Untucked with Brian: RuPaul-a-looza

March 22, 2011• bySeattle Gay Scene

Oh, Manila, REALLY? That ribbon is suppose to be fashionable or a metaphor?

Girlyboys! We’re here, yet again with the same number of queens that we started and ended with last week: Alexis Mateo, Raja, Yara Sofia, Manila Luzon, Carmen Carrera and Shangela . Which means only one thing and that is NO ONE went home last week! But first, let’s talk about the fashion statement that Manila Luzon was making at the GLAAD awards this past week. Was it a metaphor that she may be the winner of this season or she just wanted to pull a fast one on all of us? We will soon find out if she is the winner of this drag race or just a comedic sensation in the drag world.

The girls start the race off tonight with a “Musical Chairs in High Heels” mini challenge adventure! Manila is the winner of this mini-challenge only because Raja could not remember the next set of lyrics to the song. So Manila gets to choose her style of music first (in preparation for the mainstage challenge) and then choose the order of queens that get to choose thier music. Shangela gets maniacal about the “shadiness” of Manila. DRAMA! Get over our own shade, Shangela! (Wow, no wonder she still hasn’t sent me back my interview questions! HAHA). Manila chooses disco, Raja chooses punk, Alexis picks rap, Yara grabs pop, Carmen mistakenly gets reggae, and that leaves Shangela with country. Type-casting? (Be warned, tonight I’m quite analytical about the show tonight. I’m one fiesty queer!)

Inside the recording studio Shangela is naïve and over-confident; Alexis appears to be nervous and terrified because there is a hot, gorgeous and attractive guy in the studio.

I can’t say on TV

Manila did a great job recording her version of the song and I’d say she did as well as Raja who was trying to be an “edgy gal”. Carmen was too full of herself, she’s was not prepared, not rehearsed, unprofessional and acts like a spoiled little girl. Yara is too cute who really does have a decent voice but could use some confidence to boost her talent to the forefront.

Yara Sofia, Latina Pop Princess

So the girls had to lip sync their song in front of the judges and a live audience. Manila brought disco alive again with her ‘Diana Ross meets Gloria gaynor’ character (I loved the yellow cape, gorgeous!) The judges felt her lip sync was not “on-point”. Raja is “punk rock, baby” with her ‘Cindi Lauper meets Iggy Pop’ character and her high energy grabbed everyone’s attention the second she stepped on the stage. Alexis brought a ‘Alicia Keys meets Whitney Houston’ persona to the stage with her rap version of the song, but her outfit was not satisfactory in my taste for this challenge. Yara was one HOT pop princess, wouldn’t you say? It was Britney Spears meets Victoria Beckam’. Shangela delivered some raunchy country (quite similar to last season’s Monique). The dress was not properly prepared and the shoes did not even match that costume and the earrings should have been burned at the birth. Carmen was a “Puerto Rica Jersey reggae love child” outfit and I still don’t understand her concept. Her lip sync was poor and what else can a queen do when she’s falling down? Pull an audience as a prop on the stage to save her ass! Not good, Carmen.

The girls retreat to the Interior Illusions Lounge to "Untuck"

Helping judge this week was Carmen Electra, Jody Watley and Jeffery Moran. In the end, Carmen and Shangela was left in the bottom two, leaving them to lip sync for their life! Shangela was spared for one more week and Carmen sashayed away (finally). Mark your calendars ladies and gentleman for May 26^th, 2011 for the season finale! Wait! That’s six weeks left and there are five queens left and if I do my math correctly, there may be a couple more tricks that RuPaul has holding up her sleeves. Alas – I’d like to announce that for the season finale I will be finally making my public appearance at Lobby Bar but in drag as my alter-ego, Lady Aphrodite. Lady Aprhodite is not a creature to either reckon with or mistake for the queen next to me. See you on the drag strip, y’all, and catch another episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race next Monday. I leave you with a quote taken from Carmen Carrera’s Facebook page left by Manila Luzon.