Talent Show

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World Season 2, Episode 1 – Queens’ Variety Show Power Rankings

February 10, 2024 by krisis

The Olympics of Drag Race is back! It’s RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World Season 2 Episode 1 – a Queen’s Variety Show talent performance and a national pride “For Queen and Country” runway.

That allowed 11 queens from 7 different Drag Race franchises to show off their brands and how they’ve grown since their original run (or, in a few cases, how they stayed exactly the same).

The entire point of the Talent Show as a challenge on Drag Race is for each queen to have a minute of uninterrupted stage time to show off the idiosyncrasies of her personality and aesthetic.

Very few queens actually manage to do that.

Across many franchises, we’ve seen dozens of queens misunderstand this challenge as “deliver your club performance (without using a licensed track).” Really, the challenge is, “give us a commercial for your brand that people will always remember you by.”

Think of some of the most-impactful talent show performances we’ve seen on Ru-hosted franchises. For me, that includes Tatianna, Willow Pill, Anetra, & Jimbo. They were all unique, slightly surreal, and surprising while also making complete sense once we got to know the queens better. Tatianna is about unclockable realness with moments of silliness. Willow Pill is about making light of morbidity. Anetra is about being a ballroom-imitating martial artist.

And Jimbo is about… baloney?

Those performances can be endlessly imitated, but the original magic will never quite be recaptured because each one was as much about talent as it was about brand and personality.

Three queens figured that formula out on this episode, and it was unsurprising to see all three of them in the top of the critiques.

The same thing is true about any kind of runway about local or national pride. It’s not about dressing as a cheesesteak if you’re from Philly. It’s about showing your home and what it means to you as seen through your own unique lens of drag.

What did that mean for our power rankings compared to my pre-season prognosticating? Two queens quickly vaulted to the top, a shaky queen solidified her standing, and one predicted finalist didn’t have the intense glow-up I was expecting.

(Want to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World outside of the UK? For most of the world, it’s available with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

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

Drag Race Belgique Season 2, Episode 1 – De Retour Talent Show & Drache Nationale runway Power Rankings

February 2, 2024 by krisis

Bon retour, mes chers lecteurs! It’s the return of Drag Race Belgique! Drag Race Belgique Season 2 Episode 1 was titled “De Retour,” and it was a standard first episode of an international Drag Race: a talent show and a “Drache Nationale” runway that showed off a national theme.

(“Drache National” is the Belgian phrase in French for a heavy rainstorm on Belgian National Day, 21 July.)

J’aimerais pouvoir vous parler de cette émission dans un beau français, mais cela prendrait dix fois plus de temps! Alors, vous obtenez mon anglais. Mais, je vous invite à commenter en français et je comprendrai (la plus grande partie).

That goes for those of you who comment in English as well! If you want to see me continue to cover Drag Race Belgique (and other franchises), your views, shares, and comments really matter. The reason I started covering more international franchises in 2023 is because my coverage of Drag Race France Season 1 in 2022 was massively popular – as much as some of my biggest comic guides!

This premiere episode kicks off an intense week of international Drag Race, with three franchises debuting in just 8 days – Belgique, Drag Race España All Stars, & RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World. When I first saw that schedule I thought, “perhaps I’ll just do a brief post on each.” Yet, as I watched this episode – and especially as the queens of Drag Race Belgique Season 1 returned to walk the runway – I remembered just how much I adored this franchise when I wrote about it last year.

Bien sûr, j’aime toujours une saison qui est en français! Mais il y a autre chose que j’aime dans Drag Race Belgique. L’année dernière, j’ai vu que… there is some tension inherent in Belgian drag. On one side, there are very traditional, established cabaret artists. On the other, there are punks who are playing by their own rules – including all of last year’s top three – Susan, Athena Sorgelikis and winner Drag Couenne.

Yet, no matter what “side” they were on, the queens were incredibly smart. Belgique Season 1 gave us some of the most clever art references we’ve had on any Drag Race runway with their bandes dessinées and “Ce n’est pas une pipe” runways.

Not only that, but the judges have a very keen eye for fashion. They don’t only want over-the-top looks, but looks that speak to certain styles and references from distinct regions of the country or specific aspects of its history.

Pour moi, la Belgique est peut-être la meilleure de toutes les franchises pour raconter l’histoire du drag d’un pays (alongside Drag Race Phillipines!). Despite the widespread skepticism about Rita being a Canadian hosting a Belgian show, I feel like she respects the culture of Belgian drag and is not trying to make it into something exclusively Canadian or entirely international. Just the fact that a weirdo alikeDrag Couenne won the first season of the show speaks volumes – usually first season winners tend to represent something quintessential about the country’s drag.

Because of all of that, I couldn’t bring myself to not write about this season – at least, for the premiere! I think we once again have a cast full of incredibly smart queens who fall to either side of that old-school cabaret / new-school punk divide. And, they seem particularly strong – without the drag neophytes we saw as early outs last year.

(Want to watch Drag Race Belgique outside of Belgium? For most of the world, it’s available with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

Lecteurs, start your engines. Et, que la meilleure Drag Queen gagne!

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, Episode 2 – “Queen Choice Awards” Power Rankings

January 14, 2024 by krisis

RuPaul’s Drag Race has delivered the second half of its split premiere with Season 16 Episode 2, “Queen Choice Awards.” This continues the throwback MTV theme wrapped around a standard talent show and a reveal runway retitled to “Made Ya Look.”

There’s this idea that it’s no longer enough to just be good at drag to do well on Drag Race – that the show has come too far, and demands too much.

I think that idea is a fiction. If you look at winners of Drag Race back to BeBe Zahara Benet, they have always done the most. Even when looks were closer to off-the-rack than runway-ready, every queen who has won this show has been impressive not only in charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent, but on some intrinsic conceptual level as well.

I mention that because the divide between the haves and have-nots in this cast when it comes to that conceptual x-factor seems to be a stark one. There are a number of charming, talented queens in this cast who I am already beginning to adore who don’t seem to have the pure imagination it takes to win Drag Race.

Or, maybe I’m wrong! Sometimes I’m wrong. I completely missed out on [spoiler!] Ginger Johnson being the one queen to rule them all on Drag Race UK, and on Drag Race Down Under I initially had the runner up as my pick over the winner. There are times that the core concept of a queen just doesn’t come across for me under the pressure of a first episode.

But… I also have a tremendous recent track record of picking finalists (Drag Race UK aside).

I’ll be curious to see how this race develops with all fourteen queens sharing screen time next week – especially when faced with a Ball challenge, one of the ultimate tests of a queen’s ability to manifest her conceptual vision on the stage. Have I correctly guessed the haves and have-nots when it comes to being high-concept?

Now that we have the second half of our split premiere in hand, I’m power ranking all 14 queens for the first time this week! Yes, I’ve shuffled all of the queens from my Week 1 “Rate-a-Queen” power ranking into the mix (and reshuffled one of them lower now that we know the next challenge is a Ball). Who are my picks for high-concept obvious finalists? And, who do I think will be our first outs of the season?

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

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, Episode 1 – “Rate-a-Queen” Power Rankings

January 7, 2024 by krisis

RuPaul’s Drag Race is back with the first episode of Season 16, Rate-A-Queen – complete with an MTV Spring Break Talent show and a “RuVeal Yourself” runway! When I saw the episode title I couldn’t resist making my return to do the same thing, rating and power ranking the amazing drag artists featured on the show!

Drag Race officially got out of control in 2023, with more franchises than I could even keep up with! In addition to the US flagship and its All Stars edition, in 2023 there was also UK, Canada, Down Under, España, France, Philippines, Belgique, Sverige, Germany, Mexico, & Brazil – plus Queen of the Universe. That’s over a dozen winners in a single year!

All but two of those franchises are expected to return in 2024 (sorry Sverige and Queen of the Universe), plus we have another season of UK vs. The World incoming, a new España All-Stars, the return of Drag Race Thailand, and another new Ru-hosted series.

There isn’t even enough time in my day to watch all of these incredible drag artists from around the world, let alone rank and recap them all! But, when it comes to meeting the new American queens and watching them battle to be America’s Next Drag Superstar, I can always find a little time in my schedule.

With so many drag artist finding their way onto our screens every year, it’s starting to feel like Drag Race has become a game of archetypes. As a dozen dozen queens walk through the workroom doors each year, it’s more important than every to have a defined brand without being stuck in a box.

A successful drag artist needs to know the mold they fit into best and also must understand how to shatter the weight of those expectations. Looking at this past year of winners, we’ve had beauty queens who can do it all, dancers who are funny, and experienced showgirls with a youthful attitude.

This week we had the first part of a split premiere, with seven queens showing off their entrance looks, talent show, and a “Ruveal Yourself” runway before doing their own power rankings with a special Rate-a-Queen gimmick. How did they stack up? Keep reading for my totally personal, totally subjective power rankings of this first half of the cast.

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

Drag Race España Season 3, Episode 1 – “Spain is Different” Review & Power Rankings

April 19, 2023 by krisis

Welcome to my review and power rankings of the first episode of Drag Race España Season 3 – “Spain Is Different.” This tourism slogan title applied to all three aspects of this episode – a farmyard mini-challenge, a talent show, and a runway meant to show off an aspect of Spanish cultural identity.

Over the course of its first two season, Drag Race España distinguished itself as a fan-favorite franchise and a certified ratings hit in Spain. Part of that is down to the over-the-top performances of its competitors. We’ve seen some of the most glamourous drag out of all of Drag Race from España, but also some of the most fantastical costumes and jaw-dropping talents.

This Season 3 premiere felt a bit small compared to España’s well-earned reputation as the juggernaut of the international Drag Race franchises. I think that may have been an intentional – or, at least, the result of intentional choices in casting. The cast of queens this year is heavy with comedic queens. I’d say as many of nine of them have a comedic bent to their drag, even if they also serve fashion and face.

That was reflected in the interminably long barn animal mini-challenge that kicked off the episode. Between the selection of the animal identities and the subsequent photoshoot, it felt like it went on forever while producing only one memorable moment. Both the queens themselves and the editors seemed confused about if the challenge was about shooting the best photo or being the silliest queen on the farm.

Perhaps the show is chasing the idea of having someone like Season 2 competitor Samantha Ballentines as a winner since she plays well across other Spanish-language media. Ballentines had the star-power of a practiced comedian, but often proved ill-prepared for runways and lip syncs. Many of this year’s queens feel like they are in a similar mold, but with slightly stronger fashion instincts.

However, can a cast full of funny queens defeat a core of stunning fashion queens who are ready to make a statement with their drag? The Talent Show was a fascinating proving ground for this question. We saw several character queens stumble and several fashionable queens were fierce, but three queens in particular distinguished themselves as crossover talents who can compete on both sides.

Even if this episode didn’t feel as massive as prior España seasons, it maintained the show’s track record of incisive, fair-minded judging. Supremme De Luxe has a reputation with fans as the best of all the franchise hosts because she is warm and caring towards her contestants while remaining razor-sharp when it comes to her wit and her critiques. Her fellow judges Ana Locking, Javier Calvo, and Javier Ambrossi have similar temperaments, and that was on full display this episode.

There are several remarkable queens in this cast who surprised me with their talents and “Spain is Different” runways in this episode, which allowed a few of them to climb much higher than I had them in my pre-season Meet The Queens rankings. We also had a first elimination of a queen I thought might be a frontrunner, though clearly I had my signals crossed. I’m intensely curious to see if the crowd of early frontrunners who emerged from this talent show will maintain their dominance all season, as was the case on the just-concluded Season 15.

(Want to watch Drag Race España outside of Spain? For most of the world, it’s available as part with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

Lectores, start your engines. Y que gane la mejor drag queen!
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