SPECIAL THANKS TO AOIFE KILBANE FROM BBC

If RuPaul’s Drag Race has taught us anything over the past hundred seasons, it’s to never count out the underdog. Although Elektra Shock wasn’t as well established (or as polished in the looks department) as some of her Drag Race Down Under competitors, she proved her charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent in spades thanks to her indubitable skills as a dancer – which cemented her status as the Australasian spin-off’s first ever lip-sync assassin. Of course, she also proved that you can’t have all the pigeons, but when you do, they’re probably Italian. (That last part is incredibly important.)

On this week’s semi-final, Elektra flexed her aforementioned skills in Down Under’s talent show with a breathtaking modern dance routine. Despite serving one of the best performances of the episode (slash season), the Kiwi-based entertainer was read for filth for her ensemble, resulting in a lip-sync smackdown against her former House of Drag mentor, Kita Mean, to the beat of The Veronicas’ iconic dance-pop hit Untouched. Ultimately, Elektra lost out on a place in the final four and sashayed away.

“It sucks. But, it’s the way the cookie crumbles. It’s all part of the game. It’s part of the show,” Elektra tells GAY TIMES over Zoom. “It felt right at the time, to be honest, when I was there and I danced my little heart out. Everyone was very tense because it was the last episode before that finale, and everyone wants to get to the finale. Final four and then it’s basically up to the universe. It was a fight, most definitely. I’m proud, do you know what I mean? I couldn’t have done any more.”

Read ahead for our full interview with Elektra, where she spills the T on her time on the first season of Drag Race Down Under; including the uncomfortable werkroom drama with some of her fellow contestants, defying expectations to make it to the semi-final and how she plans to showcase her C.U.N.T. as she tours the world.

Elektra, how does it feel to have won RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under?
[Laughs] How does it feel? I do feel like I won! I mean, I had a pretty great run and experience. Watching the show back, I couldn’t have asked for a better story. I feel truly blessed.

I cannot believe you were in the bottom two this week? That was a winning performance!
I know! It sucks. But, it’s the way the cookie crumbles. It’s all part of the game. It’s part of the show. It felt right at the time, to be honest, when I was there and I danced my little heart out. Everyone was very tense because it was the last episode before that finale, and everyone wants to get to the finale. Final four and then it’s basically up to the universe. It was a fight, most definitely. I’m proud, do you know what I mean? I couldn’t have done any more.

The thing is, if I’m coming to an Elektra Shock show, I’m paying no mind to the hair and outfit. I wanna see you kick, flip and split…
Yeah. And to be honest, in a club, you don’t notice a lot of the things that I got called out for on Drag Race. That’s probably why a lot of the things were such a surprise to me. My career has been in clubs on stage doing live performances. You’re always a good 10 metres away from me, so you don’t notice those little things. But if I want to transition into this world of really intense, high commercial drag and be doing television work and more film stuff, making music and whatever I want to do next, I need to improve. I need to get better. Those kicks and high splits are definitely what makes my shows special.

You said the critiques from the judges were surprising, but how did you feel when all of your sisters nominated you to go home?
Honestly, I expected a bit of shade and I expected a bit of banter back and forth, but it was really intense, and I called them out on it on the show. I said, ‘Alright girls, we’re all adults and I think some of you are starting to take the piss. Focus on yourselves for a day and I’ll focus on myself.’ I had to start defending myself to be honest, because I was just letting everyone let out their anxieties on me and it was unhealthy. It’s unhealthy to let people constantly tell you what’s wrong with you. That’s their opinion and their opinion is totally valid, but it’s not necessarily important to me and it’s not necessarily what’s going to make me succeed or fail in this competition. So, it took me a little while to let go of what other people thought.