rupauls drag race

Drag queens and musical theater go together about as well as peanut butter and jelly, a fact that was proven yet again on the latest installment of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
On last week’s episode (aired Friday, March 17), the six remaining contestant got to perform in a fan-favorite challenge: the Rusical! Fighting for parts and learning their songs and choreo, the queens put on a show-stopping performance of Wigloose: The Rusical, telling the story of a small town trying to ban drag —which sounded pretty familiar to the audience at home.

With the judges struggling to find flaws in what was one of the best Rusical performances to date, they ultimately adored Anetra’s hilarious-yet-moving performance as the show’s supportive mother. Meanwhile, the panel split hairs and decided that Loosey LaDuca and Salina EsTitties didn’t wow them as much as the other girls on the runway, landing them both in the bottom.

Performing in a chilling lip-sync to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” both queens did their best to showcase the inherent drama of the song. Ultimately, Loosey’s eerie performance earned her another week in the competition, bringing Salina’s competitive run to a close.

Billboard caught up with Salina following her elimination to talk about surviving three lip-syncs on the show, how timely Wigloose feels today, and the backstage drama that came from RuPaul’s infamous question, “who should go home tonight and why?”

You made it to the top six! How are you feeling about your Drag Race journey?

I feel amazing about it. Being there, it didn’t feel like it was that big of a deal, because I was like, “Yeah, I wanted to get to the top!” But after the fact, looking back, I was like, “Wait … top six out of 16 bitches? That’s great.” 

With being in the top six, you also join a handful of Drag Race queens who have survived three or more lip syncs, like Jujubee, Coco Montrese and others. Was that something that you were consciously thinking about in the moment?

I mean, no, because we all know that third Beyoncé lip sync was supposed to be Mistress — we all saw that interview! [laughs] No, no, it’s fine, I got to give an iconic Beyoncé moment, I was fully ready, bitch. The thing with our season is it felt like anyone could have been in the bottom at any point. We’re all so talented and good at this, that if you put any one of the girls there, it would have been a fight regardless. It did feel good winning, obviously. But at the same time, it really felt like anyone could have been in my situation, which made it such a weird experience to live through. To be able to keep going felt amazing. 

A lot of the girls were like, “Oh, I’m just here to have fun!” But I think, deep down, we were all really there to try and win and do our best. 

Yes, girl, people are trying to win this season. 

Oh, we see that with Miss Loosey, don’t we, honey? [laughs]

I’ve also love that you shouting the phrase “Free Willy” when Anetra leapt over Marcia in the episode prior has become a full-blown meme on Twitter. 

I was so happy they kept that in. When we were watching that lip-sync, when she leapt over her, it was the most iconic lip sync situation we had seen all season. So the fact that they made me a part of it was just sickening. And Marcia had no clue that happened in the moment! The way everyone was screaming in the room, it was just insane. 

Let’s get into this week and the Rusical episode. For the one trillionth time on this show, we get this moment where Loosey and Luxx are fighting over who gets to play the lead. You backed out quickly from that fight — do you think it’s really worth it to fight for the lead role in these challenges?

In a situation like this where you’re really vying for wins and you want to get noticed by the judges, in the lead role, you’re going to get noticed the most. Usually, the conversation quickly steers towards, “Oh, you could really mess up! You could do really bad!” But I think with musicals, and the fact that a lot of us drag queens are theater queens, it’s the perfect opportunity for us to showcase everything we can do — dance, sing, act, lip-sync — all at once. As a theater major myself, I wanted that lead role, too! But, I wasn’t gonna fight over it.

I think everyone was very struck by how unbelievably timely this Rusical was. Having a show about a small town trying to ban drag while that actual real thing is actively happening in Tennessee and on the precipice of happening in other states felt really wild. 

It’s literally so insane. It’s fully like that thing with how The Simpsons kept predicting the future — now it’s Drag Race. At the time of filming, which was almost a year or so ago, Ru had just done an interview with Jimmy Fallon, I think, talking about acceptance and drag queen story hour, which was sort of the main issue at the time. But it’s still happening today, and now it’s even crazier. It’s actually wild how relevant it is today, and I’m really grateful that this is all lining up the way that it is, because what a great way to combat this and show that it’s really about love at the end of the day.

How have you been dealing with all of the news coming out of places like Tennessee lately?

It’s crazy. Our good sister Aura lives in Tennessee, and she has been a very vocal advocate, and she’s been using her platform to fight against it. We’ve all kind of been asking her, “What can we do to help?” 

It’s interesting, too, now that I’m traveling to these smaller, rural towns where I’m thinking, “Wait … y’all don’t like us.” It’s very scary out here today. 

Getting back to the Rusical, the judges weren’t kidding when they said that all of you killed this performance. When you were preparing for Wigloose, could you tell that this one felt like such a strong Rusical challenge?

The music is so good. We could not stop singing “Everybody’s going Wigloose” ever since we left the show. Like, we’ve all been talking about how we genuinely can’t wait for it to go on iTunes so we can actually listen to it. Leland is a literal genius, and he’s fast making all of this stuff while we’re there. It’s insane. 

So, yes, we knew we were crushing it. When the critiques happened and there were no bad critiques, it felt correct. Like, “the show was perfect, let’s just read you guys for your looks.” So it was like, “Okay, cool, we did something iconic that’s going to go down in history.” 

Speaking of critiques, this week the dreaded question comes up; “Who should go home tonight, and why?” I appreciate that you let the girls who said your name know exactly how you felt about being picked. What’s that experience like, having to answer, and being told that these girls want you gone?

Well, in that moment, I was truly like, “Well, it’s only two people out of five.” I had a feeling in my heart that they didn’t even necessarily believe that was true. Up until this point, I had been in the bottom for two design challenges and the one interview challenge, which no one thought I should have been in the bottom for to begin with. So, Loosey straight up told me, every design challenge, “You shouldn’t have been in the bottom.” So, in the moment, I was like, “If that’s the case, Loosey, your math about why I should go home just doesn’t add up.” 

So I thought, “Let’s go out with a bang. If this is my last episode, I’m gonna go down with a fight.” And I was so mad that they weren’t pushing back at me during Untucked! Like, “fight with me, dammit!” And then Anetra comes in with, “Well, RuPaul was asking about who deserved to go,” and I was like, “Shut up, Anetra, I’m not even talking to you, I’m talking to Loosey!” [laughs]

We get to this lip sync — I just want to know what your approach was, knowing you had this chilling, emotional song to perform while wearing giant hot dog fingers?

Girl, it was giving Everything Everywhere All At Once. The whole point of EsTitties is that she’s an actress, she takes these serious beats, but the reality of who she is really is just chaos, insanity and camp. I knew it would look ridiculous, but as long as I played it so serious and heartfelt, it would make it even more hilarious that I had these massive hands. 

With each new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race comes the main challenge that some queens have been waiting all season for and that others have been dreading — the stand-up comedy routine.
On last week’s episode (aired Friday, March 10), the seven remaining contestants were tasked with performing in a Just For Laughs-style comedy festival. Grouped off into pairs (and one solo act), the girls came up with as many gut-busting bits as they could to wow the panel of judges and live to slay another day.

After expressing their respective desires to earn their second challenge wins of the season, Loosey LaDuca and Luxx Noir London rose to the occasion and put on a dueling comedy act to remember, taking home the top honor for this week’s challenge. Meanwhile, Anetra and Marcia Marcia Marcia found themselves flatlining on stage, landing them both in the bottom.

Performing in one of the most competitive lip syncs of the season, Anetra and Marcia (or “Anarcia” as the fans like to call them) pulled out every stunt they had for this high-octane performance to Doja Cat’s “Boss Bitch.” In the end, though, Anetra lived to walk that duck another day, sending Marcia packing.

Billboard caught up with Marcia following her elimination to talk about the queen earning the most consecutive “safe” placements in a single season, her reaction to the judges’ critiques about her makeup, and how she approached this episode’s climactic lip sync battle.

Before we get into it all, we have to talk about the near-constant critiques regarding your makeup — what did you think of the judges’ fixation on your face, which then led to a fixation from the fanbase?

Well, I am a theater kid — and in the theater industry, your entire job is basically being critiqued. Even when you have the job, you’re getting notes after every performance about what you could have done better. So, at the time, I was like, “This is just something for me to work on.” I always appreciated that, honestly, I’m always trying to improve myself. Even since we’ve wrapped, my drag and my makeup has changed so much. In the end, it helped me develop a more meaningful relationship with makeup. Before, it was always something where I was like, “Oh, whatever.” But now I see that it can make people very upset!

I don’t know if you know this, but you also broke a Drag Race record this season with the most consecutive “safe” placements in the show’s history. How do you feel about having that honor?

It’s like … the funniest award you could ever get for this show [laughs]. I will say, when you look at my track record with more detail, while I was safe the entire time, I excelled in a lot of the challenges, which is important to recognize. In a lot of ways, some of my accomplishments have been sort of eclipsed by my critiques. So while I am the “safe queen” of season 15, I think I had a lot of great high points. And hey, if I’m safe, I’m not in the bottom!

Yes, especially during a season where there have been a lot of on-air arguments about who got “second place” in a challenge, it’s worth pointing out that being safe is good. 

Especially out of 16 people, it’s an exhale that you get to have. And, our cast is truly one of the most well-rounded, gifted groups that the show has had in a very long time. 

Getting into this episode, you said in a confessional that this was the challenge you were dreading. What is it about the stand-up challenge that felt intimidating to you?

Well, I came into the competition being a gifted, comfortable seamstress. I also act, sing, dance, write, choreograph, and I’ve been doing that forever. This was sort of the one thing that I’ve kind of never done before. You hear comedians talk about their stand-up, or you watch shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and you learn that you usually bomb at least a few times before you can get your “tight 10.” I was apprehensive, because I was like, “I don’t know how this is going to go.” 

Add onto that the fact that this is a duos challenge … in which you were the only solo performer.

Yeah … in a comedy challenge based on famous comedy pairs, to be alone is not the best starting point.

I love your runways, because I love a them, and you constantly bring out this sort of “injury chic” vibe with every look. How did that sort of “pretty-but-in-pain” idea become the staple of Marcia Marcia Marcia looks?

So, for Drag Race specifically, when I was approaching the looks, I made pretty much everything myself. I wanted to have a clear story, I wanted to do things that people weren’t going to think of and to approach it in a different way. I don’t know, I am personally very clumsy, and I think there’s something so funny about a really beautiful person with something like a cast on their arm. It’s just hilarious to me when people are really involved in their appearance and then have something go horribly wrong where they’re stuck with it for a long time. I just think it’s fun. So yes, I was always asking myself, “What’s the story? What are people not going to think of? How do I take something that may be simple or boring and twist it to make it a little weirder and funnier?”

I know it was controversial, but I was obsessed with your tie-dye look.

Thank you! I thought it was great — again, another thing that people simply did not agree with. 

We get to this lip-sync — first of all, after watching all of these wild lip syncs she’s performed in, what was going through your mind when you found out it would be you against Anetra?

When it was me and Anetra, first of all, I was like, “Great, another thing we can do together, Anarcia to the end.” I love Anetra, and I knew that she was absolutely going to give everything. They call it a “Lip Sync For Your Life,” and in the moment, I was like, “Oh, I’m going to lip sync for my actual life, because I know she’s going to do the same thing.” And I knew at the end of the day it was going to be a great show, so it was mostly like, “Work, let’s just do it and have fun — if I’m going out, I’m gonna do a great job and push for the only double save of the season.” 

I know that when you’re lip syncing, you’re completely focused on yourself and are largely unaware of what the other girl is doing — but you had to notice when Anetra literally leapt over your back-bent body, right?

I did not know that happened! 

You didn’t? How?!

No, someone told me afterwards that she did that! I was like “What? You’re joking.” But it’s like you said, when you’re in there, it feels like you have horse blinders on — you are so focused on doing what you’ve been able to think of in the last however many minutes before actually standing on the stage that you kind of block out the other person.

That’s wild, but it goes to show what an excellent lip sync this was, you both absolutely turned it out.

Thank you so much! It was just so much fun, and I truly love Anetra, as you’ve seen me sob about in Untucked before. I love her so much, and it was one of those things where it was like, if I’m going to be in the bottom with anyone and get sent home by anyone, I’m glad it was Anetra. 

RuPaul’s Drag Race may not be dedicated to presenting the news of the day, but the latest episode of the series served up Diane Sawyer realness with ease.
Last week’s episode (aired Friday, Mar. 3) saw the queens getting to ask the tough questions in “50/50,” the show’s spoof of classic interview shows like 20/20. Splitting off into three groups, the remaining contestants got to partake in a series of interviews with a trio of celebrity guests, before offering up their best Sasha Fierce interpretations on the Night of 1000 Beyoncés runway.

Sasha Colby once again wowed the judges with her spot-on Bey look as well as her hilarious cooking segment with flamenco icon Charo, earning her third challenge win of the season. Meanwhile, Salina EsTitties and Malaysia Babydoll Foxx found themselves on the chopping block after failing to impress in their interviews of Love Connie and Frankie Grande, respectively.

Tasked with lip-syncing to Beyoncé’s forever iconic “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” Salina managed to pull out just enough moves to win her fourth lip-sync of the season, meaning Malaysia was asked to sashay away.

Billboard caught up with Malaysia following her elimination to talk about fans critiquing her runway silhouettes, making good television with some on-camera drama, and why she feels Sasha Colby’s theory about Beyoncé’s alter ego might be a “delusion.”

I want to say thank you for not being afraid to bring some drama this season — what was the experience like on set of going through the little tiffs you had with folks?

I mean … I didn’t plan on being the drama, but when you feel some type of way, it’s kinda hard to hold those emotions in. Honestly, after the first day there, you just get very comfortable, and you don’t even really care about the cameras being there — you’re just kind of being yourself. I’m a very expressive person when it comes down to it. 

Just because I’m checking you or letting you know how I feel doesn’t mean I hate you or dislike you — I’m just letting you know. We can move on from it, which, in every situation on the show, I clearly moved on from it, I just needed my moment. Unless you did something extremely disrespectful, we’re good. 

Right, arguing over who got to be in the fake metal group on national television is not a friendship-ending fight. 

Completely. Also, I could’ve done anything in that challenge, but I’m not gonna back down from a good fight!

I have to tell you, I love that you have been trolling fans of the show right back when they comment on your silhouette. What has it been like dealing with that running commentary since joining Drag Race?

I mean, honestly, I thought there were many other things about me that would be talked about after being on the show. I never knew that wearing a dress would be the hot topic. I was shocked and appalled — but also, for me, I’m strong-minded in everything that I want to wear. So even when I work with designers, they can tell me that I should do this or that, but the final decision is mine. I treat the people out there who critique it the same exact way; there’s nothing you can say or do that will change my mind from what my vision is at the end of the day. It may be the same silhouette, but the idea and concepts are totally different. If you don’t have the imagination to go past the silhouette, then that just goes to show that you are a very close-minded person. I owe them nothing, I owe them no explanation, and I will forever troll people. I do drag for me, and that’s all that matters. If you love it, then thank you. 

Also. wearing a similar silhouette each time worked great for Bianca Del Rio, why shouldn’t it work for you?

Right? We’re in a new era of Drag Race, where every little detail has to be commented on by the fans, I swear. If you let it get to you, it will bring you down to the lowest. If you love what you do, then you’ll be fine.

Let’s talk about the challenge this week — as someone who interviews people for a living, I understand the difficulty of what you were being asked to do in this episode. What was going through your head when you were on the cooking show set with Frankie Grande?

So, here’s the thing, it was forever ago, so I barely remember [laughs]. I was probably nervous! No, I was trying to focus on making sure I was doing everything right — we had cue cards, we had questions, we had all of these things — while also wanting to be as natural as possible. You don’t want to come across as a robot! All that is easier said than done. So that’s what was going through my head, just me saying, “Be natural! Be fun! Make a pizza! Ask a question!” 

We get to the runway — your Night of 1000 Beyoncés look was one of my favorites! This 2018 Global Citizen look was spot-on, and it looked fabulous on you! What was it about that look that made you want to do it?

I think that I could relate to that one the most — being a queen of color, I knew it would be great to bring this look she wore in South Africa to the runway. And I knew there were a lot of looks from Beyoncé that … wouldn’t be appropriate on some of the girls, let’s say. So I was like, “Let me be the one to take this route and not take something that a typical person could do.” Plus, I like drag! I love all of the feathers and the patterns on this outfit. Also, it was a change of silhouette!

You changed your silhouette, and look what happened. 

Exactly! As soon as I changed the silhouette they were like, “Nope, you’re out.” I knew I should’ve worn that damn gown.

I don’t know if you were listening in the work room, but I need to know your thoughts on Sasha Colby’s theory abut being the inspiration for the persona of Sasha Fierce.

Oh my god. Listen, I think queer people have inspired a lot of people when it comes to fashion, hair, makeup and art. We are very inspiring people. That being said, I think that was delusion [laughs]. No, no, no, I love Sasha! And maybe it is true — after all, Sasha’s old! [laughs] `

Not to bring the mood down, but I know this has been a hard week for queens around the country after everything that’s been going on in Tennessee — how have you been dealing with the news?

I … don’t indulge in the news if I can help it. I know what’s going on, but when you indulge in things like that, you’re making yourself a part of that. They [Tennessee lawmakers] are saying this is a problem, and what I love to do is not a problem. I love to spread love, and it sucks that we are being targeted as a community and as people. But we have to continue to do what we love to do, and I hope we can stand up to this and make a change where it counts. 

Well said. What can we expect to see next from you, Malaysia?

Well, a lot of the same silhouette, of course. No, but listen, I don’t think I took a loss, I think I took a win. Like I said in that talent show, “I’m a queen, I’m a queen, I’m a queen/ I’m the fattest and the baddest on the scene.” This is just the beginning.

The thing about Drag Race is that it’s only a glimpse that the audience gets to see. But now that they’ve gotten the glimpse, they’re gonna want to know more. I’m excited to show folks everything that they didn’t get to see.

The category is … 200 episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race eleganza!
Last week’s installation of the hit reality show (aired Friday, Feb. 24) marked the series’ 200th episode! To celebrate such a milestone, Drag Race decided to throw a good, old-fashioned ball, tasking the remaining queens to showcase three distinct looks — a racing suit, an outfit inspired by one of the past ball challenges, and a crystallized look they had to make in the work room — in the first-ever Crystal Ball.

The front-runners of the season managed to stun the judges yet again, with Sasha Colby earning her second challenge win, while Anetra and Mistress Isabelle Brooks achieved high marks. Meanwhile, the judges remained unimpressed with the looks turned by Salina EsTitties and Spice, locking the pair into a Lip Sync For Your Life to Lil Nas X’s “That’s What I Want.” Salina managed to wow with her emotional performance, meaning Spice was sent packing to reunite with her sister, Sugar.

Billboard caught up with Spice following her elimination to talk about performing as a solo act for the first time on the show, how she approached the competition as a “producer,” and why she “never really cared” about Michelle Visage’s critiques regarding her iconic runway trot.

Congrats on making it this far into the season! How are you feeling about your time on the show?

I’m loving it, and I’m cringing, and I’m crying, and I’m laughing — it’s a full rollercoaster, for sure. I’m sure it’s not as weird for me as some of the other girls, because I’m just so used to watching myself back on camera and editing videos and all of that. But, of course TV’s different because you’re not in control of all of that, so it’s more like, “Oh, what are they gonna use?” I feel like me and Sugar gave them truly so much material, that there’s so many moments that ended up getting cut that made us go, “No, that moment was amazing!” But, it’s not the Sugar & Spice Show. 

With this being a massive milestone as the show’s 200th episode, what was the vibe like on set? Were there any big celebrations or anything?

Yeah, it was really fun! Before we all did the runway, they came out with this cake and we all got to take a picture. It was giving birthday bash extravaganza realness. I don’t think I even got to have a piece of the cake, but it looked cute! 

Let’s rewind for a little bit and go back to the moment that Sugar got sent home — while you were competing against one another, you two clearly had plans for the rest of the season together. What was the biggest challenge for you with Sugar not being there?

It was truly just feeling bad that she wasn’t there — we’d be doing the girl group challenge, and I was like, “Oh my god, Sugar would be slaying right now.” Or we’d be doing the design challenge, and she sews, and I was like, “She would be eating these girls up right now.” It was a lot of FOMO for her end. When she went home, of course I was sad that she left, but I was mostly the angry upset fan for her; I’m her biggest fan, so I was like that mad fan on Twitter riding for their fave. 

There was a lot that went down after she went home that no one needs to know — I had a little bit of a breakdown. Now, there were rumors that I shut down the set for three days, and I was like, “Babes, that’s hilarious, no one on cast has the power to do that.” But I did have a little breakdown, for sure, but we had a three-day weekend, I got refreshed, and we picked it back up. 

Last episode also saw the iconic moment where Anetra spared you in the final Lalaparuza lip sync, saying she didn’t think it was fair to lip sync against you. How’d you feel when you saw that?

Oh, I was absolutely living for it. I told Anetra and I told all of the girls, “I am not offended if you want to lip sync against me — this is what y’all do, this is not my wheelhouse.” Like, all of those girls were going to beat me in a lip sync. If they didn’t, that would be very embarrassing for them — and I’m not gonna lie, I actually came kind of close to winning some of those, so that’s … that’s saying a lot. [laughs] That’s when you know. But we all have different areas of expertise, and I love and respect what the girls do. 

When Anetra saved me, I was so gagged. And her saying that it was unfair to lip sync against me? I completely agree! Look at what she can do — I can’t even bend down and touch my toes! I feel like she was like, “We are giving her one more life.” Sugar said in her song “A bimbo never dies,” and she was right, I guess … well, eventually she died … wait, no, I didn’t die!! 

In the last design challenge, you mentioned that Sugar was the seamstress amongst the two of you, and you had planned on designing the looks while Sugar would actually construct them. How did you imagine that strategy working?

That was 100% our plan from the beginning. We were being little producers, Ms. Sugar and Spice — we were saying, “Oh, that would be hilarious, let’s lean into it; I’ll design, you’ll make it, and it will get all of the other girls mad that we’re working as a team.” We wanted to kind of start a little drama by doing all of that, and I feel like that would have been so fun. God, there were so many moments that could have happened with Sugar being there more.

Well, in the great tradition of the ball challenge, there are occasionally some seamstress queens who like to help out with those who might be struggling — did anyone come to your aid during this challenge?

Oh yeah, for sure. Especially for that first design challenge, I was kind of doing it all by myself, but Luxx finished quick — my “barely there” skirt I had, she helped me sew those pieces together. So, if you’re reading, thank you Luxx. 

When it comes to the runway, did you ever find yourself getting annoyed at Michelle’s fixation on your little trot? 

Honestly? No shade to her, but I never really cared what she said about the trotting. It just went in one ear and out the other, I was like, “This is just fodder, she’s getting her soundbite for TV.” I fully planned to trot off the stage regardless of what happened. I was like, “Baby, don’t give me more material, because I am definitely going to do it now.” 

If you had the chance to go back into season 15 and do it all over again, is there anything you feel like you’d want to do differently?

No, I wouldn’t change a thing  — it was meant to be how it was meant to be, it was already done, it was already in the cards. Especially on something like reality TV, you’re not in control, so you just sort of have to roll with the punches. I feel like I made the best out of every situation. I was … very aware of what time it was on this episode, if that makes sense. I easily understood my role, if you will. So, I leaned into that, and had the absolute most fun with it.

Ten queens stood before RuPaul on the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, all told that this was their last chance to impress him and save themselves from elimination … again, and again, and again.
On last week’s episode (aired Friday, February 10), the remaining contestants were all put to the ultimate test in the season 15 Lalaparuza; a lip-sync tournament, for the uninitiated. Performing in a sickening series of high-octane lip syncs over the course of the evening, seven queens managed to secure their spots in the competition, while three — Anetra, Jax and Spice — were left with one final Lip Sync For Your Life.

Given the opportunity to save one of the other two queens, Anetra chose to spare Spice (in one of the funniest confessionals of the season), leaving her and Jax to duke it out to CeCe Peniston’s “Finally.” Finding every last drop of energy they had left after a grueling set of performances, both queens put on a show. Ultimately, Anetra earned the judges’ approval, sending Jax packing.

Billboard caught up with Jax following her elimination to talk about her strategy in the Lalaparuza, how she’s evolved since the show, and her reaction to Anetra’s surprising choice at the episode’s end.

How are you feeling after your time on the show, Jax?

Girl, it has been a journey — I’m simply a very different person than I was when we filmed. My Drag Race journey was critiques on how to heighten myself; the judges told me that I was already a superstar performer, and that I just needed a certain polish in certain areas, and to learn more about my proportions. The second I got home from the show, the first thing I did was I went into my closet, and threw everything out. Every single wig, all of my makeup, we just had to start from scratch here. That Jax is dead, this is the new one. 

I appreciated at the outset of this episode that you straight up said “I’m pissed that I was in the bottom.” Tea time — do you feel you deserved to be in the bottom both weeks prior to this?

I mean … it maybe shouldn’t have been me. That seems to be the consensus online, so who am I to disagree? We’ve been talking about “drag delusion” a lot on this season, and I like to think that’s not the case here. People are saying I didn’t deserve to be in the bottom based on the challenges — I will say, if I was in the bottom for my runways, I was like, “No, I didn’t like my outfit either.” But also, I made all of my outfits myself for the show. Would I wear them now? Depends.

It’s worth pointing out that this is one of the most competitive seasons of the show I’ve seen in a minute. Like, there aren’t very many “obvious early-outs” this season.

Completely! That’s the thing, going through this, we all kept saying, “There are no flops.” The judges have to nitpick and hone in on things because everyone was really doing well this season. 

We should take a second and talk about the “Sweetest Pie” lip sync before getting into this week, because you basically broke Drag Race Twitter with this performance. What has it been like to see that response from fans?

I just had to do what I know how to do, which is turn the party! It’s been great, it really helps solidify things for me. Like, you can not like me for whatever reason, but at the end of the day, you’re not gonna deny that I turned that out. Sorry ’bout it!

Let’s walk through this episode. What was your immediate thought when Ru walked in the work room and said you would be doing the Lalaparuza this week?

I was like, “Yay! Sickening! Finally something I’m good at!” But with Drag Race, there’s always gotta be a twist — it was The Hunger Games, girl. It was Effie picking the names out of a bowl to see who’s gonna fight to the death. 

That brings up the tactical aspect of the Lalaparuza here — when Mistress picked you as her opponent, you chose Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It To My Heart” as the song. What was your strategy there?

Based off of what was still available in the list of songs we got to choose from, that was the one that I had performed before. I knew I could turn it out, I always have a good time doing this song, so I said, “Let’s just have some fun.” I knew Mistress and I would perform it very different ways, too, so it seemed like a good opportunity to show off our different styles. Obviously when you’re lip syncing, you can’t really see what’s happening with the other girl, but it was definitely one of those where as we were waiting for the announcement, we were both like, “How is this going to go?”

If you had been the one who got to choose the first queen to lip sync against of this group, who do you think you would have picked?

Ooh … that’s a good one. Strategically, you want to pick the weaker performer, but I would also want to give myself a little bit of a challenge, to be real. If it came down to it — and I’m not calling her a weak performer, I just think we would have a fun time performing together — I think me and Marcia would have given a great lip sync. I know that we both really wanted to do “Boys Don’t Cry” by Anitta; that was the song I know we were both thinking would be the most fun to perform.

We get to the final twist of the episode when it’s down to you, Anetra and Spice, where Anetra decides to spare Spice and lip sync against you. On a scale of one to Alyssa Edwards, how gagged were you when she said Spice’s name?

In the moment, on first reaction, I was fully like, “God damn it, I thought we were friends.” I really thought she was going to save me because we had done all of these challenges together. But then I realized that she just wanted to battle — like, if you’re gonna be doing a lip sync smackdown, you want to prove that you’re good at what you do. I took it as a compliment at the end of the day. We had both done two lip syncs prior to that, so we were tired, we didn’t know how it was going to go.

You did great — and I do hope you’re walking away from this season knowing that, despite the loss here, you’re still maybe one of the fiercest lip sync artists to appear on Drag Race.

Thank you! There’s no secret that the fan base can be a little bit crazy. They love to say lots of things about us girls, but the one thing they can never take away from me is, if you come to see me at my show, you’re going to be entertained. No one ever walks away disappointed from my shows. So yeah, being able to solidify that within the Drag Race realm is such a feat that I am so thankful for. 

The cornerstone upon which RuPaul’s Drag Race is built has always been the Lip Sync For Your Life — fans look forward to seeing the queens duke it out in a high-stakes battle-to-the-end in nearly every single episode.

So, what could be more fun than getting to see eight of those lip syncs in a single episode?

On Friday’s episode of Drag Race (aired Feb. 17), the 10 remaining queens entered the proverbial Thunderdome for the series’ third-ever “Lalaparuza” — for the uninitiated, a tournament-style lip-sync battle royale that forces every queen to show off their performance skills.

While All Stars 4’s Lalaparuza offered eliminated queens a chance to return, and season 14’s gave the girls a chance at redemption for one of the worst Snatch Games in the show’s history, season 15’s challenge merely aimed to see which of the girls could take a song and make it completely their own.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Drag Race if there weren’t a few twists and turns involved. From giving one queen the power to pick their opponent and the other the power to choose their song, to the final two being decided in one of the funniest (and shadiest) confessionals of the season, the Lalaparuza managed to entertain and shock viewers — especially after prove lip sync superstar Jax ended up going home.

But of the eight lip syncs fans were treated to on Friday night, which ones stood out as the best of the best? Below, Billboard takes a critical look at all eight performances from season 15 episode 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and ranks them from worst to best.