READ MORE | Our weekly recaps of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Seasons 2 and 3
When Madonna said music makes the people come together, she wasn’t foreseeing this week’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which finds the Top 6 at each other’s throats recording Ru’s latest song.
Anyone who watches the show knows that it’s RuPaul’s world, and we’re just living in it. The self-promotion this week is over-the-top, even for her. The mini-challenge pits the girls playing Ru-sical chairs to RuPaul songs.
The last queen standing is Manila, who then picks the order in which the girls choose their music genres for the main challenge: record a genre-specific version of RuPaul’s new “Superstar” in their own voice, then lip-sync the results in front of an audience. The tension ups the sniping and trash talk to new heights.
Manila chooses Disco, and even though we hate her, we admit she looks fierce in ‘fro (top photo). We get Punk’d by Raja, go on a Country hayride with Shangela, bump to Hip Hop with Alexis, Pop a tart with Yara, and get served Rasta wrongness by Carmen.
Carmen’s trouble starts in the recording studio, where her “I don’t give a crap” attitude, general confusion (middle photo) and total tone-deafness make it a long day for the boys behind the mixing table. None of the queens do a great job on the vocals, but to their advantage, the producers work the auto-tune until the girls sound OK in the end.
On the main stage, Ru and Michelle Visage are joined at the judges table by ‘80s pop queen Jody Watley, hoochie Carmen Electra, and inexplicably, a bitchy gay Absolut Vodka rep. Michelle takes this whole thing way too seriously. She bares her breasts in what can only be described as rage, and we’re increasingly scared that she may kill someone before the season wraps.
Among the performances, Raja brings Punk realness—and male realness. It’s a drag show; she needs to girl it up. Manila has trouble lip syncing to her own track, Shangela brings energy but forgot her Country look at home (bottom photo), and Alexis serves more stripper than a rap mama.
Yara looks the Pop part complete with sparkle-cum-Britney bikini, but her lack of actual talent is really starting to show. And then there’s Carmen, who narrowly escaped elimination last week, and thinks that posing makes a drag show.
When all is sung and done, Raja takes the night, and it’s Shangela and Carmen who must Lip Sync For Your Life. Even Carmen’s clique has to hand it to Shangela, who turns it out with emotion and moves to Cher’s “Believe.” Carmen is left to make faces and walk around the stage. So long, sister!
The Top 5 remain for next week’s “hair” challenges: three wig smackdowns plus a head-to-toe mainstage look made entirely of hair weaves.
