March Madness comes early on RuPaul’s Drag Race

While the lip-sync challenge has been a part of Drag Race’s DNA since the series’ inception, the concept of a tournament was first introduced in season nine with the implementation of Lip Sync for the Crown. (This produced the memorable Sasha Velour rose moment.) Whether in the form of a “rudemption”-type tournament in All Stars 4 or 6 or the RuPaul’s Drag Race Prison Experiment at the beginning of season 13, it’s been been cemented into the franchise. (If you’re keeping score, it appeared last in All Stars 7 and Drag Race 14 as a punishment for a particularly bad Snatch Game.) Which is all to say: Tonight is the night of reckoning for the queens of season 15 as they must compete in the latest LaLaPaRUza lip sync competition.

Before the queens are informed of the impending challenge, the episode follows the usual format in which the queens discuss Aura’s exit and hex, the victory of Mistress, and Loosey’s continued rage at her safe placement. Mistress uses the opportunity to reintroduce her concept of “drag delusion,” first used to describe Lux, now directed at Loosey, and potentially applicable to Spice, who declares that she will be entering her “top” era in this episode. In a captivating episode, the LaLaPaRUza tests the lip syncing skills of each queen, their interpersonal relationships, and the power of drag delusion.

RuPaul enters the werkroom, announcing that we’re officially halfway through the competition and promising that tonight will be the “ultimate test.” Even so, the LaLaPaRUza can at times be fairly numbing. The earlier lip syncs often lack the gravity of a lip-sync-for-your-life, and there is a repetitive ennui that can set in after witnessing upwards of eight performances in a row (as was the case tonight). On the other hand, the format is important. The series regularly tests the designing, acting, dancing, singing, and writing skills in main challenges. Before the LaLaPaRUza, there was no opportunity to test their lip syncing talents, aside from the lip-sync-for-your life. The practice is a significant part of a drag queen’s career and it is far more than mouthing the lyrics of a song onstage. Proper lip syncing is about embodying the spirit of a song, pacing a performance, and demanding the audience’s attention.

After RuPaul asks the queens to get into their costumes, the action quickly shifts to the main stage. RuPaul enters in a slick asymmetrical black gown and cropped white hair to greet Michelle Visage and Ross Matthews. She announces that tonight is family only. The three joke about it feeling like a night at the Colosseum in Ancient Rome. It frames the queens as gladiators about to battle one another, but also denotes a level of cruelty and drama to the spectacle that will end with one queen’s dream dashed.

Round 1

Malaysia is the first name randomly selected to start the tournament. She momentarily hesitates picking her challenger. She undulates between Mistress, with whom she recently fought, and Spice, who, along with Marcia and Loosey, have been identified as potentially the weakest lip syncers of the cast. Malaysia splits the difference by selecting Marcia, another former enemy from Metal-gate. Marcia, in turn, gets to choose the song and selects Anitta’s “Boys Don’t Cry.”

The two queens are a visual contrast at the start. Malaysia is spangled in sparkles with a yellow dance costume complete with silver accents. In contrast to Malaysia’s drag with a capital D, Marcia’s orange monochromatic look is minimal and graphic. As they start performing, Malaysia’s movement feels a little rote. Her swinging arms, movement across the stage, and her mimicking of lyrics like “call” and “sleep” feel conventional and predictable. Malaysia starts to panic after Marcia unleashes a back handspring. While Marcia hinted at her ability to perform such a trick before the performance started, few in the room thought her capable of such a trick. The unexpected nature of the stunt really secures the win for Marcia, who is pleased to have shown off a more “ferocious” side of her drag. As her reward, Marcia gets to stay in the competition and move to the werkroom to watch the remaining competition. Salina remarks that Malysisa is “bamboozled” for not realizing Marcia capable of such a dynamic lip sync.

Round 2

Bruno pulls out Loosey’s name next. She calls this challenge a “game of survival” and picks the weakest of the herd, Spice. Dressed in flames and black leathers, Spice selects Joan Jett’s “Do You Wanna Touch Me,” which perfectly matches her outfit. In contrast, Loosey’s white and gold dance costume with an abundance of laces feels at odds with the music. Earlier, Mistress identified both Loosey and Spice as weaker lip syncers, but she also put Marcia in that same category—and look how it turned out.

Undoubtedly an improvement over her first lip-sync-for-her-life against her twin Sugar, Spice remains lost onstage. Her typical body wave movements, with the addition of some floor work, feels hesitant and unsure. Loosey, on the other hand, is in command as she claps and stomps to the beat. Loosey really asserts dominance when she takes Spices fur shrug from the ground and weaves it through her legs. Loosey is vinvinced that she “murdered” it, but Marcia is slightly underwhelmed backstage. Despite the fact that it feels like RuPaul or Michelle might be the true winners of the lip sync, Loosey earns the victory and joins Marcia in the werkroom.

Round 3

Next, Luxx selects Salina. In what feels like the most strategic move so far, Salina picks Celine Dion’s opus “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.” Salina is convinced that Luxx is convinced that she would pick an up-tempo number. Confident in her selection as Salina has performed the number before, she anticipates that it will throw Luxx off. Salina is correct, but Luxx contends she can handle it because she is “an actress.”

Similar to the first matchup between Malaysia and Marcia, the aestethics of the two queens are in opposition. Luxx’s white ensemble consists of a couple of strips of fabric, and her thigh-high boots are modern and minimalistic. Meanwhile, Salina’s blue ensemble is flashing and ornate. Like the actress she claims to be, Luxx commands the stage with emotion. She anchors herself in the center while moving up and down the stage. Salina moves throughout the stage. The song’s sonic arrangement is a perfect match for Salina’s over-the-top dramatics and she manages to infuse the number with delightful comedic flares that earn RuPaul’s laughter. In the werkroom, Marcia and Loosey are split on who will win, but RuPaul awards Salina the victory. In what feels like the second surprise result of the evening, Luxx admits to being “a little, very gagged” and Malysisa, who was part of the other upset, sees a “crack in the face” of Luxx.

Round 4

Mistress finds herself in a less-than-desirable situation. While a gifted lip syncer herself, as seen in the talent-show challenge, Mistress must decide between Anetra, Sasha, and Jax, all solid lip syncers. Mistress identified Anetra and Sasha as the top two performers of the cast and opts to go against Jax, who has proven to be a potential lip-sync assassin after eliminating Robin and Aura back to back. Mistress explains her rationale as she believes that Jax will select the song Mistress wants to perform, like Willow Pill last season. When Jax selects Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It To My Heart,” Mistress claims victory.

Jax’s primary colored look evokes the fly girl era beloved by RuPaul and Michelle and contrasts Mistress’ pink dress. Jax, who already lip synced twice, gives another high-energy, acrobatic performance peppered with impressive stunts. Mistress initially relies more on presence but has a couple of stunts planned as well. In many ways, the matchup recalls the previous use of the song in All Stars 2 when Detox and Alyssa Edwards competed. Mistress does her signature boob shake and sliding split. Mistress also features the nights only reveal, but the reveal can be seen from a mile away and lacks excitement. While the second look is miles above the first one, Mistress likely secures the win with the memorable faces toward the end of the number, which turns out to be the highlight of the performance.

A little surprised, Jax joins Malaysia, Luxx, and Spice at the back of the stage. In the werkroom, Marcia, Loosey, and Salina are genuinely shocked to see Mistress. They debate who should have won in a scene more interesting than the actual lip sync. They compliment the “vroom” of Jax’s performance and question whether Mistress gave “100-percent” to the number. A little peeved by the reception, Mistress says that she made a strategic choice in case she had to perform a second time. While Mistress claimed in the last episode to be a very “forgiving” person, she decides to read the other queens a little in retaliation. It’s a shame that there is no more airtime to see how it might play out. It might be the first sign of producer meddling in this LaLaPaRUza. It’s important to remember that the queens in the werkroom would be likely watching an unedited live feed of the performance from a single stationary camera instead of the heavily edited broadcast version.

Round 5

The headline match of the evening might go to Anetra and Sasha. In fact, Loosey realizes the impending matchup even before Mistress and Jax start. Andetra confesses that Sasha is the one person she did not want to face. Anetra, by chance, is given the advantage of picking the song. She selects Fifth Harmony’s “I’m In Love With A Monster,” from the Hotel Transylvania soundtrack of all things, but Sasha is unfazed.

What unfolds is a two-minute performance, the longest lip sync of the night. They are both clad in equally sexy performance costumes. Aura’s red hair matches her thigh-high boots, and Sasha’s high ponytail gives a complete view of her transparent and bedazzled leotard. It is an evenly matched performance that defies the written word. The best aspect of their shared performance style is that while full of stunts the lip sync never feels stunty. It is a testament to their skill. Their matchup is so even that the show breaks with convention. RuPaul is not shown announcing a winner; Sasha simply walks into the werkroom. While a tie would be more than valid in this instance, Anetra is forced to go another round. It already feels like Sasha is cruising to a victory this season. Producers needed to give her an obstacle to overcome to create a more dramatic hero’s journey.

Round 6

Malaysia, again, is selected for the first lip sync between the defeated queens. She laments that she prefers to have song choice. Faced with three competitors capable of numerous stunts, she chooses to lip sync against Spice. Proving not to be the airhead character she plays, Spice shrewdly selects Camilla Cabello’s “Don’t Go Yet,” because Malaysia does not know the words. It is now clear why Malaysia wanted to pick the song.

Both queens’ movements reflect the Latin influence on the song. Malaysia, being from Miami, feels more authentic here, while Spice opts for exaggerated, campy moves like the Conga. It’s clear that Malaysia does not know the lyrics, but Spice proves she might be the airhead she portrays when she realizes she also does not know the words of the song she selected. Considering both are unprepared for the number, it comes down to who covers it up best. The deciding factor is that Spice is not leaning into camp enough, which gets Malaysia the win.

Far from a triumphant victory, Malaysia enters the werkroom saying she needs “to drink [her] feelings away.” There is a moment of potential drama when Marcia asks why Malysisa selected her at the start. After their initial argument in a previous Untucked, it would be great to see them hash out the issue further. However, the extended episodes are still weeks away, and they are interrupted by the next lip sync.

Round 7

Since Anetra’s previous lip sync did not end up in a tie, the next round turns out to be a three-way bout. The matchup of Luxx, Jax, and Anetra recalls the finale of season 10 that say a three-way stunt queen matchup of Kameron Michaels, Eureka, and Aquaria. This one feels less chaotic even with an abundance of jumps, turns, splits, and duck walks to Vanessa William’s “The Right Stuff.” All three give great performances, and it is difficult from the edit to really rank them definitively. In the werkroom, the queens debate if there will be one or two winners, but it ends with Luxx as the single winner. Perhaps Luxx had a slight advantage because her two lip syncs allowed her to show more range throughout the evening. The round ends with another potentially dramatic moment between Luxx and Salina that is squashed by the tight edit.

Round 8

Interestingly, the final round involves two of the season’s best lip syncers and the season’s objectively worst one. In typical Drag Race fashion, RuPaul introduces a final twist that shocks the queens. When Anetra is randomly selected from the hopper she is forced to make a decision. Anetra is doomed to lip sync, but gets to pick her opponent and as a result spare one queen from elimination.

What RuPaul calls the fickle finger of fate feels more like the heavy-handed manipulation of production. This twist feels so clunky because Anetra was just involved in a three-way lip sync, so why not have another one. Furthermore, as Anerta must make this Sophie’s Choice between Spice and Jax she looks directly into the camera during her confessional and asks if it would be “fair” for her to lip sync against Spice. In terms of skill, the answer is clearly no. A lip sync between Anetra and Spice would be the equivalent of threat Simpson’s gif (“Stop! He’s already dead!”) or perhaps play out like the Trinity the Tuck vs. Charlie Hides lip sync of season 9. On the other hand, yes, it would be fair for Anetra to eliminate Spice, who while a delightful person, is the weakest lip syncer and didn’t even know the lyrics to the song she selected in her previous lip sync.

Of course, an Anetra versus Spice lip sync would be anticlimactic for the episode, and Anetra decides to give a show by selecting Jax as a competitor. Jax, who has felt like this season’s punching bag, is a little hurt. She is surprised because she thinks she and Anetra are close. Of course, if they are or are not is difficult to tell with this season’s truncated edit that has left a lot of the queen’s relationships to one another on the cutting room floor. Again, a matchup between Anetra and Jax just makes for better television regardless of friendships.

The final lip sync is appropriately Cece Peniston’s “Finally.” While Anetra and Jax are both gifted lip syncers, they both face an undeniable challenge in the final lip sync: fatigue. Not only are they likely exhausted having performed twice, but they are also under the added pressure to deliver something new and fresh to the judges and audience. This is Anetra’s third-time lip syncing this episode, and if you consider the previous two episodes, Jax has lip synced five times in a row. After so many performances so close together, it is difficult to find new material to use. Jax gives a good performance, but it’s indistinguishable from the ones that came before. Anetra manages to earn laughs with a humorous and impactful approach to peekaboo with her face and freshening her signature duck walk by looking directly at the moving camera. These moments earn the attention of the judges. It is just unfortunate that despite Jax’s impressive moves, the judges are a little numb to them at this point. In a way, Jax simply got Jasmine Kennedie-d, who also had multiple lip-syncs-for-her-life against her going into a LaLaPaRUza.

Stray observations

• For all the “why did you pick me?” moments, it’s like, of course a queen picked you because she thought she could beat you at a lip sync. No one is going to start with Sasha Colby.
• Where is TS Masdison? It would have been great to have RuPaul and Michelle judge with TS, Carson, and Ross this week. Not that Michelle or Ross did any judging at all in the edit.
• Marcia mentioning the Nicole Kidman AMC Commercial is campy. See Flaming Classics parody here.
• The way Luxx’s wink was complemented by the sound effect in the edit was beautiful.
• You can see Sasha itching to perform to Celine Dion in the background.
• Do we think that Lux and Salina performed to the full 7:36 song of Celine Dion?