With RuPaul’s Drag Race bringing back their Rate-a-Queen system for season 17, Billboard decided to rate each of the new queens every week based on their performance. Below, we look at the final main stage challenge of the season to see who made the cut for the finale.Spoilers ahead for episode 14.
Fourteen episodes in, and we finally have our answer to the question we have been asking all season: Who will make it to the finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 17? And the results are shocking.
On Friday’s (April 4) episode of the show, the top five queens competed in the final main stage challenge of the season, where RuPaul tasked the girls with “auditioning” to star in RuPaul’s Drag Race Live in Las Vegas. This meant the girls had to complete a formal job interview with Drag Race royalty Latrice Royale, pose in an exclusive Vegas-inspired photoshoot, film a promo video for the show itself and perform in a rousing lip sync to the original song, “Gift Shop.” It’s the final challenge, so Ru pulled out every single stop.
With the fewest number of wins amongst the remaining queens and the most recent stint in the bottom, Jewels Sparkles knew that her options this week were “win the challenge” or “sashay away.” We’re happy to report that she chose the former — in every single aspect of the challenge, Jewels … well, she sparkled!
But that left the judges with a tough call to make; with the clear choice to be eliminated next winning the challenge, who is getting sent home this week? After two respectively mediocre performances, the judges sent two of the season’s clear frontrunners — Suzie Toot and Sam Star — to the bottom, where the pair duked it out to Diana Ross & the Supremes’ “Love Child.” In a twist that sent shockwaves across the Drag Race fandom, the judges decided to eliminate Suzie, ending her bid for the crown and sending Sam Star through to the finale.
With the challenges over and the finale two weeks away, Billboard takes a look back at episode 14 and season 17 as a whole to determine which of the top four queens are most likely to earn the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar:
ELIMINATED: Suzie Toot
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV
Make it make sense: Suzie Toot, one of the clear frontrunners from the moment this season started, performed better than almost any of the other girls this season. She had a clear aesthetic that she willingly shook up when the time called for it, her lowest placements during the entire season were safe — not even low! — and she proved just how versatile she was with the sheer variety of her wins and high placements. Yet this week, the judges leaned into that age-old critique on Drag Race: the concept of “playing it safe.”
Forgive me, but these critiques would feel more earned if the judges had, you know, said anything to Suzie about wanting to see something different. I’m not saying Suzie didn’t belong in the bottom two this week — of all the girls, her performance was one of the weakest, and it makes sense that she would make her first trip to the bottom at the top five. But after that final performance against Sam Star, it seemed clear to me that Suzie definitely won the lip sync. To watch her sashay away feels like a forced moment on a season that has otherwise thrived on spontaneity.
Last Week’s Ranking: No. 2
Track Record:
Wins: 2
High Placements: 4
Safe Placements: 6
Bottom Placements: 1
Jewels Sparkles
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV
Jewels earned her win this week. Every aspect of her performance — the interview with Latrice, the photoshoot, the promo video, the “Gift Shop” performance — screamed “Vegas” while still always feeling like authentic Jewels Sparkles-brand drag. It was exactly what the judges wanted to see, and Jewels deserved the flowers that she got. That said, with this being our final barometer for who will take home the top prize for season 17, it’s just not going to be Jewels. She is fun, charismatic and a killer performer, no doubt. But with the competition that she’s up against? This Jewel can Sparkle all she wants, but she’s likely not going to be crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar.
Last Week’s Ranking: No. 5
Track Record:
Wins: 2
High Placements: 3
Safe Placements: 5
Low Placements: 1
Bottom Placements: 2
Sam Star
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV
Unlike with our dearly departed Suzie Toot, Sam Star has received the same critique from the judges throughout this season of Drag Race: Let your guard down, and stop trying to be “perfect.” While she’s done that to a degree in other areas of the competition, this week’s challenge saw Sam struggling to keep it real. While I may personally disagree with Sam staying over Suzie (especially after that lip sync!!), it’s clear that she is one of the most talented queens on this cast. But if this competition comes down to a lip sync battle, as it often does, I don’t see Sam beating any of the girls remaining in this finale, which makes snatching the crown that much harder.
Last Week’s Ranking: No. 1
Track Record:
Wins: 3
High Placements: 4
Safe Placements: 3
Low Placements: 1
Bottom Placements: 2
Lexi Love
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV
Lexi Love has one thing that none of the other girls heading to the finale do — a clear, crystallized reality TV storyline. This competition has followed Lexi as she attempted to grow out of her self-doubting tendencies, learn to own her drag and stop comparing herself to others (which will be much easier for her in the finale with Suzie Toot out of the picture). If there was a Drag Race award for Most Improved Player, Lexi would certainly be the top contender this year. Her aesthetics are clearly there, her persona is fully established, and she is an absolutely top-tier performer no question. Call it a surprise, call it delusional on my part, call it whatever you’d like — but Lexi Love has an outside shot to take the crown home in two weeks’ time.
Last Week’s Placement: No. 4
Track Record:
Wins: 2
High Placements: 3
Safe Placements: 6
Low Placements: 2
Onya Nurve
Image Credit: Courtesy of MTV
I don’t think that Onya Nurve is guaranteed to win season 17 of RuPaul’s Drag Race — as we’ve seen time and time again on this, anything can happen during a finale. But if I were placing bets, I’d go all in on this queen. Of all the remaining queens, Onya is the one who has shown the judges exactly what they wanted to see time and time again on this show. She’s proven not only to be an exceedingly skilled artist, but also an excellent reality TV persona; every scene Onya is in on this show makes you like her that little bit more! Onya is as complete a package as I’ve seen on season 17, and it feels fairly clear that the finale is hers to lose.
