RuPaul's All Stars Enter the Workroom!
Friday, January 19, 2018 at 8:00AM Chris here, champing at the bit to just get RuPaul's Drag Race All Star-ted, already! We are only a week away from a new season of mega-wattage lipsyncs and high stakes before another queen joins previous All Stars winners Alaska Thunderfuck and Chad Michaels in the Drag Race Hall of Fame. We still have no sign of the mystery tenth queen, so we can expect the show to save her for a big reveal as it did last season with the return of Cucu. However, we can expect a slew of guest stars including Titus Burgess, Vanessa Williams, Kristen Chenoweth, and, catch this, Nancy Pelosi!
And to aid our speculation on the eventual winner before the premiere, we've gotten a glimpse at the first looks as the queens enter the workroom. Since we're Drag Race obsessed, let's rundown the best first impressions and rank the looks:
9. Milk
I love that Milk always undercuts her looks with an unexpected brand of kooky comedy, but this is not one of her best looks. Wasn't Aja mercilessly dragged for ill-fitting chaps only a season ago?
8. Morgan McMichaels
Morgan should not be underestimated in any way, so it pains me to say that I expected more from this first look. Unfortunately a nude body suit and earth tone shrug does not a second coming make - but her bite looks to be in delicious form.
7. Thorgy Thor
A bit too on the clown side for her "glamour clown" aesthetic, no? Maybe I'm just not excited for Thorgy's return, but this feels like a retread on what we've seen from her before without an evolution. Damned if she doesn't make you smile, though.
6. BenDeLaCreme
Now I'd still wager DeLa is a major threat to win the whole competition, but no points for innovation here - you'll remember this print on her because it's almost exactly what she wore on her season's finale. She is still adorable, and I'm positive we'll see something more amped to All Star level.
5. Aja
Now this is already what she was missing last season: nerdy fun (via a scooter!), colorful vibrancy, and POLISH. The bathing suit is the least interesting thing about the look, but you know Aja had to bring a little bit of sluttiness to it!
4. Kennedy Davenport
Talk about referencing some of your most memorable moments, Kennedy showed up crystallized as a glamazon bitch ready for the runway! Kennedy always delivers next level pageant royalty glamour but this look also showcased her sense of humor that's too often taken for granted. Reader, I'm excited.
3. Trixie Mattel
The internet's favorite (and sure, mine as well) gets the most points for humor and originality. I can't help but worry that her rollerskate slip here might be an omen of what's to come however; don't forgot she's proven to be her best while working outside the rigidity of the show's challenges.
2. Chi Chi DeVayne
Meanwhile my concerns for the self-proclaimed trash queen look to be unfounded so far! The trick for Chi Chi here is to remain true to her DIY aesthetics while punching it up to All Star quality, and this simple and radiant look does just that. As much the showgirl sweetheart as she ever was, and streamlined to perfection. [breathes sigh of relief]
1. Shangela
If you're not excited for the return of one of Drag Race's most quotable and ferocious competitors, you're doing Drag Race wrong. How wrong was I to have mild trepidation about her inclusion here after already having multiple seasons of chances to snatch the crown? This entrance rifs her endlessly gif-ed box-bursting reveal that she was among season 3's competition after being the first to sashay away on season two - but taken to the max. If polish was her weakest point in the past, she looks to have mastered that. Bitches, beware, because she's a definite frontrunner.
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars returns Thursday January 25!
Reader Comments (14)
Agree that Shangela feels like a front-runnner. I went to the Drag Race tour in Dallas and much was made about her and her family (who were there). Perhaps they do this for all the queens at stops in/near their hometowns but she gave a special speech at the end and had one of the strongest introduction outfits. It felt like a prelude to a coronation.
My first comment didn’t show up. :/ I basically just confirmed that Shangela feels like a winner based on the spotlight she got at the Drag Race tour in Dallas (which seemed to go beyond Home-town).
Also want to add that I was most impressed by Kennedy here. I was not the biggest fan, not because of Katya bitterness but because, beyond her awesome little Richard, the only look of hers that I remember was the blood covered murdered chicken...or something. Everything else was lost in a haze of pageant gowns. Here, however, she really went for it. Only negative was that her face was so covered I didn’t know who she was at first—a potentially risky move when selling one’s own brand.
Shangela is a great entertainer, I love how people on some sites harp on her getting a 3rd chance when her first time out she was on for one episode and that was nearly a decade ago. I am also rooting for Kennedy and Trixie!
The thing is, Shangela actually applied for the show a second time to get on Season 3. RuPaul is a sucker for personal growth and a good reality TV gag, so inviting back the not quite ready for prime time turned California Entertainer of the Year winning drag queen for a second chance was a no brainer. Frankly, I’m surprised more first outs haven’t been brought back. It’s runors, obviously, but Laila McQueen was selected as an alternate contestant just in case for Season 9. No one fell through in the final psych tests/background check before filming started, so she didn’t get to come back.
Honestly, the biggest surprise with Shangela is that they didn’t have her compete against Alyssa, her Drag Mom, on All Stars 2. Rumor has it LaGanja turned All stars 2 down (sane time as that Miley Cyrus VMA performance she choreographed) and they rescinded Shangela’s invitation with it. The goal was Rolaskatox vs House of Edwards and a 3v2 battle was not what the producers wanted.
In interviews, Ru says Drag Race is ultimately about "the tenacity of the human spirit."
In that sense, I've always considered Shangela to be the spiritual center of the Drag Race canon. She is a MIRACLE.
YAWN so far....
But I'm definitely here to stan for the early season queen, Morgan!
Hayden - agreed. The real key to winning Drag Race is self-actualization - that's the secret ingredient that's made unstoppable winners like Bianca, Bob, and Jinkx (and why Alaska's win wasn't fully satisfying imho). I would argue this puts Shangela and Ben at the advantage
Shangela is the distillation of the show in many ways. She singlehandedly made the Season 3 Untucked into a masterpiece of drama and shitstirring. She may not have the most unique looks but she is a dynamo. I’m rooting for her and DeLa.
I still think Trixie is going to prevail but I have mixed feelings about it. The White Gays are already so insufferable when it comes to their stanning of her and it’s going to get worse throughout the season.
Shangela was already going to be invited back for season 3 before she even sent in her audition tape. Legend. Also, I hate when people complain that Shangela is given another chance when Trixie and Ben have also had 3 shots at the crown.
How could you not be excited for Thorgy?? I'm excited to see her without Bob's shadow hanging over.
I still think Trixie is going to win, since she has a close relationship with the producers and they stand to make a lot of money off her winning. I'm dreading a rigged format.
Trixie suffers from the unfortunate condition of not being Katya.
Her favorite comedic punching bag is basic white gays: "Ohh honnnney." Based on who she is and who her fans are that often feels...unearned. And it really becomes a funhouse when you realize her audience is cis/white/straight 13-year-old girls in the YouTube comment section.
That said, I’ve seen her live multiple times (including her one-woman show in Provincetown) and I admire what she’s accomplished post-Drag Race. She's never been my favorite—and if the fandom didn't feel stacked in her favor I wouldn't expect her to slay on All Stars. Certainly not based on anything she did in Season 7.
Arlo - the difference between Shangela and Trixie/Ben/Naysha is that the other girls returned within their season and didn't have months away from the competition to improve. A returning/non-elimination queen is par for the course now. Shangela is royalty and do people really remember her short time on season 2? No - that's how I've reassessed it at least. As for Thorgy, it's purely a "lack of evolution" thing for me. She's a good time gal, but I'd need convincing that we'll get anything more than what we've already seen.
Andrew Rech - agreed on Trixie has some of the most annoying fans, but I'd also argue that those specific fans (*cough* young) of the show are the one's whose allegiance sways to the shiniest new toy. Trixie's talents are wider than what those fans appreciate, too.
Arlo - Ben didn't return later in season 6. Granted she did lose that first lip-sync against Darienne Lake but it was a double shantay. Although I suppose letting her stay in that moment could be seen as a second chance.
TEAM TRIXIE!