These queens gave us chills... like a snow queen! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the “Drag Race” performances that we still get goosebumps just thinking about.
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the drag race performances
00:11that we still get goosebumps just thinking about.
00:14For this list, we'll be looking at the American franchises only.
00:1710.
00:32This Will Be
00:33Dieter Ritz's one-sided duel against the princess was an explosion of joy and spirit
00:43that almost felt like a spiritual experience.
00:45Hyped up by original singer Natalie Cole herself, Dieter ripped through This Will Be
00:50as if she were alone on that stage.
01:03Once she started cutting across the runway, doing a dance move that can only be described
01:08as revving an invisible chainsaw, it felt like she had entered the stratosphere.
01:25It lives on as a moment of pure, unadulterated fierceness from an underrated contestant.
01:30Competitor Latrice Royale said it best,
01:32This is high drag at its finest.
01:359.
01:36Your Name
01:44She didn't come to play, she came to slay.
01:47Shea Coulee's all-winners variety show presentation was the work of a seasoned professional.
01:52Performing her original track, Your Name, Shea Coulee's smooth vocals, tight choreo,
01:57and magnetic stage presence went beyond what we normally see on a season of Drag Race.
02:10Nothing about this performance said reality competition contestant.
02:13If anything, this was giving international pop star sensation on a worldwide arena tour.
02:26It's a level of excellence and sheer stage presence most artists would kill to have.
02:33And she made it all look so easy.
02:358.
02:36Whip My Hair
02:45Things took a serious turn in the stand-up comedy episode.
02:48Roxy Andrews and Alyssa Edwards had bombed hard and were up for elimination.
02:53Little did anyone know they were about to turn it out in a classic main stage moment.
03:07Plenty of queens had lost their wig mid lip sync and it was becoming a bit tired.
03:11Roxy flipped the script and her wig by revealing a second entirely different head of hair underneath.
03:17The judges were gagged.
03:19Since then, every single frame of that moment has been memed to death, but experiencing
03:24it live was absolutely thrilling.
03:297.
03:33So Emotional
03:41Going into the season 9 finale, Shea Coulee was easily the odds-on favorite to win.
03:46She had the most maxi challenge wins under her belt and she was a performer with a capital
03:50P. But the new lip sync smackdown for the crown twist and a full wig of roses ended
03:55it all.
04:03Sasha Velour's exhilarating interpretation of Whitney Houston's So Emotional was an unexpected
04:08tour de force.
04:09Littering the stage with carefully hidden roses at various points of the song, Sasha
04:13used the element of surprise to her advantage.
04:16When she finally made the rose petal shower from her wig, the audience was in a frenzy
04:20that all but ensured she was about to take the win.
04:326.
04:39Rock on Wood
04:52For all the talk about season 15 being Sasha Colby's crown to lose, runner-up Anitra
04:56gave her a run for her money.
04:58She also gave us some of the season's most iconic performances.
05:07Once it came time for the two to lip sync for the crown, it was Sasha's breathtaking
05:11performance that wrapped it up once and for all.
05:24Once she stepped out of that dress and into her nude look, Rue and the crowd never stopped
05:29cheering with sheer delight.
05:30It wasn't just about looking gorgeous, it was a political statement that spoke volumes.
05:35In a time of increasing scrutiny and hatred against the trans community, Sasha's aim
05:39was to display and celebrate her body as a transgender woman.
05:515.
05:52Dancing on My Own
05:59The very first All-Star season was confusing.
06:02Given the baffling decision to make the Queens compete in teams of two, it was certainly
06:05not as thought through as it could have been.
06:08But watching friends and teammates Raven and Jujubee have to lip sync against each other
06:12almost made it all worth it.
06:14Many of us already knew the heartbreak of Robyn's club ballad Dancing on My Own.
06:30Team Rujubee gave us another reason to cry.
06:33They all but refused to compete against each other, choosing instead to lip sync the song
06:37as a duet while tears rolled down their faces.
06:40Even the resident tough judge Michelle Visage was crying.
06:514.
06:57Vir a viso o luoghi a meni
07:11A lot of singers have come through the Drag Race workroom.
07:14Few of them have the technique or training of one Monet X Change.
07:17Given her previous attempt at singing on the show though, Monet had a lot to prove.
07:32This time, she gave us a show for the ages.
07:47Her resonant bass voice shook the entire all-winner's stage as she performed an aria
07:52from La Sonambula, an opera by Vincenzo Bellini.
07:55Queens on RuPaul's Drag Race have taken us to church before, but Monet X Change was
07:59the first one to take us to the opera.
08:103.
08:18Shut Up and Drive
08:19Tensions were high.
08:30The stakes were higher.
08:32Alyssa Edwards and Tatiana were both fighting for the chance to return to All Stars 2, and
08:37this dizzying, hair-flipping, high-kicking Rihanna lip sync was exactly what we needed.
08:41Breathtaking and fun in equal measure.
08:43Shut Up and Drive is an insane watch every time.
08:46Alyssa and Tatiana are radiant.
08:49Every beat, every choice, every movement is perfection from start to finish.
09:04There's so much fierce twirling, it looks like two whirling dervishes have invaded the
09:07main stage.
09:08Needless to say, they both returned to the competition off the back of this performance,
09:13and fans were fed for years to come.
09:272.
09:28You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman
09:43Between a runway theme that featured the contestants in fake baby bumps and a lip sync
09:46song being the ultimate ode to womanhood, it'd be easy to play up the comedy.
09:50A lesser drag queen would go straight for vulgarity.
09:53Latrice Royale didn't do that.
10:06She planted her feet and delivered the Aretha Franklin hit as if she was performing it live,
10:11instilling every word and emotion.
10:13She gave us and her competitors a masterclass in embodying a song.
10:26Even if her opponent weren't completely missing the point, Latrice would have been near impossible
10:31to beat.
10:32Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:35Jinx Monsoon's Judy Garland.
10:37This two-time winner channeled the icon so well it was almost scary.
10:54Mariah Paris Balenciaga's Talent Show.
10:57A timely and haunting performance piece.
11:12Even Angels.
11:13Alexis Mateo's beautiful lip sync even had her competitors gushing.
11:33Aja's Talent Show.
11:35The Season 9 queen stomped back into the competition with a vengeance.
11:50Sorry Not Sorry.
11:51Indi Oddly and Brooklyn Heights brought stunts and attitude to Season 11's best lip sync.
12:22And I am telling you, I'm not going.
12:29Chi Chi DeVayne's entire Season 8 narrative could be summed up in this one lip sync.
12:33She didn't always slay the challenges, but the live performances were another story.
12:38The defiant ballad from Dreamgirls was tailor-made for her.
12:49At the song's most heightened moment, Chi Chi's foot got caught on her necklace, breaking
12:53the string and showering the stage with beads.
13:08You can see RuPaul herself getting goosebumps.
13:11It's the kind of thing that makes a great lip sync an all-time masterpiece.
13:15The performance is even more meaningful now, as we remember this queen's legacy after
13:19her passing in 2020.
13:33Which Drag Race performance lives in your head rent-free?
13:36Let us know in the comments.
14:06And as always, thanks for watching.
14:07We'll see you next time.