Somehow, a year has already passed since the last time RuPaul's Drag Race graced us with a fresh bunch of queens, so I'm back here again to give my pre-season thoughts on this new cast for Season 10! Last season, I predicted the boot order and listed the queens in the order I thought they would be eliminated, but I'm shaking things up this time around. For this list, I'm going to be listing them in alphabetical order, discussing my general thoughts and opinions on each. For each queen, I'm going to list whether I think they're an early boot, middle of the pack, or going deep. In some instances, I'll modify these slightly (aka an "early-middle boot" but I'll explain my reasoning each time). At the end, I'll conclude by listing both my favorite and my winner pick. Because I think they're going to slightly differ. I'll also do a quick lil list predicting the boot order bc why not? and I'll also rank them from least favorite to favorite. IDK, I guess I just want to have more things to be wrong about.
Also, a general note: if there are spoilers out about the season, I'm unaware of them. I glanced around reddit for about 5 seconds before deciding that I wanted to go into the season without being spoiled. So if the entire season has been spoiled a la All Stars 2, I have no idea. I'm going based off the Facebook live, the meet the queens videos, and any other random videos I've watched while putting this together.
Without any further ado, ON TO THE QUEENS!
Aquaria
Two past Drag Race queens immediately came to mind as I began watching more of Aquaria's meet the queens content, as I'm sure they did for you-- Violet and Aja. For me, Aquaria is the personality of Violet mashed up with the fashion sense and Insta following of Aja (on her first season). Personally, I'd be begging for the exact opposite-- a queen with Violet's fashion sense and Aja's personality. But that's just me, and now I'm off track. Anyway, Aquaria has a large following on social media, and I find her to be one of the two queens who is the most prevalent in the promos (probably due to said following). However, unlike that second queen (we'll get there), I don't think Aquaria will live up to the hype. I think we're looking at an Aja S9 trajectory at best. Upon just seeing her looks, I was impressed, but when I watched the videos, I was super underwhelmed. Aquaria just seemed very unimpressive, and to me came off as a look queen that will last for a while... but not too long.
Prediction: Early-middle boot
Asia O'Hara
Whatever Drag Race employee made Asia wear that wig needs to be reprimanded immediately, because I know she did not choose that for herself. Anyway, Asia was the exact opposite of Aquaria for me. On first glance, I was not impressed. That hair is horrible, and the bodysuit didn't do much for me. But then, I watched her videos and I changed my tune real quickly. Asia has really impressed me. I'm not usually a huge pageant girl fan, but Asia seems to be able to do it all. She makes pretty much all of her outfits, which gives her major props in my book. She also came off as very well-spoken and she definitely is one of the more mature queens who knows who she is. Typically, when queens describe themselves as chameleons, I roll my eyes. But I believe Asia when she says it. I'm all-in on Asia, and I'm really excited to see what this pageant girl can bring to the show.
Prediction: Going Deep
Blair St. Clair
I went back and forth several times on Blair. At first, I wasn't a fan. The 50s/60s housewife aesthetic isn't my thing. But then, when listening to her, I found her endearing and was excited about a Broadway ingenue. But, once again, I did a 180 and have found myself a bit skeptical as to her ability to do well on the show. I like her. In the videos I saw, especially her confessionals, she was adorable. But I just don't think that she has the chops to make it far. I could easily see her skating by the first couple challenges being safe and/or because she can perform, and then promptly getting axed in the 4th or 5th week. A bit of me hopes that she ends up proving me wrong, but I would be surprised if she made it past episode 5.
Prediction: Early-middle boot
Dusty Ray Bottoms
I'm throwing any potential sense of objectivity to the wind with this prediction. I have no freakin' clue how well I think Dusty will do, but I want her to make it all the way to the finale and win because a punk girl who's also very Broadway?!?! SIGN ME UP. I've fallen head over heels for Dusty and I cannot wait to see her on this season. Ever since S8, my pre-season favorite has won, so... watch out for my girl Dusty (I probably just Jinkxed myself. Yikes).I love her makeup and those splotches on her face, and I love her witchy aesthetic, and she seems like a lot of fun and just... ugh I love her. She's speaking right to my soul with punk, witchy, and Broadway. Gimme gimme gimme. She also said that she sews, so she definitely gets points there. Also, this look in the picture was made by Mondo Guerra, AKA one of my favorite people to ever be on Project Runway (the two of them seem to be friends, bc he's shouted her out more than once on his Insta). Also, Sasha said she was a big fan. I'm 100% sold on Dusty. I was listening to a cast assessment on my favorite Drag Race podcast (RHAP) and they didn't seem to like her, but I juuuuust don't get it. I love her. I'm all in.
Prediction: Going Deep
Eureka O'Hara
If you saw last year's predictions (you definitely didn't, but that's alright), I predicted a 5th place finish from Eureka. While she went out much earlier than that due to her injury, I think that she was on a trajectory to absolutely kill a large chunk of the season, and I think she definitely could've made it all the way to 5th. And I feel kinda the same way about her this season! I quickly fell in love with Eureka last season, and I'm so excited to see her on the new season. My one hope is that she doesn't do hair loaves all season long. Hopefully, she switches things up and tries different things. She's said that she thinks she's found herself and her true drag aesthetic in the year between seasons filming, so I'm hoping that means that she has improved beyond where she was in season 9. Either way, I think we'll be seeing quite a bit of Eureka this season.
Prediction: Going Deep
Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams
Do you want to know what my biggest drag name pet peeve is? Naming yourself after a celebrity or brand (I'm looking at you, Mariah Balenciaga). Honestly, the second I heard Kalorie's name, I knew that this was not my queen. Look, I don't want to sit here and bash her, but I really found myself getting sleepy while watching her videos. I didn't think she was very interesting or compelling, and I found myself getting pretty bored. To her credit, I love that she embraces everything that "a big girl shouldn't be," and she does know how to sew. I feel like the entire fandom is pretty underwhelmed by her so far and thinks she'll be out early, but it's always possible that she'll be solid enough to make it to the middle of the pack. Because at the end of the day, a boring personality doesn't always show through when walking on a runway or performing. That said, I definitely think that there's no way she wins, and more likely than not, she's not going to be around too long.
Prediction: Early boot. (First boot potential)
Kameron Michaels
Kameron is one who's really interesting to me. I immediately loved her vibe. In all of her videos and interviews, she came off as very chill and easygoing, and that's always something I enjoy. She has a really unique perspective that I've never seen on the show before-- she's super buff. Like... that's kinda her thing-- she has muscles and she embraces it. From what she said, it sounds like people criticize her for it, but I'm intrigued to see how the other S10 queens react. One of the words she threw out about her aesthetic was grunge, and that immediately piqued my interest, because I'm a big fan of grunge. All that said, I have a sinking suspicion that she's not going to kill it. I see her going out somewhere in the middle, probably right after those early-middle boots. IDK why I get that vibe, but that's just where I think I see her falling. Maybe it's because she comes off largely as a "look" queen above anything else, even if it is a different take on it that we haven't seen before on the show. I would be thrilled if she got further, because I really like her personality and aesthetic, but I'm not confident about that possibility.
Prediction: Middle of the pack
Mayhem Miller
This is one of those moments where my bias kicks in and I have to try really hard not to let it overpower everything else. From what I've seen of Mayhem, gurl is just not my type of queen. Everything I've seen so far from her screams old-school dancing pageant queen who lip syncs the house down. It's a casting type that I personally get sick of. I'm very strongly biased toward quirky, weird, artsy, and comedy queens, and pageant queens tend to bore me. Also, I know this is a comparison that has already been said many times and criticized many times, but the girl looks like Kennedy from certain angles. I'm not saying she's a Kennedy reboot, but it's hard to not see that immediate connection. Anyway, back on track, Mayhem does seem like a lot of fun. Her personality seems very upbeat and positive, and I do find myself enjoying what I've seen of her personality. Mayhem seems to be very well known by the other queens, and it seems like a lot of people are impressed by her, so despite my own biases, I can see her doing pretty well. I'm hesitant to say that she's going deep, but I could certainly see her still being around when the group is narrowed down to 7.
Prediction: Late-middle of the pack (6th/7th place)
Miz Cracker
I was extremely hesitant about Miz Cracker. Miz Cracker is the second queen I feel has been the most prominent in the promos. And when a queen is super prominent, I immediately get worried about how well they'll do. Plus, she knows a ton of NYC queens and is the drag daughter of one Bob the Drag Queen. I feel like she's coming in with all these accolades already, and that almost feels like a setup for a quick and surprising elimination. But, as I mentioned earlier, I think that of the two most prominent queens, Aquaria is the one who's more likely to get that story arc. Despite the fact that I went into Cracker's meet the queens videos knowing about her accolades and being worried that would somehow lead to an ironic twist of fate where she's out early, I found myself being charmed by her. Miz Cracker. is. smart. She's knowledgeable. Several queens mentioned being old school and new school, but Cracker made very specific references that I really appreciated. Also, in her interview with Sasha, she referenced the Feminine Mystique. I mean. Knowing all of her connections, I had high expectations of her, and I think that pre-season, she's meeting it. Like I said, I was very hesitant to love her, but I just really couldn't help but appreciate her. I can't wait to see what she brings.
Prediction: Going deep
Monet X Change
This is another queen where I've essentially thrown objectivity to the wind. I love Monet X Change. I love her personality, she's well-spoken, she's really funny, and not only is she friends with Bob the Drag Queen, but could also pass as his twin out of drag. Just throw a pair of Harry Potter glasses onto Bob and you might not be able to tell the difference. They have the same New York accent, seemingly similar senses of humor, and they're both bald. Bob comparisons aside, though, I just found myself really loving Monet. Apart from being funny, she doesn't really fall into typical "types" that I immediately gravitate toward, but I found myself gravitating toward her nonetheless. I'm not totally sure of the general fandom opinion on her, but the people on the RHAP Drag Race podcast really liked her, so that makes me feel like I'm not alone there. Hopefully, my lack of objectivity with Monet doesn't come back to bite me, but in general, I feel really optimistic about her potential on this season. (Also she's an operatically trained vocalist and I AM GAGGING. SOLD. I LOVE HER)
Prediction: Going deep
Monique Heart
If you've been reading this post thinking "wow, she seems to think everyone is going to do well," prepare yourself. Because this post is about to go real downhill. Real fast. Starting here, with Monique Heart. I did not get good vibes from her at all. Not in the "she's going to be the villain" way, but in the "I think she's going to annoy me" way and the "I don't think she's going to last very long" way. I just reeeeeally don't have high hopes for Monique. Maybe she'll prove me wrong, but she screams early boot to me. I just really can't see a scenario where we've made it to the midpoint of the season and Monique is still around. She seems messy and she seems loud, so hopefully we get some laughs along the way, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she was a first boot. Also, maybe I'm reading into the edit a bit too much, but when I watched the first 15 minutes of the first episode, her entrance received that "shade" music that often accompanies someone doing something poorly and foreshadows their demise. The last person that happened to was Jaymes Mansfield, and we all know how that ended.
Prediction: Early boot (first boot potential)
Vanessa Mateo
And here we have another instance in which I'm unable to be objective, but like... in the opposite way. Vanessa grated on my last nerve in everything I saw her in. This is another "type" of queen who just isn't my thing, but while I'm able to recognize that Mayhem has some strong potential, I can't see the same in Vanessa. Vanessa, to me, falls squarely in line with queens like Gia Gunn & Kimora Black before her. She gives great looks, gets shaded for asking dumb questions, and is promptly eliminated in the first few episodes. And, for good measure, she probably lands in the bottom 2 on the first challenge, wins the lip sync, and then gets eliminated episode 2. We've seen so many queens follow that same trajectory at the beginning of the season, and I think that's where Vanessa is going to fall this season. I really can't see a situation for her where she gets any further than episode 5, and that's being generous.
Prediction: Early boot
The Vixen
I want so badly to believe in The Vixen, but I just don't. First of all, based on the pictures alone when they were first released, The Vixen was the one I kept forgetting existed. To me, she didn't stand out in the promo shots whatsoever. Then, when the video content started being released, I continued to be underwhelmed. I liked the look that she wore when talking to Sasha, but that was the extent of the impression she left. But then, I watched her upon her entrance in the beginning of the season premiere. She talked about protesting and making a statement with her drag and how artsy her drag is, and I wanted so badly to love her. And I might find myself really loving watching her. But after everything else I've seen, I don't have confidence that she'll make much of an impact on the season. Also, the show threw the shade music at her when she entered the workroom. Not a good sign. I've got her making it to about episode 5, but that might be me being a bit too optimistic.
Prediction: Early-middle boot
Yuhua Hamasaki
I feel like a broken record, but Yuhua was another queen that I wanted really badly to fall in love with, but I've gone back and forth on her so many times. Her interview with Sasha was so. freaking. awkward. She was completely tone-deaf. AKA, she didn't realize that her sense of humor was NOT coming off well. She kept trying to be funny, but it fell flat. There are a couple queens in this cast where I worry that they could say something that would potentially be off-putting and offensive, and Yuhua is right at the top of that list (the other queen is Cracker, BTW). She doesn't seem to have a great filter, and while that isn't necessarily something that impedes you from winning Drag Race, it is something that can turn RuPaul against you if you try to be funny and offend her instead. Some people said she seems like Gia Gunn mixed with Bianca Del Rio, and while the Gia comparison is lost on me apart from them both being Asian (please tell me that's not the reason for the comparison??), I can definitely see the Bianca comparison. Hopefully, Yuhua doesn't offend anyone, and hopefully she's actually funny, because she seems to be friendly with the other New York queens in the premiere, and I want to like her and want her to do well. Keeping my fingers crossed with this one, thus concluding the cast list!
Prediction: Middle of the pack
Winner Picks & Rankings
Winner Prediction: Asia O'Hara
(AKA the person I think has the best shot at winning)
Asia just seems to be incredibly well-rounded and good at everything. I'm not sure if I can peg one thing that I think she's going to be best at, but never underestimate the power of being versatile and being able to be decently good at everything, even if you aren't amazing in one certain field. Our S9 winner, Sasha Velour, didn't necessarily have one type of challenge that seemed tailor-made for her, but she was able to do well at all of them, even if she didn't win a ton of challenges. That said, I can see Asia absolutely killing this season, and I can't wait to see it happen.
Predicted boot order
(AKA the order I think they'll get eliminated in)
(I moved this around about an hour after initially posting, so if you remember seeing something different, that's why. I started feeling less and less confident in Kalorie, so I moved her down to the bottom)
14. Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams
13. Monique Heart
12. Vanessa Mateo
11. Blair St. Clair
10. The Vixen
9. Aquaria
8. Kameron Michaels
7. Yuhua Hamasaki
6. Mayhem Miller
5. Eureka O'Hara
4. Miz Cracker
3. Dusty Ray Bottoms
2. Monet X Change
1. Asia O'Hara
Personal Winner: Dusty Ray Bottoms
(AKA the queen I would most like to see win)
To be fair, my heart is currently being torn in 4 directions right now, because while my thoughts are a little scattered on the cast overall, my top 4 are veeeeery definitive and are the same across my predicted boot order and my favorite queens. So there are 3 other queens begging me to pick them here, but Dusty's pulling at me just slightly harder. She hits so many of the bullet points of things I immediately gravitate toward in a queen, and that has just immediately completely endeared her to me. Plus, at this point, given how down my podcast was on her, I want to see her prove them wrong. I just hope she goes out there and kills it, because I have high hopes for her.
Favorite Ranking
(AKA least fave to most fave. Or, I guess, my ideal boot order.)
14. Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams
13. Monique Heart
12. Vanessa Mateo
11. Aquaria
10. Mayhem Miller
9. Blair St. Clair
8. The Vixen
7. Kameron Michaels
6. Yuhua Hamasaki
5. Eureka O'Hara
4. Asia O'Hara
3. Miz Cracker
2. Monet X Change
1. Dusty Ray Bottoms
So, that's it for my Pre-Season Drag Race Season 10 Predictions! For some reason, I'm feeling overly-confident with my predictions, so feel free to laugh at me if Dusty or Asia get eliminated tonight on the season premiere. I'm super, super excited to see these queens in action & I can't believe we've already made it to another new season of Drag Race!! Hopefully these predictions pan out well, but if not, oh well-- I'm excited either way.
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