Cher-ing is caring…
Do you believe in life after drag? This week’s RuPaul’s Drag Race opened with The Vixen making the famous “I didn’t come to make friends” reality show competition speech we all know too well. Vix claims that she has no friends in the competition, so she wasn’t going to hold back any longer. Was I the only one a little scared that what we have seen so far form Vixen this season was “holding back”? During the post elimination couch session, Eureka gently confronted Vix about what she said on stage during last week’s episode. If there’s one thing we know for sure, The Vixen has a vengeance fire, and it is burning bright this week. Monét congratulated her fellow NYC sister Aquaria on her winning Snatch Game performance, followed by the fact that she thought she was going to win the challenge. Seems backhanded, but we’ll take the compliment.
Ru greeted the queens the next day in the werk room with a video message from All Stars season one winner Chad Michaels. This could only mean one thing. This week would be all about honoring an icon, and one of Ru’s favourite divas, Cher! This week’s mini challenge saw the queens on the receiving end of a bitch slap from Ru. Though all of the queens made statements worthy of a slap or two, one came out on top. Asia O’Hara won the mini challenge, and the only real (accidental) slap from Mother Ru herself. After the mini challenge Ru revealed that this week’s maxi challenge would be another musical. Unlike episode two’s Pharmarusical, this time the queens would actually be singing live. As in, using their real voices. Revolutionary. Cher: the Unauthorized Rusical, cast all the queens as different eras from Cher’s iconic career. The roles were cast as follows:
Kameron Micheals as 60s Cher
Monét X Change and The Vixen as 70s variety show Cher
Aquaria as disco Cher
Asia O’Hara as movie star Cher
Eureka as rockstar Cher
Miz Cracker as comeback Cher
As the girls learned their lyrics in the werk room while also donning various Cher wigs, one thing was clear. How were these girls going to sing live? It was clear some of the queens weren’t feeling the most confident in their singing abilities. As Ru did her walk around the werk room, she explained how important Cher is to her, which really put the emphasis on how crucial it was at this point in the competition to not screw it up. Monét explained her game plan of attacking her Cher performance with a Carol Burnett twist, and Aquaria thought she was hitting “about five notes” from her song perfectly. The Vixen told Ru that she doesn’t have any friends in this competition, and Ru told her the reason she fights so much, was actually within herself. Insightful.
After the queens attempted, and failed at impressions of Cher’s voice, it was time to rehearse their musical numbers. Oh, Todrick Hall is back to choreograph, and we still haven’t forgiven him for doing Thorgy so dirty with that Stevie Nicks gig from AS3. Where is Alyssa Edwards when we need her the most? As per usual, Todrick had the girls learning impossible prop heavy choreography with many of the remaining seven having a little dance experience. After what felt like a full hour of watching Miz Cracker forget to lift her auto-tune microphone up at the right time, I was beginning to think this Rusical might be more of a train wreck. The girls always pull it together for the final performance, and I was hoping Cher, the Rusical wouldn’t be the exception.
While the girls got ready for the live performance, Aquaria pulled her workstation closer to the other girls in an attempt to get to know the other queens better, which was a very Violet Chachki move. Though it was a different conversation that struck a chord with the audience this week. Being the caring maternal figure that she is, Asia pulled The Vixen aside to talk to her about her beef with Eureka. It was an insightful point of view we all needed to hear, including The Vixen, who seemed like she really took in what Asia said. Asia basically asked The Vixen if she was actually mad at Eureka, or if she was mad because Eureka represented some part of the drag community that The Vixen had a festering problem with. After a quick hug, it was time to hit the stage for Cher, the Unauthorized Rusical.
Opening the show as 60s Cher was Kameron Michaels, and to everybody’s surprise, absolutely nailed the performance. It was nice to see Kameron blossom from just flying below the radar week after week, and we’re excited to see what else she can do. Next up were Monét and The Vixen as 70s Cher. Monét also nailed her Cher look and performance, down to the hair flips. The Vixen however, was slightly less Cher, but she had the choreography down, which was admirable. Aquaria’s disco Cher was eye catching, but not the best performance we’ve seen from her this season. Though her semi-improv line about the costumes being cheap does win bonus points. Asia O’Hara’s movie star Cher was arguably the worst of the bunch. Not only did she sound nothing like Cher, but forgot a few of her lyrics during the performance. Eureka’s rock star Cher started out a little rocky, but she brought it together by the end of her number, and it made for a memorable moment. Lastly, Miz Cracker’s comeback Cher had some tricky microphone related choreography, but she pulled through and delivered a Cracker performance, it was enough to keep her safe.
This week’s runway category was Glitterific, and it delivered henny. Kameron, Aquaria, and Miz Cracker served this week’s strongest runway according to the judges, and this week’s guests actors Andrew Rannells, and Billy Eichner. The judges named Kameron Michaels the winner of this week’s maxi challenge, and we couldn’t be more proud of our quiet queen coming out of her shell, and claiming her prize. Lip-syncing for their lives this week were Asia O’Hara, and The Vixen for their weaker performances in the musical.
Asia and Vix lip synched to Deee-Lite’s “Groove is in the Heart.” Though both queens gave strong lip synch performances, ultimately The Vixen was sent packing just as we were starting to see another side of her. This seems to be a common theme this season. During her goodbye speech, The Vixen’s emotion poured out of her, and we know that this isn’t the last of we’ll be seeing of our dear Vixen. Never give up your fierceness Vix.
Takeaways from episode eight:
Rupaul should just permanently hire Alyssa Edwards to choreograph any future Rusicals. Okurr? *tongue pop*
Most relatable moment:
Kameron Michaels dramatically cutting blunt bangs into her Cher wig singing in the mirror is a place that we have all been once in our lives…okay, maybe five times.
What we’ll see next week:
An acting challenge based on the TV show Westworld, and Broad City gals Abbi Jacobson, and Ilana Glazer guest judge.
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Read our RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 recaps right here!
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