From Tatianna to Mirage: The 17 best talent show performances in Drag Race herstory
Have you walked that fucking duck?
Have you walked that fucking duck?
HEADER BY YOSEF PHELAN
In a similar vein to the Snatch Game and the (controversial) makeover challenge, talent shows – or “variety extravaganzas”, as RuPaul’s Drag Race likes to call them – have become a staple of the franchise.
First introduced in All Stars 2, where Tatianna memorably challenged viewers to “see me with them hands”, the talent show has given queens the opportunity to showcase the skills in their arsenals, from lip-syncing and dancing to giving birth to ham and serving up an ice-cold glass of water. (Some talents are certainly more iconic than others.)
So, from genuinely impressive feats to performances that have achieved legendary status for entirely different reasons, we’re rounding up some of the best talent show moments from across Drag Race’s herstory.
(For the purposes of this list, we’re only including seasons with RuPaul on hosting duties.)
“Is she gonna jump from there?”, the immortal words uttered by velcro artist Milk, memorably originated from the All Stars 3 premiere, which followed in the footsteps of its predecessor by tasking the returning queens with flexing their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent in a variety extravaganza. Guns-blazing, Aja returned to the competition minutes after her season nine stint to showcase her voguing skills to original track, ‘Level Your Pussy Up’, before jumping off a box – roughly six feet off the ground – into a dip. The now-iconic stunt has since been replicated by several entertainers on the series, and is still referenced as one of the greatest Drag Race moments.
Anetra, which has (according to extremely reliable sources) six letters and three vowels, demolished the season 15 premiere as she incorporated lip-syncing with martial arts, becoming a viral sensation in the process. The Las Vegas queen floored the panel – including special guest star Ariana Grande – with her vogue and duck-walk heavy routine, before karate-chopping a plank of wood and smashing through another with an effortless roundhouse kick – in heels! Anetra’s performance was funny, fierce and so stupid (in the best possible way). As one fan said: “She just solved homophobic violence. All the gays doing self defense class now… I live… literally.”
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