After many months of waiting the time has come; the cast for the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race has finally been announced!
Everyone is excited about the cast this year as there are so many talented Queens to root for! These queens are Bob the Drag Queen, Acid Betty, Chi Chi DeVayne, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Dax ExclamationPoint, Derrick Barry, Kim Chi, Laila McQueen, Naomi Smalls, Naysha Lopez, Robbie Turner, and Thorgy Thor! But who are these queens?
Bob the Drag Queen is 29 years old and from New York. She has been doing drag since the very first season of Rupaul's Drag Race. In her introduction video she describes herself as "Hilarious, funny, irreverent, beautiful, bold, and most importantly humble... very very humble." The possibility of her becoming a fan favourite is very high due to her big personality and sense of humor!
Acid Betty is also from New York and is the oldest queen this season. Her drag style is "aggressive, alternative and hypercoloured - glow in the dark." The reason for this is when she moved to NYC the nightclubs were not as vibrant as she'd expected so she created Acid Betty to represent what she wanted to see. She also said she wants to be known for "expanding people's minds and expanding the drag world to beyond just realness and femininity and a woman".
Chi Chi Devayne is a 30 year old queen from Shreveport, Louisiana. She describes her drag style as "Campy and beauty and energy". She started doing drag to continue the Davayne name after her Drag Mother passed away. She seems to have a lot of experience in the drag world and hopefully she shows that when the season airs.
Cynthia Lee Fontaine is a 34 year old queen, originally from Puerto Rico but now lives in Austin, Texas. She says her drag style is "elegant, sophisticated and funny." In her introduction video, she seems to be a very perky, funny queen that I think people will love. Her positive attitude and drag experience will hopefully get her far in the competition.
Dax ExclamationPoint is from Savannah, Georgia and is thirty one years old. She describes her drag style as "road-warrior, glitter punk, superhero assassin". She also describes herself as "queen of all nerds". She enjoys cosplay and likes to include it in her drag. If she does this throughout the season, she will definitely stand out from the other queens!
Derrick Barry is a 32 year old queen from Las Vegas, Nevada. She is a Britney Spears impersonator so when she saw Chad Michaels (a Cher impersonator) on Drag Race, she decided that she wanted to be the Britney of the Drag Race world. She is in a trinogamous relationship (or a "trouple") with Mackenzie Claude (who you may know as Nebraska Thunderfuck) and Nick San Pedro so she has lots of support back home! She is known for being Britney but she also wants to show that she's so much more!
Kim Chi is from Chicago and she gets her drag name from a Korean dish as she wanted a name that represented her culture but sounded feminine at the same time. She also said it is "Spicy and sweet just like me!" She describes herself as a "live action anime character who works as a high-fashion model". She is already very popular and is starting to become one of the fan favourites.
Laila McQueen is a 22 year old queen from Gloucester. She describes her drag style as "...bad". She also says she the crossbreed between a cute stripper and a punk rock girl. Despite the punk in her drag she doesn't want to be seen as a Sharon Needles wannabe as her drag is completely different. I think many Drag Race fans are already starting to fall in love with her because she is very beautiful and talented. Laila will have lots of people rooting for her!
Naomi Smalls is 21 years old and she's from Redlands, California. Her drag name is a combination of her two idols Naomi Campell and Biggie Smalls. She said her drag style is "conceptual, model, glamazon." Her long legs are one of her favourite features that she likes to show off in her drag. She is also quickly becoming a fan favourite and many Drag Race fans are rooting for her.
Naysha Lopez is a 31 year old queen from Chicago. She is a pageant, beauty queen and describes her style as "beauty, fishiness" She prefers to be polished but she can be campy too as she finds that fun. She is very inspired by Jennifer Lopez so we may be expecting some looks based on her.
Robbie Turner is a 33 year old queen from Seattle Washington. Her drag is inspired by classic cinema so she liked to recreate old Hollywood costumes. Her vintage style makes her stand out from the other queens and hopefully this will be an advantage to her. She sounds very cheerful and positive which will help her win the hearts of the Drag Race fans.
Last but certainly not least, Thorgy Thor is a 31 year old queen from Brooklyn, New York. She describes her style as "self-professed fashion clown of Brooklyn." She also describes herself as very colourful and over the top. She is a very outgoing queen that likes to have fun so if she keeps her spirit stays that way throughout the competition she will definitely go very far
Nobody knows what exactly to expect this season as all these queens are so unique and it's impossible to pick just one favourite! Even queens such as Katya Zamolodchikova and Sharon Needles have tweeted about how excited they are to see all the new queens in action.
Despite the wait, I think all the Drag Race fans are very pleased about the lineup and have high hopes for this season- some have even started making predictions! Maybe you have some predictions of your own?
March 7th is a date that will be on every fan's calendar, as we are all dying to see our favourites on the runway and winning challenges!
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words by Lauren Friend. Graphics by Madds Crossan.
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