The remaining queens split into girl groups for an iconic challenge and show off their shadiest looks on the runway. Canadian musician (and current IN cover girl) Rêve is a guest judge…
Last week we saw Kitten Kaboodle rise above after a live television/improv/sales challenge. Three queens landed in the bottom but a new secret weapon now known as “the golden beaver” gave Kitten the chance to save a queen from lip syncing for her life. Kitten chose to give her beaver to The Girlfriend Experience, meaning Sisi Superstar and Luna Dubois lip synced for their lives. Unfortunately someone always has to go home first, and for this season it’s Montreal’s Sisi Superstar (read our interview with her here). This week the remaining queens will take on the iconic girl group challenge, with a few added twists and turns I’m sure. Let’s get into it!
This week’s episode begins with the queens entering the werk room and reading Sisi’s parting message on the mirror. She’s encouraged Denim to bring the crown home and Luna knows she has to bring her all to the next challenge to prove herself. Over on the couches the queens commend Luna on her lip sync and Kitten tells the other queens with the added power of the golden beaver it might mean alliances may be leaned on while making decisions on who gets saved. Girlfriend thanks Kitten for giving her another chance and vows she won’t be in the bottom again. It’s a new day in the werk room and the queens are ready to take on a new challenge. They gather around the table and congratulate Kitten on her big win on the last maxi challenge. Denim asks the others how they would use the golden beaver and while some of the queens want to play fair, others are all about strategy. Ru interrupts with a video message with a few riddles including the names of iconic girl groups. Traci enters the werk room and introduces this week’s mini challenge. The queens will have 20 minutes to get into press-junket quick drag and they’ll give one-on-one interviews about a movie they’ve just starred in. They won’t know the name of the movie until they sit down, making this another improv challenge.
Some of the queens really rise to the occasion with original characters to sell this film while others…miss the mark. Traci announces the winner of the mini challenge is Melinda Verga, proving she’s definitely one to watch in acting challenges. For this week’s maxi challenge they’ll split off into girl groups where they’ll do a headline performance at the Oh-She-Gaggin music festival. As the mini challenge winner Melinda will be a team captain. As the winner of last week’s lip sync, Luna will be the other captain. They alternate picking their groups until everyone is spoken for. Each group will get their own track and since Denim was the last to be picked, she’ll get to assign the songs. The queens will be mentored by pop superstar Rêve to record their tracks. They break off into their groups and start brainstorming performance concepts and group names, and writing lyrics. Girlfriend is feeling nervous about having to write lyrics but her teammates reassure her that they’ll help her if she gets stuck.
Luna’s team (The Lovebugs) is up first to record with Rêve. All of the queens take turns recording their verses with Rêve’s expert help and they’re all feeling confident. Team Melinda (The Vixens) are up next to record. Kiki Coe is having a little trouble getting the words to her verse down but Kitten brings her all to the mic. The Girlfriend Experience reveals her voice is a main trigger of dysphoria for her but her teammates and Rêve reassure her that not only is she a great lyricist, but she’s also a pretty good vocalist, too.
Team Luna makes their way back onto the main stage to choreograph their performance. Nearah and Aurora take the lead but some of the queens in their group are having a harder time picking the steps up. Melinda decides that she’s going to choreograph her team but some of her teammates don’t love her directing style. It’s elimination day and while they’re getting ready they talk about their decisions for picking their teams and talking about their partners back home. Denim discusses what it’s like being married to another trans person and how special that’s been for her journey.
Out on the main stage Brooke introduces this week’s judges Traci, Brad, and this week’s extra special guest Canadian recording artist Rêve (Read our November/December 2023 cover story with the queer singer-songwriter right here).
The Vixens are up first and they give their performance their all. Melinda’s choreography comes through but there are a few timing and spacing issues during the performance. The Lovebugs go second and they perform like a well-seasoned girl group. All of the verses and the choreography are on point.
On the runway the category is “sunglasses at night” and all of the queens strut in their shadiest looks. Brooke calls Aimee, Kiki, Denim, Girlfriend, Kitten and Aurora forward. They represent the tops and bottoms of the week, meaning the remaining queens are safe.
Critiques begin with Aurora Matrix. Brad loved her performance and called it “really fun”. Rêve tells her she was super impressed it was her first time and all of the judges love her runway look. Brad loved Denim’s somersault and Traci loved how much personal stuff Denim fit into her verse. Brooke commends her runway look for giving different facets of drag while still staying true to her personal aesthetic. Aimee is next and Brooke tells her she “woke up” during her verse and like the opulence of her runway look. The judges tell The Girlfriend Experience that her runway was their favourite of hers so far and Rêve once again compliments her songwriting but all of the judges agree that her performance could have been tighter. Brad tells Kitten her light was dimmed during the performance compared to how we’ve seen her on the main stage, which all of the judges agree with. However, they all love her runway outfit. Finally, the judges tell Kiki her look is a feast for the eyes but there wasn’t enough fire in her performance. Based on the judges critiques Brooke reveals that Aurora is the winner of this week’s maxi challenge and the recipient of the golden beaver. Aimee and Denim are both safe for the week meaning The Girlfriend Experience, Kitten, and Kiki are the bottom three queens of the week.
Backstage Melinda expresses how disappointed she is that her teammates are in the bottom. The tops and bottoms catch the others up on critiques and the bottom three plead their case to Aurora. Kiki and Kitten admit fault with their performance but say they still have a lot to give in the competition. The Girlfriend Experience gives another tearful explanation but will it be enough to save her this week? Back out on the main stage Aurora presents her golden beaver to Kiki Coe, saving her from the lip sync for the week. This leaves The Girlfriend Experience and Kitten Kaboodle to battle it out and lip sync for their life to Tongue by Rêve. Both queens give performances that prove they both want to be here. In the end Brooke and the judges decide to save Kitten Kaboodle, which unfortunately means that The Girlfriend Experience is officially the second queen to be eliminated from Canada’s Drag Race Season 4.
Next week on Canada’s Drag Race: The queens raid Brad’s closet for their first sewing challenge and tensions rise in the werk room after the runway.
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