Long time, no see!
It's been a while since I've posted on this blog, let alone done a Drag Race-specific post, but here I am again, because I'm itching to talk about the 13 queens we'll be seeing on season 13.
Admittedly, for quite a while after the announcement of the new season and cast, I paid the show absolutely ZERO mind, because I've got a bit of RPDR fatigue. I never finished the Canadian season (despite really enjoying it) and All-Stars 5, and I didn't go anywhere near that Las Vegas show they put out, or any of the recent international seasons. More and more, the show feels more rigged, overproduced, and stale. And because of that, the relentless barrage of new seasons no longer felt exciting and welcome, but rather... well... relentless lol. So, I fell off the bandwagon.
But, finally, thanks to wanting to listen to an RHAP podcast about the cast, I dove into the Meet the Queens videos, and am finally hype for the new season and cast. And, because RHAP made a list ranking how they thought the queens would do, I did pre-season predictions again. And what fun are predictions without sharing them?
This will be formatted like my previous post predicting the placement of the Season 10 cast. I'll discuss the cast in alphabetical order & share how far I think they'll make it (going deep, middle of the pack, early boot, etc.). Additionally, because I always have to be extra, I also made a list simply ranking the queens from my favorite to least favorite, which I'll share alongside my discussion of each queen.
I should also note that I'm well aware of the fact that there are spoilers out there. Usually, I'm all over the tea checker google doc, and I'm sure I'll find my way there before the end of the season. But, for now, I've got my blinders on!
Alright, enough rambling. Let's jump into the list so that I can make some more wildly inaccurate predictions, such as "I think I'm going to hate Monique Heart" and "Aquaria's an early-middle boot."
Denali
Personal fave ranking: #12/13
The meet the queens video I watched had them in alphabetical order, so Denali was the first queen I was introduced to, and she set the bar pretty high. She seems like a really polished queen and seasoned performer. However... she bored me. A lot of these queens either have a fantastic personality or an interesting, clear point of view, and Denali... didn't give me any of that. She feels like one of those so-polished-she's-boring queens. Think Brooke Lynn Hytes. Lights up on stage, but average otherwise. Denali also said she's concerned about Snatch Game, which fits right in with that idea. And if you're concerned about Snatch Game, I'm concerned with your ability to progress in this competition. Overall, she'll probably do really well, but won't be an audience fave.
My Prediction: Going Deep
Elliott with 2 Ts
Personal fave ranking: #10/13
I'm sorry if these first few discussions blend together, but that's how I felt about the first few queens while watching them. They all seemed polished, and I think they're going to do well, but they just did nothing for me. And although Elliott was more interesting to me than Denali, it wasn't by a lot. Being a trained dancer is always a plus, and like Denali, she also labeled herself as a performer. The RHAP team seemed to think she's going to be a villain, and I can see that now that they mentioned it, but it wasn't something I came out of her interview thinking. She seems a bit uppity, and a little introverted, so we'll see if that translates into a villain edit. Either way, I think her polish and performing ability is going to last her a long time, and if she's the villain, we might see her in that classic losing-finalist-villain spot.
My Prediction: Going Deep
Gottmik
Personal fave ranking: #11/13
Again, apologies, but these first few really ran together for me. Which is a bit odd since Gottmik is kinda on the opposite end of the spectrum from the other 2-- trying to prove they're not just a look queen, but can also perform. I'm always skeptical when a queen says "I'm not JUST a ______ queen," because often, they are truly just what they're perceived to be. Will that be the case for Mik? We'll have to wait and see. Their paint is great, and the fashion seems on point as well. In the end, they're in the middle for me, simply because I just don't know what to do with them. They seem polished, but if they can't perform? That won't go well.
My Prediction: Middle of the pack
Joey Jay
When I first saw the cast, my eye immediately went to Joey, because I'm utterly predictable. Give me androgyny or give me death! And when I watched Joey's interview? LOVE. She's a bit ditzy and gives me a hint of Adore Delano vibes, which I love. HOWEVER, my hopes for her... are much lower. I feel like this is going to be my Dusty Ray Bottoms/Max/Milk. *I* love her, but she's probably an early boot, because Michelle hates when people have one signature feature, especially if it's weird. Michelle's going to bring up the lack of a wig until Joey goes home for it. I can already hear it. Add to that the fact that in the E1 preview, she didn't exactly get a favorable edit, and I'm really worried about her chances.
My Prediction: Early boot
Kahmora hall
If Denali is boring, Kahmora is Nyquil. She's not a look queen, but she's also not a performance queen. She's a glamour queen. In the iconic words of Bianca Del Rio... What do you do successfully? We get basically 2 types of "seasoned," "legendary" queens on drag race-- 1- ones who make it to the end because they're multi-talented and good at everything, and 2- ones who fizzle out in a few weeks because they can't keep up with the competition. Given that I'm not sure how her drag translates into a competition like RPDR, I obviously think she'll be the latter. I'd love for her to prove me wrong, but so far I'm not impressed. While I don't think she's probably going to be the first boot, she's the queen I overall have the least faith in, and I feel fairly confident that she'll be gone by the 4th elimination, if not earlier.
My Prediction: Early boot
Kandy Muse
I have so many mixed thoughts on Kandy. Over the years, I feel like it's become pretty easy to peg the early boots/cannon fodder. I pegged Kalorie and Vanjie in my S10 post, and when last year's cast was released, Dahlia Sin stood out like a sore thumb. And maybe it's because they're from the same drag family, but I get that same vibe from Kandy. HOWEVER, my brain wants nothing to do with my gut reaction, and loved her in the interview & E1 preview, both as a competitor and as a person. She's funny and endearing, and although that definitely recalls Vanjie in my mind, Vanjie also made it to F5 in S11. I could see her being our endearing, rough-around-the-edges queen who makes it pretty far (ex: ChiChi, Adore, Heidi), but I can't completely ignore that immediate gut feeling that she could be cut early.
My Prediction: Middle of the pack
LaLa Ri
Why do I have the horrible feeling that all the people I love are going to completely tank?! I LOVED LaLa. She's so charismatic and warm, and I found myself smiling the entire time I watched her. But those red flags... GIRL. She's a baby queen, and unfortunately... you can tell. I felt like I could already hear Michelle's complaints in my head as I was watching the interview. I'm excited to see her perform, and I have a feeling I'll be seeing her lip sync sooner rather than later, unfortunately.
My Prediction: Early boot
Olivia Lux
Once again, a queen I loved. When she talked about getting her name from the Latin word for light, it completely made sense to me, because she completely lit up the room. She is the definition of charisma. However, when I was first ranking their potential placement, I put her near the bottom of the list, and I think that was me trying to combat my overwhelming love for her by being objective and taking that a few steps too far. Because she does have some potential negatives. She's a baby queen, even more than LaLa, which could definitely be a strike against her. But she doesn't feel like a baby queen. She could be a Valentina, for all we know! I know I'm going to love her, and I hope she turns it out and does well, but I'm erring on the side of caution for my prediction. Also... she plays the piano!!!
My Prediction: Late Middle of the Pack
Rosé
Going into the Meet the Queens videos, I already had a couple of faves based solely on their aesthetic. Then, Rosé came in and busted through everyone, and I was pleasantly surprised, because I'd had pretty much zero impression of her before watching the video. And then, as I was listening to the RHAP podcast? The first thing they said: she is SMART. Oh. So I remain predictable. My favorite RPDR queens ever are Bob & Sasha, two incredibly intelligent NYC queens. Which is what Rosé is. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Brita was my pre-season fave last year. I have a type. She's also the ONE queen where my love of her matches how well I think she'll do. When she talks about being multi-faceted, I believe her. She's so self-assured and confident that I have full confidence in her too. I talk a lot about vibes, but she just gives off that vibe of someone who's here for the long-haul.
My Prediction: Going Deep
Symone
Although I have her at 7th on my personal faves, my "favorites" of the cast encompass literally 7/13 of the queens, so yes, Symone is one of my faves! Every time she speaks, she reminds me of the late, great ChiChi, both thanks to the accent and just how warm and endearing she is. But like... ChiChi once she got that coin, because Symone's looks... WOW. THE HAIR in the interview is fantastic. RHAP had her as their #1 pick, and while I'm sold on her, I don't think I'm quite as sold as them. We see the fashion, we see the personality, but I didn't get a great sense of how she's going to do at performing. She could be amazing, but I simply don't know based on the interview.
My Prediction: Late Middle of the Pack
Tamisha Iman
Once again, this is a queen that I have varied opinions on. On a personal level, although I liked her, nothing about her particularly stood out to me. This type of old school pageant queen is rarely one I gravitate toward. As I mentioned with Kahmora, we tend to get 2 types of seasoned queens, and I think Tamisha will be the opposite of Kahmora-- a queen whose vast skillset takes her far. She talks about designing and making all of her outfits, and she seems really polished and confident. However, there are little hints in there that give me pause and make me think she could be the other type of seasoned queen and a potential early boot. It probably doesn't help that the first RPDR queen she reminds me of is Jasmine Masters. However, I'm mostly sticking with my gut here. I was going to say she was going deep, but I'm realizing that there are many queens whose abilities I trust more than Tamisha's, so although I can envision her at the end, I've ended up hedging my bets just a bit.
My Prediction: Late Middle of the Pack
Tina Burner
I wanted to like Tina so much more than I did. When I first saw her, my immediate RPDR queen connection was Nina West, who remains one of my absolute favorites. But for me, as I continued watching her video, I felt like she was more of the watered-down version of Nina West and other campy queens we've seen, and a bit ho-hum in comparison to the rest of the cast. She's campy and funny, but not as much as some past campy queens. And Ru already doesn't tend to favor campy queens, especially their fashion. She seems to have a fun personality, but not as fun as some others on the cast. Usually, this type of queen is one I'd easily pencil in for the end game, but in Tina Burner's case, everything about her just screams average and middle of the pack, so that's where I'm placing her.
My Prediction: Middle of the Pack
Utica Queen
While watching Utica's interview, my opinion fluctuated wildly. At times, I found her endearingly quirky. At others, kinda annoying. Her quirkiness definitely felt very put on at first, and I think the more I felt she was genuinely an oddball, the more I warmed to her. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I always love the weird queens. I'm like a moth to light-- I just can't stay away. Add to that the fact that I looooved this look from Utica, and I'm sold on her. She talked about performing very briefly, and about how bizarre her performances are, so that gives me hope that she's not going to be a look queen who flounders in performances. Weird queens have a huge variety in placement, but often either win/go deep or are eliminated somewhere around the middle because they're simply too weird for the judges' taste. I hope Utica will be the former, and from what I've seen so far, I think she will be.
My Prediction: Going Deep
So, those are my thoughts on the Season 13 cast! Usually, at this point, I'd make my winner pick and my pick for who I personally want to win, but I think I made it pretty clear that Rosé is both lol.
Looking at my predictions, I think this is the first time I hope I'm wrong, because my predicted "Going Deep" queens are looking rather milquetoast in comparison to the really fantastic queens of color that I'd prefer to watch all season. So, fingers crossed, I'm horribly incorrect!
