Happy Halloween — SHARON NEEDLES WINS RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 4!
Latrice Royale is our Miss Congeniality!
And, Willam Belli got kicked off RPDR for receiving conjugal visits from her partner…
Thanks for tuning in for RuPaul Season 4. Watch Highkixx for more drag queen fun!
xo,
Mandy
Hello, fellow Highkickers!
After taking a break from the competition last week the queens are back, but BOY did this “Finale” episode leave us wanting more! If you missed it, watch it here. Don’t forget to get John&Jon’s take — (Damiania Garcia also joins the boys this week). Check out the recap here.
As you likely know by now, the three final queens – Sharon Needles, Chad Michaels, and Phi Phi O’Hara – were shaking in their platforms on Monday as Ru announced, “America’s next Drag Superstar will be…(long pause)…announced next week.” What?! C’mon! That’s right — NO WINNER. We will have to wait until next week to find out who the winner is, who wins the Miss Congeniality Prize, and why the hell Willam was kicked off the show! Unbelievable!
According to Perez Hilton, Ru said of the event, “The race is so close that I couldn’t resist sharing the excitement of the final crowning moment with an audience of superfans. This is just the beginning of ‘Drag Race’ live events for future seasons!”
We shall have to see how that plays out! As far as this week goes, the episode revolves around the making of RuPaul’s new music video for “Glamazon”…
While there are no guest judges, Candis Cayne does stop by to offer choreography tips. As you may know, Candis has been on the show previously and a judge on Drag U. (For those of you who do not know Candis, I can offer an interesting factoid. According to her Wikipedia entry, “Cayne is the first transgender actor to play a recurring transgender character in prime time…as the transgender character Alexis Stone in season six of Nip/Tuck.”
We also get a visit from previous Drag Race winners, Raja and Tyra Sanchez, who swing by to practice Drag Race violence with the girls!
Watch the final product, the “Glamazon” video, here. The video stars not only the three remaining finalists, but also features this season’s guest judges, including Elvira, Pamela Anderson, Jennifer Tilly, and Rose McGowan. (You also get to see Santino get stomped on, which is a pleasure in and of itself!)
The ladies certainly work the runway this week. While Chad is a professional who never lets you down, Sharon is definitely the wittiest, and Phi Phi does have a bit of sparkle!
Thanks to Tom+Lorenzo for the fab pics and a great overview this week! Check out this fab tidbit from T+L, “Y’know, we were fully prepared to start this recap off with the word ‘Ugh,’ and then follow it with another 700 words on how disgusted we are by the win, but instead we’re ughing over something completely different.” Ha!
Until next week…
xo Mandy
Another fab week for the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race! If you missed the episode, watch it here!
John&Jon really sum it up this week – NAMASTE Latrice!
Also, check out the LOGO Tribute to Latrice here. Fabulous REALNESS.
The mini challenge this week has the ladies again reading the other girls, this time via puppets of their likeliness. It is entertaining and I am LOVING the Latrice puppet!
For the main challenge, the queens are tasked with putting together three separate looks for the Bitch Ball, sort of meant to resemble an old-school ballroom drag competition.
The categories are Daytime Dog Park Realness, Pooch Party Girl, and Canine Couture. The last look is inspired by actual dogs, which are assigned to the queens by mini-challenge winner Chad. Sharon gets the standard poodle; Chad takes the Chinese Crested; Latrice gets a Pomeranian; and what does Chad give Phi Phi? The bloodhound. That’s right, grrl!
This week’s guest judges are FAB – Wynonna Judd and Rose McGowan! 
Sharon wins with those goddamn great boots(!) while Chad and Latrice lipsync for their lives to my favorite of Wynonna’s hits…
Unfortunately, Latrice sashays, but can that queen make an exit!!! (Again, I refer you to John&Jon’s Latrice tribute this week!)
Thanks to Tom+Lorenzo for the photos and the FAB overview this week. I especially like their thoughts on the Final 3:
We would have loved to have seen [Latrice] in the Final 3, if not the winner of the whole season… But Ru and Co. expect a certain amount of polish and if you didn’t have it when you got here, you better pick it up along the way. Latrice never really did… We’re upset that she’s gone… We’re FAR MORE upset that a bland, nasty queen like Phi Phi is in the Final 3… Oh, Ru. Must you do this to us every year?
Thank you, boys. My thoughts EXACTLY. Chad, Sharon and Latrice get it. To make a life choice to be a drag queen is to absorb all the hate that’s been thrown at you and send back LOVE. Who knows how this will change with new generations, and maybe Phi Phi is emblematic of that change, but I’ll take love over hate any day. Thanks, ladies (not Phi Phi), for the positive message!
And now, a special HIGHKIXX tribute to Latrice Royale with a message from the lady herself to her Royale Court.
Here she is: Undeniably unbreakable!
Get up and look sickening and make them eat it. Eat it. Because this really is the beginning of the rest of your life. Get it. Get it. Get it. WISE WORDS!
Until next week,
xo Mandy
If you missed it, watch the episode on LOGO online. I usually throw a note in about Jon&John’s fab recaps. Apart from the love they show Latrice Royale, I did not love the treatment this week. You be the judge!
As for the episode – AMAZING! This week started out with a little civil disobedience from the Top 4 ladies – No Mo Hos! – in protest regarding the return of a previously eliminated queen.
Lucky for them, Ru brings back one of our faves – lil Kenya Michaels!
The mini challenge is Build a (Drag) Bear realness. All of the queens do a FAB job. Kenya wins with La Trannnnnssssbear – (the little pink pasties put this bear over the top…)
I LOVE Latrice’s bear, Portia The Pooh!
All of the bears will be auctioned off at this year’s gala, Bear to Make a Difference, via the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Get your tickets for the September event!
For the main challenge, the queens are asked to transform four DILFs (Dad’s I’d Like To Frock) into some sort of new acronym that explains “Expectant Drag Queen Moms I’d Like to Frock”….(we’ll sum that up with MILFs). They are also asked to make a clear family relation between themselves and their DILFs.
The queens get to work on the makeover and then find out they have to do a striptease as well!
Guest Judges this week are Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family and Jennifer Love Hewitt of vajazzling/Ghost Whisperer/etc. fame.
Phi Phi wins this challenge — (she did have the fishiest DILF)…
Kenya and Latrice must lipsync to “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin.
Let’s just pause here…Latrice BRINGS. THE. HOUSE. DOWN. I urge you to watch the entire episode, but here is a glimpse of the lipsync. SO much heart!
This drag queen sang to the baby she’s carrying! I was sobbing. Sobbing! (JLove was, too.) It was so touching. And very Murphy Brown, for those who remember that episode…(here’s a little reminder…)
In the end, Kenya goes home — we’ll miss you, lil fishstick!
Off to next week we go with the FINAL four queens. I have a list of the order in which I’d like the queens to go, (Phi Phi sashays next, then Chad, then Latrice, and Sharon wins). Agree?
Thanks to Tom + Lorenzo for the fab photos this week!
Until next week –
xo Mandy
This week, Ru gets political with Frock the Vote! As always, watch the episode online on LOGO if you missed it, and do not miss Jon&John recapping the Top 5 Moments of this week. John Polly also does a nice and quick overview for Huffington Post: Gay Voices.
AVClub, Crasstalk.com, and Rochester City Newspaper did great overviews this week…Here’s the Highkixx take!
This week’s episode starts out with a bit of a product-placement mini-challenge. The five remaining queens — Chad Michaels, Dida Ritz, Latrice Royale, Sharon Needles, and Phi Phi O’Hara — design stripper heels to match 5 Signature Absolut cocktails. Phi Phi wins with some seriously heinous heels. Tom+Lorenzo have fab photos of the winning (and losing) heels! As I am sure you will agree, Sharon’s heels are the best with a (random but fab) American Indian theme that Ru deems very “NAVA-HO” — HA!
The main challenge is a bit more serious – a mock debate for the first drag-queen President of the United States…from the Wig Party!
This is interesting since it taps into an active/or non-existent interest in politics on the part of the queens. While Chad eschews politics, Dida is terrified of politics. Meanwhile, Sharon argues that it’s important to stand up for your rights and to have a voice in the process.
At the debate, Chad (ever-professional) made it work with a pimp approach…
While Dida and Latrice fall pretty flat, Phi Phi goes a bit overboard with her Palin-esque Southern Belle candidate and ends up getting a little racist.
Meanwhile, Sharon holds it together and plays it straight and witty with a fab opening line, “America’s Government Needs a Sex Change.”
Overall, the debate is somewhat cringe-worthy, but definitely good TV!
Now for the runway, which is Inaugural Ball themed! The guest judge this week is Dan Savage, sex-advice columnist, and creator of the It Gets Better movement.
Chad absolutely wipes the floor with all of them – Ru deems Chad Gorge Bush Dan Savage says, Mamie Eisenhower! Feast your eyes on inaugural realness…
Latrice is fab, but misses the mark a bit. Michelle Visage tends to push Latrice on her wardrobe and this time takes serious issue with Latrice’s bra strap showing. As usual, Latrice takes it in stride…
Sharon wins — totally based on her wit. Sharon wears a see-through pantyhose number she argues symbolizes her “transparency”. Further, her rationale is that it’s going to be 100 years before a drag queen becomes president, so she’s dressed for an inauguration in the year 2112. This plays well with the judges for sure!
So Sharon wins her third round this season and Dida and Latrice lipsync.
Latrice is ON POINT and Dida goes home this week. Now, we’re down to four queens, except, SURPRISE, Ru announces we’ll be seeing one of the already eliminated queens coming back! Gasp! Who will it be?! We will find out next week.
Thanks to realitynation.com, Jezebel.com, Tumblr for the fab photos this week!
Tune in to LOGO for the next episode!
Xo Mandy
Hi all! Back for another week and OH MY is the blogosphere all a-buzz about last night’s episode. If you missed it, watch it here, and do not miss John&Jon’s recap! Also, check out this great NewNowNextTumblr. Fab!
The mini challenge this week is actually not a challenge so much as a lie detector test with a bit of a creepy/funny Ed Wood feel to it, (aka throroughly enjoyable!)
Ru asks some great questions…“If [another queen on the show] were the last ladyboy on earth, would you kai kai with her?”
According to Queerty:
Sharon would kai kai with Phi Phi.
Phi Phi would not kai kai with Sharon.
And everyone would kai kai with Latrice.
Agreed!
Based on the answers in the mini challenge, the queens are paired with their frenemy, (ALWAYS cast for conflict, folks…)! The partners are Phi Phi and Sharon, Latrice and Willam, and Dida and Chad. The main challenge is then unveiled: put together a stage act (including real singing!) to “Better Than You,” (a drag version of “Anything You Can Do”).
Guest judges this week are really fun — Pamela Anderson and Jennifer Tilly!
After the performances….
Willam and Latrice, (who did a polished job), emerge as the top team…
…while Sharon and Phi Phi, (who are lucky to hold it together at all considering their past on the show), are in the bottom and forced to lip sync against each other to “It’s Raining Men (The Sequel)” performed by Martha Wash and RuPaul.
Oddly, just before the lip sync, Willam notably steps toward the side of the stage in the background and ralphs over the edge. WHAT is going on?
Back to the show….I am a little bummed out at Sharon’s lip sync while Phi Phi is throwing himself around giving it effort, but not really talent, and losing his wig in the process.
We’re awaiting the Ru Paul’s judgement on Sharon and Phi Phi, when, in a surprise RPDR TWIST, Ru Paul calls Willam to stage front and says the following: “You have broken the rules. Rules that are in place to protect the fairness of this competition… Willam, I have to ask you to leave the competition immediately. Sashay away.” HUH?
One assumed there might be some explanation offered either during the show, on Untucked, or online afterwards. No such luck!
The show did release a statement via the NewNowNext Blog, “During the filming of the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, it was brought to the producers attention that Willam had not complied with the rules as set forth in his competition contract. As a result, and in fairness to the other contestants, Willam was forced to leave the show. This issue will be addressed in the upcoming reunion special.”
I like Genevieve Koski’s view on this via AVClub, “…[G]iven Drag Race’s propensity for appropriating and blowing up reality-show tropes, there’s also the distinct possibility that Willam—who was a semi-successful actor before joining the program—and the producers conspired to create a false controversy that would bring both the show and Belli a little extra attention…Whatever wig she’s wearing, though, it’s clear Willam’s real gift is for self-promotion.”
However you feel about Willam, he did bring C-U-N-T to the show. Do you already miss him? To feed your habit, here’s a recent video from Willam — “Chow Down (At Chick-Fil-A)” — an ode to the hate mongering/delicious chicken-shack.
Enjoy!
Somehow it’s so fitting that Willam Belli was both the winner and the loser this week. Thanks to Tom + Lorenzo for the fab photos. We’ll see you next time when the ladies get political with Frock the Vote!
xo Mandy
Back for another week, I see! As always for more help catching up on last week’s episode, see John Polly with Huffpost GayVoices and don’t forget to watch Jon & John!
If you missed it, watch this week’s full episode online with Logo! And, thanks to Queerty and allvoices.com for fab overviews this week!
As wen enter episode 7, the mini challenge is the “reading” of the other queens. Miss Pandora Boxx does a great overview of her favorite “reads”, which she refers to as “bitch pudding” — Ha!
Here are a couple of the best reads of the evening…
Dida to Latrice – “You’re free now. You don’t have to rock the yard sandals anymore.”
Sharon to Dida – “Dida Ritz, a lot of you girls like to clock me for painting my skin on the gray side but I was inspired by your knees. They’re the same color as Willam’s chin.”
Finally, RuPaul gives Latrice Royale the win with her continued and fabulous command of acronyms — Latrice to Jiggly, “BMW: Body (snap) Made (snap) Wrong.”
For the main challenge, the queens launch their own Ru-style magazine according to various themes. The queens have to design the magazine, articles, and cover as Editor’s in Chief.
As the mini challenge winner, Latrice doles out the “dragazine” titles… Battle of the Bulge aka fitness for Jiggly Caliente; Tastes Like Chicken aka food for Dida Ritz; Sugar Walls aka home décor for Willam; Kitty Cats aka cat lovers for Sharon Needles; Sashay Away aka travel for Phi Phi O’Hara; Eleganza aka fashion for Chad Michaels; and What’s the T aka celebrity gossip for Latrice Royale.
The queens meet with hottie Jonathan Clay Harris for a magazine photo shoot to go on the cover of their “dragazines”.
A notable cover shot is Sharon Needles (keeping us on our toes, as usual!)
Mentioned across the blogosphere was the Sharon Needles homage to “Little Edie” in Grey Gardens for her dragazine look.
Brightest Young Things picked it up, as did AVClub and, a newcomer to Highkixx, Chad Sell on chadsellcomics.com. Actually, Chad also does great illustrations. I thought I’d share a few from this week.
First, “Little Sharon” ….
Chad Micheal’s edgy rock look….
and Willam’s pink lip sync look!
As for judges this week, the returning judges Michelle Visage and Santino Rice sit with actress Regina King, and singer Pam Tillis.
After the runway, Sharon, Dida, Latrice, and Chad are safe. Jiggly finds herself in the bottom two for the third time. Willam joins Jiggly in the bottom and the pair lip syncs to “Mi Vida Loca” by guest judge Pam Tillis.
Phi Phi O’Hara wins the “dragazine” challenge with her “Sashay Away” travel magazine cover.
This is the first win for Phi Phi and, notably, she did do a great job on the runway this week…
As for the lip sync, Willam is always a strong contender. However, at first, it doesn’t look like he’s going to turn it out until his little coy panty-less move puts him over the top and completely outshines Jiggly in a second.
In the end, RuPaul tells Willam to “chantay you stay” and for Jiggly “sashay away”. Deuces!
Dragazine is fab, isn’t it!?! Check out deleted scenes from dragazine “Letters to the Editor” here! (Dida does a surprisingly good one!)
Until next week!
xo Mandy
Welcome welcome welcome! If you missed Episode 6, Float Your Boat, watch it here. As usual, do not miss 5 Moments on Drag Ya Later with Jon & John!
In this episode, the first challenge is Spring-Break at Dragtona! themed — a wet t-shirt contest with HUGE (creepy) porn star breast plates! The girls are given Glamazon t-shirts to style and then judged by a huge group of extras while water is poured on them. (Check out Mike McComb’s write up for in-depth coverage on TV’sLatest.)
Overall, this challenge is a little hard to watch, but interesting since there has been significant debate since the dawn of Drag Race amongst the judges about the use of breast plates. The Highkixx opinion? Ru wants to get BOOBS out of everyone’s system. Boy, this did it for me. I have made my decision on breast plates and I am SO OVER them. Regardless, the girls all take the assignment in stride, which was notable and impressive. (See Motorboatin’!)
Willam wins the mini challenge saying, ever so delicately: “I won. You know, it’s kind of a hobby of mine. Thank you God for all this bod.” (Check out Bust’s Magazine Blog for more Willam quotes from this episode.)
And now for the main challenge, which was a bit of a Pride jumble this week! First the queens get a quick review of the 1969 Stonewall Riots as a defining moment in the gay rights movement. Then the queen’s get the week’s assignment: design your own fashion forward boat-shaped floats to show off Pride with one of the eight colors from the original Pride flag: Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Turquoise, Indigo and Purple, with the overall theme being “Hope Floats”.
Judging the runway this week are Michelle Visage, Billy B, LA Pride Grand Marshal Kelly Osbourne and NCIS’ Pauley Perrette.
As for the runway, Jiggly keeps describing her float as, “Very Saint Tropez,” which may just mean, “Very orange” and Latrice really turns out the hair and makeup.
Milan describes her boat as the drag invasion of Fire Island. Michelle says Milan’s concept doesn’t show up at all in the final product. Billy goes farther, saying this boat showed off Milan’s pride instead of Pride. “I’m a little offended,” Billy says.
Willam rocks some couture and plasters his boat with little stickers, he presumable always packs around, of himself in a star and does do a great performance on the runway, even pointing out the amenities on his float: “WiFi, full service gym and a business center.” All the judges love the look and Billy adds, “You give very good masthead.”
Willam wins while Jiggly Caliente and Milan Lip Sync for their lives!
This week’s lip sync track is Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”. Both performers do a surprisingly ok job — jump splits and all. You can tell Milan is sick of lipsync(ing) for her life and is taking the queue. As it turns out…”London, Paris, Milan: the world is calling,” RuPaul says. “Now sashay away.”
(Note: We’re all amazed Jiggly is still in. Read on about Milan losing as well as a follow-up interview with Milan at PopWatch.)
As always, check out Pandora Boxx’s NewNowNext Recap and thanks to AfterElton for some fab photos!
Here’s a reminder of where we stand….
We’ll see you next week for a recap on the RuPaul’s Drag Race Episode 7…READING IS FUNDAMENTAL!
xo,
Mandy
Snatch Game last week! Yay! Additional great news: John Polly, of Jon&John is writing for HuffPost: Gay Voices and he does a great overview of last week’s episode!
As always, do not miss Jon&John’s Top 5 Moments and watch the episode online here!
So, let’s get into it! The mini challenge was a group of games called Beat The Cock. The games in the show: Cock-a-Doodle Ru, Pluck a Duck and Choke the Rooster included pinning rubber chickens on a poster of RuPaul, blowing feathers across the room without letting them touch the ground, throwing rings around fake roosters, and carrying raw eggs across the room between their legs. (Pandora Boxx does a great overview of the week’s episode — the queen has serious knowledge of old game shows!)
Anyway, Phi Phi won overall and got a phone call home, which she gave to Chad Michaels so that he could call his partner for their eighth anniversary. AVClub had a great overview of this moment: ”It’s a very sweet move from the show’s resident bitch, although it will be completely negated by her unbridled obnoxiousness throughout the rest of the episode.” Ha!
The highlight of that cute little call between Chad and his partner? “Chad: “I’m going to wear the giraffe bodysuit you made for me today.” Chad’s partner: “Fun!”
And now, let’s talk about the week’s main challenge — SNATCH GAME! Woo-hoo! This is always a fabulous train wreck – LOVE!
In Snatch Game, the girls each bring their impersonation to the show in which Ru hosts and two judges answer questions and see which queen comes closest to one of the judge’s answers.
As for the actual game, there was a range of characters….
There were some innocuous characters: Willam did a safe Jessica Simpson and Dida was solid as Wendy Williams. There were also some “Good God, stop” characters, which included the majority of the front row: Jiggly, (PLEASE get her off the show!), as Snooki; Phi Phi as Gaga, (who ignored Ru’s warning about doing Gaga); and Kenya Michaels, (who did a Paula Abdul-tinged impersonation of Beyonce…)
Finally, Sharon Needles TURNED IT OUT channeling Drag Race Judge Michelle Visage, while Chad Michaels took home the entire game with a SPOT-ON impersonation of multiple generations of Cher…
“I spread La Mer on my toast. I’m Cher, bitch!”
As an additional highlight, Latrice freaked out at the group the next day about the unprofessional “romper room” atmosphere in the front row during the game. He was really upset! As he said, “I was hotter than fish grease, girl!”
Guest judges were comedian Ross Mathews & original Dreamgirl Loretta Devine.
Chad was named winner in his gorgeous giraffe suit, Jiggly somehow made it another week, Willam was told he needed to be more vulnerable, and Milan and Kenya went up for elimination to Vogue with Kenya eventually losing.
As Ru said, “Kenya Micheals, impersonating Beyonce is not your destiny, child.”
Some notable moments? Sharon Needles’ plastic surgery runway look and her laugh exchange with Michelle Versage….
And, Willam’s runway outfit and his tears during judging. Sharon Needles called that bitch out real quick during Untucked quipping, “She ordered those tears from China.” Ha!
(Thanks to Queerty for the fab photos this week)
Until tomorrow’s episode!
xo Mandy
Hi all! Well, I totally agree with Tommy D over at Homorazzi.com This was a fab episode!
If you missed it, watch it here, IMMEDIATELY. If you’re a busy bitch, then watch Jon and John’s Top 5 Moments.
First of all, Phi Phi and Sharon were a’yellin’ in this one: “SHARON: Tired ass showgirl. PHI PHI: Go back to Party City where you belong. (Throws vase)” FAB! Crasstalk has the whole story for you, including notes of the after-spat during Untucked!
The mini challenge this week had the queens pairing up, getting handcuffed, and doing each other’s faces for mugshots. Willam and Madame LaQueer were the odd couple that won, setting them up each as team captains in the main challenge for the week….
Split among the two teams, the queens went to jail to shoot, Hot in Tuckahoe under the expert tutelage of Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick.
Though it’s not clear that writer Oliver Sava actually likes watching the show, I am loving me some bitchy AVClub analysis, and I quote: “Phi Phi is definitely this season’s most obnoxious queen, but Milan is getting close, trying to be a manipulative team member but lacking any sort of finesse.”
Some queens are not meant for sitcoms, (ahem, Madame Laqueer trying to get the “ew” right — no irony lost there….), but Latrice STOLE THE SHOW with, “Get those nuts away from my face!”, and was finally recognized for the win. Popwatch totally agrees — Go Latrice!
Guest judges were Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick and MadTV‘s Nicole Sullivan. (Thanks to the great photos from afterelton!)
As for the lip sync, Madame and Milan competed to TROUBLE by PINK. Milan went for it, but I think all agree that she didn’t turn it out. Her insane antics – (what is it called to drag yourself in strained splits across the entire runway dance floor?) – did get her the win over Madame LaQueer.
According to Pandora Boxx in her always fabulous NewNowNext RPDR Recap, “The two queens who end up in the bottom two are Milan and Madame LaQueer. What’s the smell in the air? It’s called Desperation and it’s the fragrance Milan is featuring. In what has got to be one of the oddest Lip Sync For Your Lives, Milan did just about everything but flash her balls to get attention. At one point she did a move I don’t even know how to describe so I’ll just go with Willam’s description, “She looked like she was Swiftering the floor with her taint.” Line. Of. The. Night. Whatever Milan was doing worked. She stayed. Madame left. And then there were nine.”
Looking forward to Snatch Game with the queens next week!
xo Mandy
High Kixx 
