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[Garrett Hawke]

Season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race is upon us, and set to be bigger than ever. The show has a new home on Friday nights on VH1 and a cavalcade of amazing guest judges like Kesha, Lisa Kudrow, Joan Smalls--and the premiere kicking off with one of the most highly-anticipated guests of all, one Lady Gaga.

Season 9 premieres tonight at 8pm EST on VH1! (x)

For the first time ever, RuPaul's Drag Race will also air the next day on Netflix UK!

21, Redlands, CA; Naomi Smalls is the youngest queen to appear on season nine, and she's obsessed with supermodel Naomi Campbell and rapper Biggie Smalls. So, of course, she combined the two to become ”high-fashion hood rat."

32, New York, NY; New York City's premiere Broadway queen, Alexis Michelle is known for her singing, acting, and hourglass figure. Alexis' love for the stage began early in life, when she saw the original production of Into The Woods. She sees drag as a natural extension of her desire to perform, and warns her competitors to watch their backs when it comes to the acting challenges.

52, Boston, MA; Charlie is the oldest contestant to compete in RuPaul's Drag Race herstory. An established performer who splits her time between the USA and the UK, Charlie describes her comedy as ”rude, crude and socially unacceptable." She routinely impersonates celebrities such as Cher, Madonna and Lady Gaga, and recently made an appearance in the Absolutely Fabulous movie.

22, Las Vegas, NV; This queen comes with her own tagline - Farrah Moan: One look and your mind is blown! Inspired by old school Vegas showgirls, it's no surprise Farrah Moan is all about rhinestones, feathers, and showing a lot of skin. Named after her seventies idol Farrah Fawcett, her gorgeous face has made this queen a hit on social media, where she has a significant following.

26, Milwaukee, WI; A campy queen from America's Dairyland, Jaymes is inspired by Pee Wee Herman, Elvira, and of course her namesake Jayne Mansfield. Jaymes likes to think of herself as the ”Swiss Army Knife" of drag - she's a singer, seamstress, actor, dancer... even a puppeteer. Can this quirky kook pull enough strings to become America's Next Drag Superstar?

27, Las Vegas, NV; Kimora Blac is the definition of bombshell. She is obsessed with strippers and cites Blac Chyna as ”my girl." Kimora likes to show off her body - particularly her famously enhanced butt. She's a gambling lady and is used to winning streaks in her hometown of Las Vegas, but will her brazen personality win over RuPaul and the judges?

34, Riverdale, GA; Nina's drag style is pure fantasy, completely unique, and difficult to pin down - one day she'll transform herself into a zombie, the next an alien. But Nina also loves to be sexy, and feature body-ody-ody - no couch is safe around her when it's time for her to pad. With such a strong aesthetic and sense of self, Nina's sure to ruffle some feathers in the competition.

25, Johnson City, TN; Asked to describe her own drag persona, Southern belle Eureka sums it up as ”over-the-top, loud... and big!" Despite competing in over 100 pageants, Eureka doesn't want to be characterized solely as a ”pageant girl," and she's come ready to show off her many considerable talents. But the pageant system has certainly given her one trait - a fierce competitive nature.

37, New York, NY; Sweet and sassy, Peppermint is the name on everybody's lips in New York, where she can be found hosting and performing any given night of the week. Warm, funny and personable, Peppermint is guaranteed to charm the judges. But will fame in the Big Apple translate to the global stage of America's Next Drag Superstar?

29, Brooklyn, NY; This quirky, bald, artistic queen describes herself as ”intellectual - a thinking queen." Named after a Russian feminist thinker, Sasha grew up in an unconventional household, where dinner table conversation with her professor father was feminism, gender performance, utopias and communism. Let's hope she doesn't over-think the competition.

27, Chicago, IL; Shea Couleé describes herself as ”a high-class supermodel that you don't wanna f*** with." She cites Naomi Campbell as her strongest inspiration, and went to school for costume design. But don't get it twisted: in Shea's own words, ”I'm not just a look queen. I'm not just a performance queen. I'm both - the total package."

31, Orlando, FL; A plastic surgery fan and fierce performer who commands the stage, Trinity showcases her own brand of glamour drag. She has won countless crowns on the pageant circuit, even beating fellow Drag Race girl Alyssa Edwards in one. Trinity is a former Miss Pulse - the Orlando nightclub which was the scene of the deadly mass shooting in June last year - and had performed at the nightclub the week before the attack.

25, Echo Park, CA; This Latina beauty hails from East Los Angeles, where she has only been doing drag for 10 months. But with a plethora of Latin influences - from telenovelas to the Miss Universe pageant - and an exceedingly polished look, this sassy young queen is a fiery addition to the race, and plans to scorch her competition.

Season 9 Official Site
Meet The Queens
Official Trailer

 

[Red Liquorice]

Great OT!

Love the Eureka shade!

 

[Leona Lewis]

 

[jorgeton]

Nice OT!

Sitting here in a gay bar slinging drinks waiting for the show to start. Friday night happy hour will never be the same again.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Great OT!

Love the Eureka shade!

Thank u 😘 There's another Easter egg 🌝

Whew!

Nice OT!

Sitting here in a gay bar slinging drinks waiting for the show to start. Friday night happy hour will never be the same again.

Lmao that sounds fun!

 

[Rayis]

Great OT!

Love the Eureka shade!

And the Aja one too lol

 

[Impeccable]

In.

 

[Red Liquorice]

And the Aja one too lol

Ha, just got it! lol

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

SO ready 💅

 

[Eggbok]

My first time watching a season as it airs, I'm so excited. Went through the entire series within the last 3 weeks for the first time.
Hoping for a moment like this, love hearing Ru die of laughter lol.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Joanne promo for tonight https://twitter.com/ladygaga/status/845407388861526017

It's really great of Ru to let a farmer from her ranch judge! It's nice exposure for a small country artist.

 

[Vazra]

Im in.

 

[Demain]

So happy that it seems this will be on Netflix UK the day after the USA airs it!

 

[Fuu]

So happy that it seems this will be on Netflix UK the day after the USA airs it!

I sooo wish this was the case here.

 

[royalan]

YAAAAAAASSSSSSS SO READY


#TeamValentina #TeamSheaCoulee

 

[InfiniteBento]

I'm so hype to go home and watch this after work.

Farrah Moan 💕

 

[Pepiope]

It started!

 

[xxracerxx]

Oh crap, it's back already? Need to tell the wife and a buddy of mine.

 

[Vazra]

It works

 

[Eggbok]

Gaga is gorgeous in that suit.

 

[Rayis]

I died at Ross Matthew's hot dog puns

 

[Vazra]

Farrah looks like Christina Aguilera

 

[Rayis]

I would have done this Paparazzi Gaga look for the runway

 

[Eggbok]

I would have done this Paparazzi Gaga look for the runway

I would have done this one, gotta bring back the lavender blonde!

Or of course, my avatar.

 

[royalan]

Ugh, flawless episode but WHY end on a cliffhanger that was spoiled months ago?

 

[jorgeton]

The real rupaul's drag race starts here.

Those demon's souls teas.

Lol

 

[Eggbok]

Just realized that this is the first ep where Ru doesn't wear drag at all lol.

 

[kirblar]

Ugh, flawless episode but WHY end on a cliffhanger that was spoiled months ago?

Cause it got spoiled on accident.

 

[disco]

I adore Nina Bonina, Shea Coulee and Valentina.

Aja and Jaymes need to try harder.

Eureka needs to stop being such a try hard.

Kimora is surprisingly terrible.

Farrah and Trinity are predictably awful.

Charlie and Peppermint are as boring as I thought they'd be.

Alexis, heh.

Spoiler

***SO HAPPY BONINA WON!

This is obviously Laila McQueen

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Lmao Ru's new album is out on Spotify and presumably iTunes

I'm two songs in and it sounds really... 😂

 

[Vazra]

Spoiler maybe?

 

[Leona Lewis]

Farrah looks like Christina Aguilera

lol

 

[Vazra]

lol

Not Myself Tonight Music Video to be exact.

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

I'm two songs in and it sounds really... 😂

Girl they always do. There'll be one to two songs that are decent and they get played on endless repeat during the show itself so you never wanna hear them again.

 

[Matt_]

episode was a slay. Nina did thaT
whos the new queen?

 

[TropicalFish]

Being a Jaymes stan was hard this episode... The gaga catwalk, I was fine on but the hometown one...

No.

Glad Nina's slaying though.

 

[Matt_]

Coming out on the runway essentially saying the guest judge and star looked busted was a major risk
he would have been sent home if someone was getting eliminated

 

[Garrett Hawke]

That episode structure was kinda disappointing tbh, we didn't even get to see Ru in drag!

Also valentina should've won 🌝

 

[Matt_]

Untucked

Gaga giving people notes
generous queen

 

[mantidor]

Ru isn't even in drag?

Preorder cancelled.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Ru isn't even in drag?

Preorder cancelled.

Yeah I was like what???

Was Mathu not available?

If I was gaga I would've been super disappointed to not get to see Ru in drag

 

[Rambaldi]

It was odd having Ru out of drag the whole episode. And I'm not particularly impressed with anyone so far but that's usually how it goes for me early on.

Here's hoping for a good season!

 

[Shizuka]

Yeah I was like what???

Was Mathu not available?

If I was gaga I would've been super disappointed to not get to see Ru in drag

Apparently going forward, Raven is doing her makeup and Delta is styling her wigs.

Also, the fourteenth queen is

Spoiler

Cynthia Lee Fontaine

, for those that didn't know it before.

 

[Gradon]

LOVE IT. Started strong I think, absolutely slayed the Gaga runway. Gaga is also so beautiful and amazing.

I'm loving a lot of queens this season, too many to list.
I'm unimpressed with Kimora, Shea, Farrah and Jaymes, though.

Spoiler

I'm sad that there wasn't a Lady Gaga lip sync though with her present.

 

[Redhood]

They usually shoot one episode over the course of few days. Gaga must have been available for one day considering she was in work room and on main stage ru didn't had the time. Hence no elimination also as queens wouldn't have time remember the songs also.

 

[Shizuka]

They usually shoot one episode over the course of few days. Gaga must have been available for one day considering she was in work room and on main stage ru didn't had the time. Hence no elimination also as queens wouldn't have time remember the songs also.

Queens get a list before getting into the competition with all the potential lipsync songs for the season.

 

[kirblar]

Queens get a list before getting into the competition with all the potential lipsync songs for the season.

They get told the song at the beginning of the elimination cycle, so they normally have time to refresh and practice.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

First things first....Thanks GOD this moved to VH1. I like Logo but that struggle definition was really irking me. So I'm so happy I can finally watch it in true HD 👏🏾

This was a cute episode. So far I don't have a favorite queen and I don't quite forsee anyone as a clear winner after this one, but I'm interested to see how this plays out. So far the queens that definitely do standout to me is Nina, Valentina, Alexis, Farrah, Sasha and Shea.

People I think will wow me as the competition heats up, if they are not out by then are Peppermint, Aja and Eureka. Everybody else I have no real opinion on...I did like Kimora but she's kind of basic to me now and Trinity, Charlie both bore me. Trinity looked good in her countess outfit though but she really gave me Miss Fame lite.

What really wowed me the most however was Gaga. I never thought she was a bitch to begin with so I didn't expect her to be over the top or anything but I really loved how down to earth she was, including how much she took this seriously. It's a shame she couldn't be a permanent judge because the critiques she gave were some of the best out of all all the celebrity guests who ever appeared on the show. I love that she had a note and pad taking notes of all the things, and how much of a gracious queen she was going to the back and giving them a 1:1. Really good job by Gaga.

Overall, good episode...can't wait for more. The 14th contestants is not who I was thinking but I think it's cute and I'm happy to see where this goes as well....seeing as she is a very polished queen imo.


Oops, also...it was very weird seeing ru out of drag the entire episode. I was worried maybe he was sick or had some other things going on which he couldn't go full drag for but it was definitely unusual and odd. I hope full Ru comes back the next episode.

 

[whiskeysailor]

I died at Ross Matthew's hot dog puns

Haha yes that was so good.

I enjoyed the episode! Gaga looked soo snatched, and she was great on the panel, I loved the excessive name dropping. Nina deserved the win, but Valentina should have def been top 3. Aja's Gaga look was a mess.

 

[royalan]

So...is Eureka going to be the queen this season who is unnecessarily bitchy (and not in the fun way) and who talks shit about everyone but somehow has a persecution complex?

I got PhiPhi teas all episode.