024 at 6:42 am

[…] result was that we have an even-more solidified front-runner than we had last week in the Werq the World “Power” performance power rankings, but the rest of the queens are still jockeying for the other three spots in the […]