RuPaul’s Drag Race heads to RuTown in a ’60s girl group challenge
The queens write a love song and show their hearts on the runway.
With no elimination last week, the queens reenter the workroom, joyous and able to skip the lipstick message. They head to the couches for their weekly therapy session and most everyone feels great. Lady Camden is ecstatic for her first win and is celebrated for her memorable lip sync. Daya is thrilled to no longer be relegated to the safe zone. A Freaky Friday moment continues between Daya and Jasmine. After Daya pulled a Jasmine-esque monologue in Untucked, Jasmine steps into the role of Daya when she confesses that she thought she would be in the top two over Daya. Jasmine does not voice this thought to everyone, perhaps a benefit of Kornbread’s earlier intervention, and spares us a repeat of the Daya-Jorgeous skirmish last week. However, there is a building tension between Daya and Jasmine.
As they de-drag, that tension continues. The narrative quickly transitions to the family-like bond between the queens when DeJa comforts Jasmine about her revelation that she is trans. Kerri echoes these sentiments, stressing that they are now a family. Despite this familiar love and playfulness, they return to the competition the next day as Willow knowingly proclaims the cliché that it’s heating up. As if to temper a somewhat saccharine start of the episode, RuPaul enters to announce that the mini-challenge is the Reading Challenge.
A staple since season two—with the notable exception of season 12, when it was rumored that the reads were so poor, the segment was axed—the reads were solid tonight. No one really crashed and burned. While the audience understands Kerri has a terrific sense of humor, it was great to see her excel in front of RuPaul after struggling in past comedy challenges. DeJa’s reads were fine, but her read of Kerri would have packed more punch if DeJa had won a challenge yet. It feels like Lady Camden, Willow, or Bosco would have walked away with the challenge. Bosco edges everyone out after three okay reads when she delivers an epic punchline about the other queens letting RuPaul down one last time. Despite a mostly fun and jovial reading challenge, the two that struggled most were Jasmine and Daya. It’s interesting because their reads were the only ones with a hint of animosity and suggest that their bubbling tension could explode at any moment.
RuPaul reveals the week’s challenge is inspired by ’60s girl groups and provides a brief history lesson about their cultural impact in terms of race and gender. Divided into three groups: The Shang-Ru-Las, The Ru-Nettes, and The Ru-Premes. The contestants must write their own lyrics, create choreography, and convey individual characters in each ensemble. They are allowed to pick their own teams, in what first feels like a gift. Willow remarks that it’s about getting the right song and working with the right people. What could be a lesson in democratic ideals turns chaotic and cutthroat when the queens have listened to the tracks. Each person casts their number one choice, but the numbers don’t add up. It appears people are most concerned with song over teammates. Jasmine is the odd woman out, taking a liking to the Ru-Nette’s song. She is eventually joined by Jorgeous, underlining their established friendship. The rest of the queens are unwilling to relent with Daya being the most stubborn and vocal. After a stressful staredown, DeJa yields and joins Jasmine and Jorgeous.
As the Shang-Ru-Las (referencing the original group The Shangri-Las), Bosco, Willow, and Daya get a running start. Having worked together during The Daytona Wind, they have a similar approach and angle to infuse their verses with dark and shocking humor. Along with the room, the reluctant Ru-Nettes (inspired by The Ronettes)—made up of DeJa, Jasmine, and Jorgeous—learn that Jasmine can’t carry a note. Angeria, Kerri, and Lady Camden make up The Ru-Premes (based on The Supremes) and have the extra pressure of representing RuPaul’s favorite girl group.
The queens go to the main stage to record their lyrics under the guidance of former girl group member Michelle Visage. Angeria starts things off having an edge from impersonating Diana Ross as part of her act. She succeeds in capturing Diana’s unique persona. Kerri, on the other hand, struggles. Overcomplicating the delivery, not finding the correct pitch, and lacking a defined character suggests Kerri is in trouble. Bosco seems to lack vocal chops but makes up for it with a nasty sense of humor that shocks and amuses Michelle. After a slight direction, Daya delivers with Michelle’s approval. Daya really presents a character even in rehearsal. When the final group comes to stage, Michelle asks if they are singers. She gets a resounding no. However, DeJa appears to have discovered a new talent presenting a usable recording. On the other side of the spectrum, Jorgeous struggles and is relegated to speaking her part. Willow, Lady Camden, and Jasmine are not shown recording, leaving their performances a mystery.
Returning to the stage, the queens start to create choreography. Surprisingly, there are a lot of dancers in this cast. DeJa takes the lead with her team, as Willow points out DeJa is a cheer coach… for children. DeJa’s approach is a little infantilizing, as Jasmine and Jorgeous are both dancers, and it creates an irksome rehearsal energy. When the next group takes over, Willow reveals that she has experience with choreography, which comes as a surprise to the other contestants. Despite being a top contender, Willow is resolute about presenting herself as an underdog. It’s a clever strategy. Finally, the Ru-Premes get to rehearse. As a dancer, Lady Camden takes charge. Unlike DeJa’s team, Lady Camden finds herself flanked by non-dancers Angeria and Kerri, who, while committed, struggle to get the moves down. As a result, Lady Camden attempts to simplify the routine, which Willow notes as a potential weakness.
As the queens put on their makeup, they discuss the power of girl groups and their favorites. Lady Camden shares the empowerment that she found with girl groups in the face of being bullied, which is probably relatable to most queer individuals. Kerri discloses her own complicated relationship with popular music, once again shedding light on a very restrictive and repressive childhood. Daya asks Jasmine about her earlier comment in the reading challenge, which brings the Daya-Jasmine feud to the surface. Jasmine cites a specific example of Daya saying something about Jasmine in Untucked, but not to her face. Daya confirms that she said it in the infamous Glamazon Prime Untucked. They appear at a hostile detente when no apologies are issued. It is all very matter-a-fact, and suggests a potential explosion later in the season.
RuPaul pounces on the runway in a heavily fringed golden two piece and gorgeous orange locks. She greets Michelle, Carson, and special guest judge Alec Mapa, who proved to be a valuable and funny RuPaul’s Drag Race herstorian. Mapa could easily replace Carson or Ross if needed. RuPaul lets them know that the runway category this week is “Heart On,” followed by a clever spring sound effect (in case you didn’t get the joke).
Instead of performing live on the main stage, the queens appear in a pre-recorded broadcast mimicking 1960s television. The performances have an authentic feel and the backup dancers add extra energy to each song. However, there’s a lot missing from the costuming decisions and filmmaking process. This felt like it could have easily been a two-part episode. Bosco, Willow, and Daya performed in perfect harmony and delivered hilarity in black sequin jumpsuits and ruffled white shirts. The dancing was crisp and compelling. The small detail of a brunette, blonde, and redhead was a simple and impactful choice. Their greatest success was that the verses blended together to create a cohesive narrative. This was teamwork par excellence.
The Ru-Nettes followed, with DeJa proving to be the strongest on her team. Spoken word turned out to be Jorgeous’ saving grace, so much so that it makes you wonder why Jasmine wasn’t extended the same courtesy. Furthermore, Jasmine, already noted as a poor singer, seemed disconnected from performance and was even lip syncing other people’s lines. DeJa’s leadership and ability combined with Jorgeous’ charm (especially when she added in Spanish lines) made Jasmine the weak link. When The Ru-Premes took over, Angeria quickly channeled the star power of Diana Ross. She outshined her group. Kerri’s vocals were much improved from rehearsals, but her over-the-top comedic flares proved distracting. In comparison with her teammates, Lady Camden, despite providing the choreography, faded into the background. Kerri stood out for the wrong reasons and Lady Camden failed to stand out at all. It proved to be a terrific challenge. While some stumbled, it was well done overall, even though there was a clear winning team.
The runway commences with Willow Pill, who gives another memorable look. Combining fashion and camp, her gown made of descending heart stamped underwear is instantly gratifying and intriguing in terms of construction. Daya’s neon pop-punk look is a perfect encapsulation of her aesthetic and distinguishes her from that of who should not be named. An all-white look is a great way for Bosco to set herself apart on a red and pink dominant runway. The look is enhanced with a red heart she carried and heart cutouts at the chest and ass.
DeJa flies in with a Dame Edna-inspired superhero look. Despite some fit issues, the look showcases a new facet of DeJa’s style. Jorgeous, framed by a huge heart covered in pink ostrich feathers, looks gorgeous. However, I wonder when she is going to get a bra and panty critique from Michelle. Jasmine presents a beautiful pageant gown embellished with two silver hearts, but it fades when placed next to more conceptual and daring designs. Giving a graphic monochromatic mod look, Angeria displays a different side. The underlying look is terrific but it also feels like she simply added an adhesive glitter foam to a pre-existing costume; the ‘I heart u’ felt too literal and like a last-minute addition.
As with her floral look, Kerri aims for something conceptual that collapses with a lack of attention to the details. The obvious breastplate, black thong, and exposed pantyhose line are instantly distracting. It’s ruined by the undergarments, and even the shoes, though they were Louboutins, didn’t work. Bringing the runway to a close, Lady Camden presents a Grecian, Cupid-inspired ensemble. It was a fine look, but the heart element weighed down the ethereal concept.
The critiques begins, RuPaul and announces that they will be judge individually. It feels like an odd choice since this was very much a group challenge. When Willow, Bosco, and Jorgeous are deemed safe, it becomes clear that this is a storyline decision by producers. Not to discredit Daya’s win, but this really should have been a group win for Daya, Willow, and Bosco. It felt like Willow and Bosco’s performances were sacrificed to shine the spotlight on Daya.
During critiques, Daya is rightfully praised for her performance and look. DeJa is complimented on her performance and applauded for her look with some reservations about the fit. The first to get negative comments is Jasmine. They say that she seemed unfocused and out-of-character, even noting later that it appeared that she might fall over. This brings Jasmine to tears and when she talks over RuPaul, it becomes clear she’ll land in the bottom two. In contrast, Angeria is commended for her impersonation of Diana Ross and clearly is the most likely of The Ru-Premes to have a successful solo career. Kerri gets the harshest critiques in both performance and look. In contrast to her performance last week, Lady Camden lands in the bottom thanks to her natural shyness. This feels more like a warning than a condemnation when Jasmine and Kerri are revealed to be in the bottom two.
Jasmine and Kerri in the bottom is correct in terms of both performance and the overall narrative. It produces a dramatic showdown between Jasmine and someone she looks up to, Kerri. Their pairing would have made the original track of Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart,” a perfect choice for the lip sync. However, the show remains wary of ballads despite producing several memorable moments in the course of the franchise’s herstory. Instead, we are given an awkward remix. In the face of some wardrobe issues, consisting of a falling bodice, a lost shoe, and a wobbly wig, Jasmine wins the lip sync. Though she was disconnected in the girl group performance, here Jasmine’s eyes clearly show she’s fully in tune with the song. Kerri makes her way through the song, but seemed a little detached and too reliant on a 1-2 step. Kerri is asked to leave the competition. It’s a shame to see her leave as her beauty was matched by a wonderful and warm spirit.
All in all, it was a great episode. The producers should also be commended for the slow burn of the Daya-Jasmine rivalry they are building. Placing Daya as the winner and Jasmine as the survivor of the lip sync ratchets up the tension for next week.
Stray Observations
- Willow’s joke about everyone failing a future episode feels like eerie foreshadowing.
- Lady Camden’s read of Jorgeous was my favorite. Camden had a very tight delivery of her reads that felt like they had been properly rehearsed and sharpened in her hotel room. It’s a good lesson for future reading challenges.
- Jasmine saying “you got me bitch.” Are these Alyssa-isms intentional or natural?
- Maybe we only got half the story? What was going on between Jorgeous and Orion?
- This episode reminded me of the season eight Battle Of The ’80s Bands. I wouldn’t mind this kind of challenge becoming a semi-regular affair.
- Alec Mapa felt like a welcome throwback to earlier Drag Race judges, when they were more a part of niche queer culture.
- Bring back the ballad!
- I’m kind of enjoying Daya’s non-apologetic competitive energy. It’s been a while since there was a queen unbothered about how they might look on television.
- I completely forgot to write anything about the chocolate bar. I hate this segment. It ruins the ending of each episode. It doesn’t feel that dramatic and just messes up the flow of a deserving queens exit. Hopefully it pays off when it’s finally golden.
- My final four remains: Angeria, Bosco, Daya, and Willow.