RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars! Meet the Queens

This season of RuPaul's Drag race provides an interesting twist in that, instead of finding and launching a new crop of queens into drag superstardom, it instead sources high-preforming, previously eliminated queens to fill its ranks.

Because, you know, if at first you don't succeed on a reality TV show, the only viable option is to keep masochistically throwing yourself at it 'till you stick.

From LogoTV.com:

"They come armed with stilettos, feathers, and sequins, prepared for a battle where one false move-or eyelash-could spell doom. They are the best of the best, the top queens from Drag Race seasons 1-4, and they're ready to lip-synch for their lives to determine which of these all-stars will claim the ultimate title and be declared Queen amongst queens. Join RuPaul as he welcomes back the most celebrated queens of the past for a special edition of Drag Race that promises to be the wildest, most jaw-dropping and outrageous Drag Race yet."

Ready to meet your queens? Damn right you are.


From Season 1:

Tammie Brown, 26, 8th place
Having been with RPDR since its very first episode in 2009, I'm so glad that Season 1 queens have been given the chance to come back. Season 1 was a low-budget, taped together mess so hot you'd swear it had a syphillis-induced fever. Tammie, one of my faves from that season, left far too soon due to her wacky commitment to her old hollywood character. Seriously, this woman is the crack-addled love child of Lucille Ball and no less than 30 mentally-deranged prison inmates, and I love her so much for it. Always on, always mugging, always berating people for not walking with children in nature, Tammie embodies uniqueness with a capital "U."

Chance at the Crown: 3. Tammie just isn't the well-rounded queen RPDR is striving to find. Also, her immediate exit way-back-when has burdened her with a relatively small fan base.


Shannel, 29, 4th place
Polished, poised, perfectionist, and aware of every inch of it, Shannel is representing for all the Las Vegas showgirls (which she will never let you forget). Known for her over-the-top, costumey drag (which she cutely refers to as "couture"), Shannel can always be counted on to stop the show, then start it up again so that she can tell you all about how awesome she was when she did it. Serving up some fresh, Nomi Malone realness with a heaping side-dish of "Ver-sayce," Shannel, as before, is convinced that she will come out on top... though, something tells me that being on top is a very foreign concept for her.

Chance at the Crown: 4. More versatile than Tammie, Shannel has a slightly better chance at snatching the crown. Something tells me, though, that her completely delusional sense of self will be her downfall again.

Nina Flowers, 38, 1st runner-up, Ms. Congeniality
Nina Flowers might be one of my favorite queens of all time. The first queen in the series to really take drag and elevate to a level of artistic genderfuck (mixing both masculine and feminine aspects of glamour), Nina was the favorite to win the crown in her season. Aside from being a walking canvas, Nina also impresses in her ability to be just an all-around great, likable person in and out of drag.

Chance at the Crown: 7. Nina has proven to be both versatile and exciting, humble and confident. I think she has the best chance out of the season 1 queens, but will ultimately be overshadowed by girls from later seasons.




From Season 2:

Pandora Boxx, 37, 5th place, Ms. Congeniality
Dubbed the "Susan Lucci" of season 2, Pandora came close to winning multiple challenges with her campy comedienne schtick, but never quite came out on top (again, probably something foreign to her). A controversial exit against a queen of far less talent (I'm looking at you, Tati) only served to launch her to even higher popularity. Constantly criticized for camp that flirted with gaudy, then took it home, threw it on the floor and screwed it mercilessly, Pandora earned a reputation for not being one of the more polished queens. Now she's back, and I'm really excited to see if she's cleaned up her style and looked at a Vogue or two. Hell, at this point, I'd settle for a couple issues of Tiger Beat.

Chance at the Crown: 6. Pandora is arguably one of the most popular queens to come out of RPDR with a huge fan base. If she's stepped up her style enough to shut Santino up, I think she has a great chance.

Jujubee, 25, 2nd runner-up
This flawless bitch. One of my favorite drag racers of all-time, Jujubee has an infectious personality, biting wit, and only somewhat-questionable style.  Also a favorite in her season, Jujubee ultimately lost to the more consistent Raven and Tyra Sanchez. Jujubee earned a reputation for her ability to read her fellow queens for filth while simultaneously supporting them throughout the competition, and never appearing to be anything less than highly intelligent in the process.

Chance at the Crown: 8. Juju sees to embody all of the Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent that the judges are looking for. If she can perform at a level on-par with some of the more seasoned queens, she's got this one in the bag.

Raven, 30, 1st runner-up
Known for her fierce, take-no-prisoners approach to competition, Raven earned her "don't fuck with me" reputation early-on. Though she started slow, lip-syncing for her life twice at the onset of her season, Raven quickly wised up and became a frontrunner until the very end when the far-more-consistent Tyra Sanchez snatched her weave at the finale.

Chance at the Crown: 9. Raven was expected to win her season, and I think the only reason that she didn't was because of her early failings. If she can achieve and maintain a high level of performance this time around, the crown is her's to take.




From Season 3:

Mimi Imfurst, 27, 11th place (Yikes.)
In her 3 episodes on the show, Mimi solidified herself as one of the most annoying reality TV characters of all time. She cried a lot, was very loud, made a ton of very questionable style decisions, and then picked a queen up like Hulk Hogan in a bad wig during her lip-synch. I don't know why she's here. Maybe it's a joke? Maybe it's supposed to be funny? Maybe it's a sign of the impending apocalypse? Either way, it'll be interesting to see how this mess turns out. And by "interesting," I obviously mean "bone-chillingly stupid."

Chance at the Crown: -2345345.





Yara Sofia, 26, 4th place, Ms. Congeniality
Dreadlocked, daring, and dynamic; insert as many alliterative adjectives as you like, Yara is back after capturing the hearts of 10% of America with her almost completely unintelligible accent and willingness to roll with the punches, even when she had no idea what the fuck was going on. Known for her high-glamour aesthetic, killer bod, fashion savvy, and intimidating skills with makeup, Yara always delivered excitement in every challenge until the very emotional end, failing her lip synch against her friend, Alexis, mid-way through as she collapsed in tears. This bitch has proven that she can beat her face, but can she beat the competition?

Chance at the Crown: 5. Despite her many talents, I feel like Yara made it as far as she did on her season due to her wacky personality and the kitsch of her inability to form coherent English. When the shtick got old, she got the heel. Unless she's found some new tricks, I don't expect Yara to make it very far.


Alexis Mateo, 30, 2nd runner-up
Representing Florida drag, Alexis Mateo is bringing it home for the glitz and glam pageant queens. All frills, rhinestones, and big hair, Alexis' drag has been critiqued as being "stagnant." (Good word, Manila.) I'm convinced that Alexis is really just former Backstreet Boy, AJ Mclean, after taking a tumble through a pile of Wet 'n' Wild and last season prom dresses from DEB. Either way, her genuine sweetness, and high-energy lip-syncs managed to save her time and time again in her own season, enough so that the judges kept her in the game until the finale when they finally realized that you can only bedazzle a booger so much.

Chance at the Crown: 4. Though she's always been poised, Alexis has suffered a lot from being a one-note, as well as never really getting her proportions right on top of all that padding. If she can show some originality, however, I think she'll have a shot.


Manila Luzon, 25, 1st runner-up
A true queen, through and through. Always on-point, intelligent, and able to out-perform even the most seasoned of queens, Manila only lost her season due to the perfection that was Raja. Now that she's back, it's hard to imagine another queen that can keep her from the crown. Manila was known mostly for her irreverent fashion choices, strutting down the runway as: Big Bird, a pineapple, and even a bumblebee, always executed with precision and just the might amount of "wink-wink." Even if she doesn't win the crown, which is unlikely, Manila is sure to send enough eye candy down the runway to propel herself even further into drag legend.

Chance at the Crown: 9. Well-rounded in every sense of the word, Manila's only hurdle is that she's competing against Latrice Royale.



From Season 4:

Latrice Royale, 39, 4th place, Ms. Congeniality
My queen. My spirit animal. My totem. My patronus charm. My reason for living. The endlessly quotable, eternally lovable, large and in charge, chunky yet funky, bold and beautiful Latrice Royale is back to school all these other queens on the art of being flaw-free. Well, aside from painting her face with orange-flavored FunDip, that is. Latrice's main criticism throughout her season was her style, being read up and down for not always making the best fashion choices and, gasp of all gay gasps, wearing the same pair of Halloween Pop-Up Store boots more than once down the runway. I say, "Who cares?" She's a fucking drag queen. If Jesus is a biscuit, then Latrice is the whole loaf, and I'm ready for her to sop me up. (That's a bastardized Latrice quote. Please don't judge me.)

Chance at the Crown: 10. The game is her's. From prison bars to fake eyelashes, Latrice's story is inspiring, and her performance is always on-point with a nice serving of humility.


Chad Michaels, 40, 1st runner-up
Take Shannel, flash-forward 10 years, and here's Chad Michaels. Professional, poised, dedicated to perfection and a true performer, but also humble and soul-searchingly mature, Chad quickly rose to "mother dust" status on her season, looking out for all of her fellow, younger queens. Chad is her own worst enemy, though, and never came out on top due to her over-thought characters and inability to appear vulnerable. On the plus side, she delivers one hell of a Cher.

Chance at the Crown: 2. I truly think Chad is too dedicated to flawlessness to ever be the vulnerable queen that the judges want. At the very least, she will elevate the show to a true art during her time on the cast.




So, who's gonna be the queen of all queens? There's only one way to find out.