August 23, 20204 yr Author 26 Courtney Act Appeared in: Season 6 "I don't do dairy, but for Milk I'll make an exception!" We're now halfway through the countdown (I hope you're all enjoying so far!), and just missing the top 25 is undoubtedly one of the biggest names to have come out of Drag Race in a commercial sense, Courtney Act. Courtney appeared in season 6, and finished runner-up to Bianca Del Rio. Since then, Courtney's gone on to flourish with an appearance (and becoming the winner of) Celebrity Big Brother, having her own dating show for bisexual people (queen of progression!), and releasing music, touring, etc. For me, Courtney wasn't really a standout performer in season 6. She was fun to watch, had a great sense of humour, etc, but for her runways... most of the time I was just in shock that she ended up safe with some of the choices. Courtney is adorable though and definitely somebody that it's been great to see enjoy so much success outside of the franchise itself. I also had no clue until only recently that her whole name is a play on 'caught in the act' lmao.
August 23, 20204 yr Never enjoyed Latrice and I’d probably say she’s the most overrated queen ever for me
August 26, 20204 yr I have a real soft spot forCourtney, she's such an angel personality wise. So many heavy hitters dropping out already even before top 25! just like the LoveChart
August 26, 20204 yr LATRICE :heart: Loved her season 4 as a beautiful soul with a great passion for drag and oodles of charisma, loved her in AS4 for being an iconic mess :wub: Love either way.
August 26, 20204 yr If Latrice had never done AS4 she'd be in my top 10 faves, she was a class act on her first season (and her runways were acc underrated, I loved her dress to impress, Dragazines and Canine Couture looks) but she hadn't progressed at all in AS4 and it tainted her a bit for me. Still a queen. Courtney was honestly lower tier in Season Six for me but her activism and wise words since have made up for that.
August 30, 20204 yr Author 25 Monique Heart Appeared in: Season 10, All Stars 4 "Brown cow, stunning!" Let's get this top 25 underway! Next up is Monique Heart who appeared in season 10 and All Stars 4. For me, Monique wasn't really a contender at all in season 10, and I didn't really take much notice of her (either that, or found her to be quite annoying), but come All Stars 4 it was like she had completely stepped her game up and had some brilliant runways to show for it. She was hilarious and she really made a great impression, so maybe I just need to watch season 10 again. I do feel Monique should have been in a much better position during All Stars 4 than Monét X Change - so the fact that Monét went on to win the season alongside Trinity the Tuck was a bit baffling. Justice for Monique. As well as being iconic on Drag Race, outside of the franchise Monique has a great career with music (I've just recently seen that she did a remix for one of JORDY's songs - the relevance!!).
August 31, 20204 yr Author 24 Valentina Appeared in: Season 9, All Stars 4 "Escandalo!" Next up we have another Miss Congeniality winner, and perhaps the most controversial recipient of said title. Valentina first appeared in season 9, and I really did not like her at all during that run. She was mischievous, stirred the pot and really would've stepped over anybody to get to the crown. At the season 9 reunion, there was drama because other queens didn't believe Valentina was deserving of the title - instead hoping to rename it 'Fan Favourite' given her armies of dedicated fans (that supposedly weren't so kind to other queens and their fans). Then, Valentina came back for All Stars 4 and this was such a big turnaround. I immediately liked her. She had interesting runways, she did well in challenges and she really seemed like a more good-intentions-villain this time around. Of course, who could also forget the iconic lip-sync moment where she didn't want to uncover her face because she didn't know the words to the song? Category is: COVID-19 realness.
August 31, 20204 yr omg yes Valentina :wub: She is one of my favorite queens and I am aware that she lives in her own delusional world lol but I just love her!!! And boy did she redeem herself lip-syncing to Ariana's 'Into You' in All Stars :wub:
September 3, 20204 yr Author 23 Asia O'Hara Appeared in: Season 10 "Is that a grapefruit on her head?" Up next we have another season 10 queen, and this time it's the fierce Asia O'Hara. From serving some killer looks on the runway, to performing well in both mini and maxi challenges, Asia made it all the way to the top 4 before finishing in 4th place. Despite having the looks and the talent, the moment that I was really in Asia's corner during her time on Drag Race was in the season 10 reunion where she stood up to RuPaul and defended The Vixen after her 'behaviour' all season led to confrontation and bad blood. RuPaul's stance on the whole situation still makes me uncomfortable to this day, and the fact that Asia became so passionate and emotional about the topic... that hit a different way. Aside from that, I really feel Asia would kill a season of All Stars (make it happen Ru!), and most recently she's also appeared in Vegas Revue (now airing on Wow Presents Plus if you haven't watched yet x).
September 5, 20204 yr Author 22 Trixie Mattel Appeared in: Season 7, All Stars 3 "I will take my answer in the parking lot." We have another winner now, and this time it's the winner of All Stars 3, and 6th place contestant from season 7 - Trixie Mattel. Trixie's a strange one for me, because while I absolutely love a lot of what she does, I really don't feel she was the right winner of All Stars 3. When you had Shangela standing right there, do you really go and give the crown to Trixie, who hadn't exactly had the most amazing run throughout the season? Anyway, less bitterness. Trixie's very unique and always brings her own flare to everything she does in the workroom and on the runway (sometimes it was amazing, sometimes it was detrimental; but she never placed low in season 7 or All Stars, so that's something). Trixie's made quite the impact outside of Drag Race too, with her own album, tours across the world, releasing a book with Katya, as well as starring in her own side projects. A true success story, even if towards the end of All Stars 3 I found myself rooting for her less and less. Of course, who could ever forget when she asked a question at the season 8 finale though, calling out Acid Betty for her comments about her in Untucked? Iconic.
September 5, 20204 yr Author 21 Raja Appeared in: Season 3 "I have a master's degree in FIERCE." Just missing out on the all-important top 20 is season 3 winner Raja - making that two winners in a row too. Raja immediately caught everybody's attention when she walked into the work room, standing out as the fashion-forward queen, and from then she continued to bring us inspired, forward-thinking looks on the runway each week, taking her all the way to the top and snatching the crown from the likes of Manila Luzon and Alexis Mateo. I think my only qualm with Raja during her time on Drag Race is her involvement in the 'Heathers' clique (that also included Manila Luzon, Delta Work and Carmen Carrera). Coming across as a complete bitch wasn't a good look for somebody that was always going to be on track for the finale, but I guess it didn't matter either way in the end. It made for some uncomfortable viewing, particularly when they targeted Stacy. Overall though, Raja is one of the most poised winners the show has seen, and this was the beginning of the show's new direction, leaving behind the messy early days of seasons 1 and 2. I'd love to see Raja come back to Drag Race one day, because it's been a long time since we've seen her as part of the franchise, so here's hoping she makes a guest appearance that isn't reserved for Raven or Vanjie.
September 5, 20204 yr I honestly can’t stand Trixie. I find her humour not funny in the slightest, not a fan of her aesthetic, the not apologising for saying multiple slurs even though she’s been called out on it always makes me feel a little :/ Raja however! Phenomenal talented absolutely brilliant. FPR just highlighted how fab she is too
September 5, 20204 yr Author 20 Shea Couleé Appeared in: Season 9, All Stars 5 "Why y'all acting brand new?" Another winner bites the dust (will they all be out before we reach the top 10? :o), and now it's the turn of the US' most recent crowned queen, Shea Couleé. Shea first appeared in season 9 and was a fierce contender then, but found herself second fiddle to Sasha Velour right at the last moment when the lip-sync basically confirmed that Sasha was going to win no matter how many tricks could've been pulled out of the hat by the other queens. It took Shea quite a while to get over that, but she came back to us this year for All Stars 5 with fighting spirit and she gave everything she had. For me, it was great seeing her in All Stars 5 because I really started to connect with her more. Hearing her story, how far she's come, etc just solidified how much she deserved to do well. She's such a lovely person inside and out, and although during All Stars she definitely stumbled a couple of times (some of her runways were far from perfect), seeing her win was great... if it weren't for the fact Netflix decided to spoil it all before we'd even watched the episode.
September 5, 20204 yr 23-20 are four of my all-time favourites! :wub: Raja is one of those queens who goes "I am FIERCE" and is fully ABSOLUTELY qualified to say it. We still stan!
September 6, 20204 yr Author 19 Brooke Lynn Hytes Appeared in: Season 11 "Never fear, the Queen of the North is here!" Season 11 runner-up and brand new judge on spin-off Canada's Drag Race, Brooke Lynn Hytes sneaks into the top 20 here. Brooke wasn't an immediate favourite of mine in season 11 - I found that a lot of the hype around her was lost on me, until of course the iconic Sorry Not Sorry lip-sync that ended in a double shantay for both her and Yvie Oddly. From there on, I was rooting for Brooke and was finding her runways incredible, as well as her final lip-sync where she absolutely ate it up! She's sexy, she's confident, and she knows exactly what her drag is. Flash forward just over a year, and Brooke is named as one of the judges on the first season of Canada's Drag Race. Obviously it was going to be interesting to see how a former contestant would slot into the judging role, and while it's something that you definitely need to be qualified to be able to do, most of the time Brooke was great. More-so in the work room because she knows what it's like in that environment. Her judging critiques, paired with Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman's, made for much less entertaining viewing. Let's hope if she stays on for a possible second season of CDR that she learns from what's happened to Jeffrey in recent weeks.
September 8, 20204 yr Author 18 Pearl Appeared in: Season 7 "You kinda just told me I had no personality..." Up next we have Pearl, by far one of my favourite queens from season 7. The more I think about it, the more I realise there are actually few queens I like (or remember!) from season 7. It was a decent season, but Pearl definitely stood out as my favourite at the time. Obviously one of the most iconic moments for Pearl was when she confronted RuPaul (see the quote above) for seeming unenthusiastic for most of the first few episodes. After she ended up lip-syncing though, she stepped things up a gear and finally seemed to wake up and landed herself a place in the top 3 alongside Ginger Minj and Violet Chachki. She didn't end up winning, but her style throughout the season was amazing, and she really proved RuPaul wrong. Don't judge a book by its cover hun xo I guess her performance as Big Ang in Snatch Game was decent enough too, but for me it's not one of the most memorable or hilarious that we've seen! Pearl is one queen I'd absolutely LOVE to see come back for All Stars, but sadly I... don't think that's something that'll happen.
September 10, 20204 yr Author 17 Jaida Essence Hall Appeared in: Season 12 "LOOK OVER THERE!" Finishing respectably high considering she only just won season 12 a number of months ago is Jaida Essence Hall. She had an excellent trajectory in season 12 and really worked her way up the ranks, and slowly became one of the best things about the season. She had some killer looks on the runway, and slayed some of the challenges despite how little she may have prepared for them. The Choices 2020 maxi challenge was a real standout moment for Jaida - giving birth to what would become her catchphrase 'LOOK OVER THERE!' when you just really don't know what to say when asked a question. Her confessionals were some of the funniest we've seen on the show, and she seems like such an all-round lovely person, with sass and determination. She wasn't going to let Gigi Goode stop her from taking the crown, and she slayed the finale even if it was a lot more restricted given the COVID-19 restrictions were just coming into place. This was a real moment because for once it felt like the underdog had finally taken the crown after a string of seasons where there's always a clear frontrunner. I can't wait to see what Jaida's career has in store in a post-COVID world.
September 10, 20204 yr Author 16 Bob the Drag Queen Appeared in: Season 8 "Purse first!" Another winner - there are only so many left! - and this time it's the queen that snatched season 8's crown; Bob the Drag Queen. Bob is so entertaining for many reasons. A comedy queen at heart, Bob slayed Snatch Game in season 8 and was great in many of the challenges. I wouldn't ever think of Bob as a big style queen, but she turns some great looks too. This was particularly noticeable with her re-appearances in Secret Celebrity (even if it looked like she couldn't be arsed being there for the majority of that x). Bob's performance as Crazy Eyes (and then the swift change to Carol Channing for the second half) is probably one of my absolute favourites from Snatch Game - the mannerisms, the look, the costume, it was all perfect. Bob can certainly be a bit messy, but he's thoroughly entertaining and has become such a massive part of the Drag Race franchise, as well as always being a very loud voice on social and political issues outside of the show too. The one thing I always remember about the first time I watched season 8 is thinking Kim Chi was going to run away with the win, and then the massive sigh of relief when it ended up being Bob. Although if you asked me now, I'd say I wish it was Naomi.
