• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

  • DC Guides
    • DC Events
    • DC New 52
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
    • The Sandman Universe
  • Marvel Guides
    • Marvel Events
    • Spider-Man Guide (1963-2018)
    • X-Men Reading Order
  • Indie & Licensed Comics
    • Spawn
    • Star Wars Guide
      • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
      • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
    • Valiant Guides
  • Drag
    • Canada’s Drag Race
    • Drag Race Down Under
    • Drag Race France
    • Drag Race Philippines
    • Dragula
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
  • Archive
  • Contact!

Mylène Farmer

Drag Race France Season 1 Episode 5 – Popstars & Night of 1,000 Mylène Farmers: Review & Power Ranking

July 24, 2022 by krisis 1 Comment

Welcome to my review and power rankings of the fifth episode of Drag Race France Season 1 – Popstars, the Drag Race France girl group challenge accompanied by a “Night of 1000 Mylène Farmers” runway celebrating one of France’s biggest pop stars.

Often, the biggest challenges of a pop music theme on Drag Race aren’t for the queens but for production. It’s not easy to effectively parody pop music without seeming too silly, and harder still to fabricate a credible pop song on demand for a reality show.

The American Drag Race franchise often absolves itself of this duty altogether by repurposing RuPaul songs for its many musical challenges. Ru produces a slew of charming dance music, but it doesn’t often line up with trends in pop.

I feel as though the success of “Break Up (Bye Bye)” for Drag Race UK in 2019 finally shook up this habit, showing that producing real, current pop music for the show could pay off in increased attention in other media. That worked in part because the UK has a voracious music market that celebrates TV pop stars more than America does, but it didn’t hurt that the song was damn good.

Since then, Drag Race has stepped up its musical game for its so-called “girl group” challenges – and, I’d say the two versions of “Boom Boom” on this episode are near the top of that staircase. This song songs exactly like the sort of high-tempo disco-influenced pop delivered by European girl groups (and even some K-pop).

Not only was the song good, but Drag Race France completely avoided the trope of having any artist singled out for her intense struggle as a newfound singer/songwriter and dancing queen. Even though Paloma did poorly in the challenge, at no point did the edit lean into a “I can’t sing at all” self-confidence spiral or a “I think I can sing, but I can’t” fit of delusion. While the queens had different levels of success in the challenge, none of them were an abject failure. The same is true for the “Night of 1000 Mylène Farmers” runway.

The strong performance from the queens this episode exposed that this season’s single weakness may be in its mercurial judging. We are now at the point of the season where all six of the queens are well-round professionals with an eye for detail. Yet, the judges are still finding minor – and often invisible – elements about them to critique. Nicky Doll seems to be giving the most practical and even-handed advice, but her companions Daphné Bürki and Kiddy Smile often seem to be critiquing a different competition entirely.

It can be hard to understand the nuance of Drag Race judging in a different language. Imagine trying to understand Michelle Visage’s pop culture references and promiscuity jokes in translation! Would we still understand that there is a layer of motherly warmth beneath her bitchy exterior if we were relying only on subtitles?

That’s the question I have about Daphné Bürki and Kiddy Smile. Daphné has given incisive critiques, but sometimes it feels as though she is expecting fashion modeling instead of drag. And, it is hard to tell if Kiddy Smile is naturally laconic or if he is holding back to make up for the extreme conflict of interest of La Grande Dame being his own drag daughter.

The inconsistent judging would be dragging this season down more if there wasn’t such a clear divide in the field of queens between the Top 3 and everyone else that has been evident since week one. Elips’ deep run into the competition might be the only true surprise of the season if things continue to play out as they have, which somewhat forgives the judges since the outcome will be the same regardless of what they say.

If you want to watch Drag Race France you can sign up for WowPresentsPlus to watch the many worldwide Drag Race franchises for $4.99 a month or $50 a year. (Note that if you’re in the US you will need to use a VPN to “visit” another country to see the US Franchise.)

Now it’s time to rank the queens, dissect their performances, and discuss their runways! This results in a shuffle of the top three from last week’s Episode 4 power rankings, as well as a continued joust for 4th place.

Lecteurs, start your engines. Et, que la meilleure Drag Queen gagne!

[Read more…] about Drag Race France Season 1 Episode 5 – Popstars & Night of 1,000 Mylène Farmers: Review & Power Ranking

Filed Under: teevee Tagged With: drag, Drag Race, Drag Race France, Drag Race France Season 1, Mylène Farmer

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • Breaking News: D&D continues support of Open Gaming License (OGL 1.0), releases their core rules SRD under Creative Commons
    Breaking news! Dungeons & Dragons made the shocking announcement that they're keeping OGL v1.0 and releasing SRD 5.1 under Creative Commons! […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Civil War Box KickstarterMarvel United: Multiverse has a Civil War in their new expansion box (and uses it to solve their Young Avengers problem)
    All out war breaks loose in CMON's Marvel United Multiverse Civil War expansion set, adding several classic Avengers and a new PVP play mode. […]
  • The Reading Order Guide to Excalibur - image from Excalibur (1988) #1Updated: Guide to Excalibur
    My updated Reading Order Guide to Excalibur adds several new collections, including big Epic Collection news! […]
  • X-Factor Math & Maps: Collected Issue Counting and Future Omnibus Mapping
    it's time for mathing and mapping X-Factor! How much of X-Factor been collected from its start in February 1986 to the team's most-recent appearance Dec 2021? And, how could it all fit into Omnibus? […]
  • The Guide to Unstoppable WaspUnstoppable Wasp, Nadia van Dyne – Definitive Collecting Guide and Reading Order
    The definitive issue-by-issue comic book collecting […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Age of Apocalypse - Kickstarter Exclusive BoxMarvel United: Multiverse enters the Age of Apocalypse! (plus, predicting the 10 most-likely expansion boxes)
    CMON's Marvel United: Multiverse - Age of Apocalypse brings more mutants to the game! What are the 10 next expansions we might see soon? […]
  • The Guide to Unstoppable WaspNew for Patrons: Guide to Unstoppable Wasp, Nadia van Dyne
    Who is The Unstoppable Wasp, and how did an elegant retcon from writer Mark Waid make her a different character than the MCU's Hope van Dyne? […]
  • Champions (2016) #1 variantGuide to The Champions – now available to the public!
    My Guide to The Champions is now available to everyone! Learn why Marvel abandoned this team concept after its 1977 cancellation until 2016. […]
  • Dolly told me I’m doing okay
    Do you know what happens when you run a lot, even when you hate every single second of doing it? Eventually, it gets easier. But, Dolly Parton doesn't always offer you encouragement when you shatter your personal record. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 4 – Snatch Game, Review & Power Ranking
    The double-size Season 15 Snatch Game gave us 14 celebrity impressions and a surprising amount of successes, though queens struggled with their "Beautiful Nightmare" runway prompt. […]
  • Marvel United: Multiverse makes more mutants, plus Inhumans enter the fray with War of Kings!
    The Marvel United: Multiverse campaign debuts a War of Kings box, and I tally a few hundred missing mutants they could add to the campaign. […]
  • Werewolf by Night – Definitive Collecting Guide and Reading Order
    The definitive issue-by-issue comic book collecting […]
  • Washington Post - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern resigns ahead of electionA Surprise Farewell to Prime Minister Ardern
    It felt like Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was personally keeping my family safe with her decisive actions on gun violence and COVID policy. Now that era is coming to a close. […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Kickstarter Campaign ImageCMON’s Marvel United returns to Kickstarter with Marvel United: Multiverse!
    Board game publisher CMON is back on Kickstarter with a third wave of their delightful Marvel United game - and this time, it's multiversal! Their new campaign is for Marvel United: Multiverse! […]

Layout copyright © 2017 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

Links from Crushing Krisis to retailer websites may be in the form of affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link I will receive a minor credit as your referrer. My credit does not affect your purchase price. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program.