Lip Sync Archives

Welcome to my review, recap, and power rankings of the eighth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 – “LipSync Lalaparuza Smackdown.” This is a new tradition on the show where we get to see all of the mid-season contenders lip sync to keep their place in the competition.

If I can be incredibly vulnerable with you for a moment (in a way that will bite me in the ass if I ever perform in drag later), I have a confession to make: I don’t care about lip syncing.

I’ll pause while some readers close their browser tabs in frustration. Not you. I know you’re a real one.

Sure, I dig lip syncs on Drag Race as the ultimate test of whether a queen sashays or shantés. And, I know that lip syncing is a cherished part of drag culture that partly stems from a history of performing celebrity illusions.

But, out in the wild? You watch someone move their body to another person’s song for four minutes. And I’m supposed to TIP THEM?!

Girl, I wouldn’t pay to go see Janet Jackson lip syncing back in the day, why would I care about a drag queen doing it? Especially when that drag queen might only fit in a few numbers in a night when Ms. Jackson is performing a whole damn show?

I’ve seen a few conceptual lip sync numbers live that have stuck with me, but for me every one of them was beaten beaten hands down by a queen singing live on the mic or performing an unusual talent. (I saw Ivy Winters do a costume quick-change number that was phenomenal!) Granted, queens who make their own custom mixes are giving us more of a perspective than someone who just says, “cue track X from YouTube,” but give me live singing. Give me a comedy act. Give me a circus performance.

Don’t give me a trio of four-minute lip sync spots and pretend that you performed a whole show.

(Keep in mind that I am someone who, when given the chance to take over a bar for a night, would play a FIVE HOUR SET from 9pm to 2am with only two 10 minute breaks. I have a more-is-more approach to entertainment that is reflected in my approach to making blog content.)

I know this opinion puts me at odds with essentially the entirety of the international drag industrial complex. (Except Charlie Hides, she always sings live.) Honestly, between this and not drinking, it’s why I’ve never been too interested in local drag shows. I’ve even considered performing in drag, but the idea of lip syncing just bores me too much.

Does that mean I was bored by this episode? Hell no! I think the Lalaparuza is a welcome addition to the show’s canon. It prevents any queen from sailing through the entire season without a lip sync. Plus, it’s a good way to feature everyone equally at the mid-season point to allow every queen to make a case for why she should be a finalist.

That means the Lalaparuza can really shake up my Power Rankings! There are some extremely unexpected rises and falls in the rankings compared to last week, including a new pair of challengers for what seemed like a completely locked-in Final Five.

Readers, start your engines. And, may the best drag queen win! [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 8 – “LipSync Lalaparuza Smackdown” Review & Power Ranking

We now have a Queen of Queens! RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 7 came to a close with a decidedly anti-climactic lip sync tournament that crowned my top power-ranked queen. She shall reign supreme over the entirety of RuPaul’s empire of English language franchises!

Since there are no more queens to rank, for this special edition I’m going to rank every one of the 17 lip syncs of the season – including the six lip syncs from this week’s final dual tournaments.

Over the past six seasons of All Stars, Drag Race has reversed its existing lip sync formula from regular seasons. Instead of seeing the queens at risk for elimination lip sync for their lives, we see the top queens of the week lip sync for their legacy.

This has yielded many remarkable lip syncs, but also a number of unremarkable flops. That’s down to two factors that make an All Stars lip sync very different from a regular season one.

First, the obvious: survival isn’t on the line in an All Stars lip sync. Instead, it’s a victory lap. A queen is typically awarded with $10,000 and the chance to chop a competitor (or, this season, to block them).

That’s not a do-or-die situation, so it produces different results. Even though everyone loves a fresh 10k, many queens are ambivalent or outright opposed to the doing the chopping. That seems to be especially true after they get their first taste of it (unless their name is Alaska or Shangela).

Plus, if a queen cuts a fan favorite, they could easily lose more than 10k in their next few years of booking fees due fans who now view them as a villain. And, we’ve seen that some queens don’t prep as hard after a victory as they do out of fear. Whether it’s being shaky on the words or not having as many tricks planned, several All Stars lip syncs have been somewhat… approximate.

The second reason All Stars lip syncs are different is the nature of repeated lip syncs.

In a typical season, a potential season winner can get away with lip syncing for their lives once – maybe twice – before their chances of winning the crown are greatly diminished. In fact, on the RuPaul-hosted franchises, as of this writing we’ve only had one winner who lip synced for their life multiple times: Symone.

(I don’t count Willow as a two-timer, since she won in her first round of the Season 14 lip sync tournament which was compulsory for all but one cast member and wasn’t truly at risk for elimination until her sem-final lip sync with Angeria.)

That means that queens on a regular season are motivated to give it all they’ve got in every lip sync – not only to survive, but because if they truly plan on winning the show they won’t need to save any tricks for a second lip sync!

However, on All Stars, queens actually do plan to lip sync multiple times. Of seven All Stars winners in the “Legacy” format, all but one (Kylie Sonique Love) has won at least two challenges. That means All-Stars have further incentive to not go all-out in every lip sync, especially early in the season. They might want to save something for later – or, at least, they’re not going to force every trick they know into an ill-fitting song.

It also means there’s an amount of lip sync fatigue that sets in when someone wins three or more times, as they often do on “winner-vs-winner” legacy lip sync seasons like All Stars 2-4 & 7, as opposed to “Lip Sync Assassin” seasons like All Stars 5-6. In fact, I suspect the Assassin twist was added after Season 4 partly to reduce repeats and bring more fire to the winner in each fight.

Both of those problems were at play on the All Stars Season 7 lip syncs, but if there was an episode for them to go out the window it was this one – where everything was on the line.

That means all six of these lip syncs ought to be the best of the season, right?

…right?

Readers, start your engines. And, may the best lip syncers win! If you disagree with my ranking, comment below with your best and worst of the season. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 7 – Every All-Winners Lip Sync Ranked!