This week on RuPaul's Drag Race, the remaining contestants are challenged to record an infomercial for RuPaul's album of greatest hits. They have to write it, costume it, stage it, and perform it in a small amount of time.
But first, RuPaul does a very nice thing for a fan. Piyah Martell was born with Caudal Regression Syndrome. It's a congenital disorder where part of the lower spine doesn't develop. In Piyah's case, she doesn't have developed legs at all. This has not stopped Piyah from pursuing her dreams to be an entertainer. RuPaul is nothing if not a kind-hearted and caring man. I mean, Drag Race exists to showcase the contestants and introduce a wider audience to the art of drag.
Piyah's online fans are called Butterflies. In honor of their special guest, the queens are challenged to create a unique headpiece out of rhinestones, glitter and butterflies for Piyah to wear in an upcoming video. The winning team is Phi Phi O'Hara, Kenya Michaels, and Jiggly Caliente.
Since Jiggly didn't actually get picked for a team, the prize goes to Phi Phi O'Hara and Kenya Michaels. They are the team leaders on the main challenge. The queens of season 4 have to sell RuPaul's most recent albums. Each queen will be lip syncing to one song and writing a testimonial about how that song changed their life. The teams will also be working on scripts to introduce the infomercial, choreography, and the overall theme and look of the finished ad.
The overriding arc of the season seems to be set already. Phi Phi O'Hara really does not like Sharon Needles. She thinks Sharon is a one note queen who can only do horror. As such, when Sharon tries to add some creative ideas to Phi Phi's vision, she is shut down and told to put on some white powder and act spooky. Keep that in mind for later.
There are quite a few standouts in the challenge. From Team Kenya, Chad Michaels as the announcer of Team Kenya. She once again is super polished and entertaining in an acting challenge. Kenya Michaels goes completely over the top again with her lip sync concept to "Get Your Rebel On" and it works. Willam excels at finding a personal link to RuPaul's "Click Clack" and really pops in the finished ad.
From Team Phi Phi, Sharon Needles gives Vampirella-inspired dry wit and proves that she can lip sync with the best in the contest. Phi Phi O'Hara goes for chola realness and makes RuPaul and Michelle Visage lose their composure on set. Latrice Royale takes it to the church and sells her lip sync like the main stage attraction at a gospel music festival.
On the runway, the queens are told to dress in their best gold or platinum ensemble. Chad Michaels, Kenya Michaels, and Sharon Needles all wind up in the top for pulling it together in the commercial and on the runway. Madame LaQueer, Dita Ritz, and The Princess get dinged for either their commercial performance or runway look.
Ultimately, Sharon Needles wins for her spooky wit and severe runway ensemble while The Princess is sent home for not bringing enough personality to the runway or the challenges. That's two weeks in a row that excellent runway styling wasn't enough to save a contestant in the bottom 2.
All I want to know is when Willam is going to get her due. She's kind of gliding through the contest right now without being recognized on the main stage and it's confusing me. Her runway looks are always polished and I like the intentional androgyny. There's something refreshing about an un-padded queen exposing her chest but still coming across as a beautiful woman.
I can't complain too much. Sharon Needles shut down Phi Phi O'Hara again. If they would just team up and cooperate, they would practically guarantee each other a spot in the finals.
I can't complain about that, either. The fights this season are amazing. Watch UnTucked! to see everyone turn on everyone else this week. That doesn't include Latrice Royale. She just sits back and laughs at them all.
Thoughts? Love to hear them.