S12.E01: I'm That Bitch

[OnceSane]

Quote

Nicki Minaj guest judges the new cast of queens competing for $100,000 and the title of America's Next Drag Superstar. The first step toward the crown is having to write and perform an original rap number.

Airs February 28, 2020.

[Ladybugnine]

Why are there only seven contestants?!? There has to be some kind of twist, no? Help me!

[CraftyHazel]

So, my hair stylist does drag and has worked with a couple of these queens, so it was fun texting back and forth with him during the episode.  He also does some amazing drag hair and almost provided wigs for one of the queens.

 I’m glad no one was sent home, because honestly, everyone brought something amazing in one area or another.

[Aerobicidal]

I completely disagree with the lip sync winner, but I think Gigi is probably going to win the whole season, so it won't matter.

This was kind of entertaining. No one was horrible. So yay?

[SHD]

3 hours ago, Ladybugnine said:

Why are there only seven contestants?!? There has to be some kind of twist, no? Help me!

Didn’t Ru say at the start that they'd have two premieres?  So I’m guessing next week 7 more contestants will be showcased and then they’ll combine them?

[Machiabelly]

Yeah. Seven more next week.

I thought it was a good start, with no one I really wanted to go home yet.

I would have went the other way with the lip synch, but i am not angry about it.

[cpcathy]

I’m all in for Gigi and Jackie. Great episode this week. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was pretty underwhelmed by the looks in the spring/fall fashion show for the mini challenge so I was worried that Nicky, Gigi, and Jackie might be the only queens with interesting looks this season.

I liked some of Jackie's looks but her retro look might get a little repetitive. I liked her rap performance and I'm glad that she's representing the Persian/Iranian queens. Hearing her and Nicky talk about how it's still illegal to be gay in Iran and Morocco was a sobering reminder of how dangerous it is even today.

Britta knows how to work with her body type but based on the four looks we saw from her tonight, I think her looks are fine but not great. If I went to a performance and she wore any of those costumes, I'd think they looked fine but I wouldn't be wowed or remember them afterward.

Crystal is a weirdo and I love it! The Freddy Kreuger look was a hilarious choice for the fall fashion show. Yes, her runway look was just a red unitard but I'm all for a devil look.

Even when Gigi wears something that I don't personally love (like that pastel motorcycle look), it's still a complete look which I really appreciate. She is not going to give us week after week of floor length evening gowns. Her BDSM jockey look was an eye catching twist. Her outfit in the dance challenge was my least favorite (the animal print was basic) but I'm looking forward to seeing what else she brings. She also has a beautiful face!

I liked Heidi's fashion show look because it was simple in concept yet so dramatic in execution - and that was even before her wardrobe malfunction. She carried it off well so she deserves an A for that. I'm not sure how smart it was for her to show off so many of her dance moves in the first episode, but she definitely has a bag full of tricks if she ever has to LSFYL.

Nicky is gorgeous and all of her looks were amazing. Even if she couldn't do a damn thing, I would want her to stay on the show just for her runway looks.

I love that Widow is celebrating her body shape instead of trying to hide it. And I love that she has variety in her outfits (I feel like sometimes with the bigger queens, they find a costume look that works for them and then they use variations of the same thing). Her rap lyrics were great. I understood her frustration at being one of the choreographers and then having everyone else take over. At the same time, this wasn't a set in stone kind of thing so when other people started chiming in with suggestions I thought they had some good ideas.

[Kroliosis]

I loved all of them.  Lord please don’t bring the assholes/drama queens next Week. 

[rlc]

2 hours ago, Kroliosis said:

I loved all of them.  Lord please don’t bring the assholes/drama queens next Week. 

Watched with my 9 year old this morning (don’t judge me- it’s our hobby) and afterwards she said ‘they were all nice. You know next week is going to be all the shady girls’.

[gorgy]

After I had to stop watching after the second episode last year, it was a nice change of pace to be rooting for some queens again. 

[Kroliosis]

1 hour ago, rlc said:

Watched with my 9 year old this morning (don’t judge me- it’s our hobby) and afterwards she said ‘they were all nice. You know next week is going to be all the shady girls’.

I’m judging & I think that’s great!! 😁😜

Edited February 29, 2020 by Kroliosis

[JakeyJokes]

Brita was a last-minute fill-in host at Phi Phi O’Hara’s Drag out the Vote event last month and did great. She also seems to be getting the winner’s edit so far. Maybe I’m just comparing her too much to Bianca del Rio already (similar season structure, first queen in work room, comedy queen from NYC).

Nicki went above and beyond my expectations for a guest judge! I love that they used her to actually critique the rap verses. She had great insight and was genuinely enjoying herself.

[apollonia666]

3 hours ago, JakeyJokes said:

Nicki went above and beyond my expectations for a guest judge! I love that they used her to actually critique the rap verses. She had great insight and was genuinely enjoying herself.

I think she might be the best guest judge they've ever had! Really well thought out, insightful critiques -- plus her unabashed glee at just being there was completely disarming. Nicki is obviously a genuine fan of the show. I went back and re-watched her facial expressions as Ru announced the lip sync several times because she was just hilarious. I made a couple of Boomerangs of her because she was just so cute.

I had to agree with Nicki on Heidi's makeup. It looked like she'd put on her eyeliner with her thumbs.

[2727]

Nicki was awesome! I'm so unfamiliar with current music that I didn't even know she was a rapper, but I really enjoyed her input.

If editing is to be believed, Michelle did not share my  delight. Judges on competitive reality shows all need to get off their high horses just because someone disagrees with them. Gah. I'm also tired of Michelle and Ru never turning their necks.

Anybody know if Ross will be back this season?

[cpcathy]

Ross will be back next episode.

[zenithwit]

Unpopular opinion: I thought this first premiere episode was just okay. 

In general, I liked the idea of splitting the premiere into two episodes and having this first one be a non-elimination episode in favor of getting to know the queens better.  But I was hoping that the judges would then take advantage of this time to provide some more constructive criticism (so that the queens could really bring their A game when the eliminations actually started).

I know there was constructive criticism given to Heidi and Jackie for their makeup and Nicky for second guessing herself but overall, it felt like everyone was just sucking up to each other.  I thought Brita was a bit off in lip syncing the lyrics to her rap song and I don't recall the judges giving Crystal the feedback about her makeup directly.  Maybe they did and it was just edited out?

Edited March 1, 2020 by zenithwit

[ElectricBoogaloo]

4 hours ago, zenithwit said:

In general, I liked the idea of splitting the premiere into two episodes and having this first one be a non-elimination episode in favor of getting to know the queens better. 

I definitely liked that aspect. Usually during the first episode I'm so overwhelmed because we get sooooo many names and faces thrown at us and it ends up feeling like we're getting twice as many contestants as there actually are because we see them in talking heads and then we see them in drag. I felt like I had a good feel for all of the contestants by the end of the episode because there were only seven of them, so thanks to whoever decided to do this!

[belligerent]

I really wish that any time someone said Heidi's full name, she'd reply "it's pronounced "clah-zay."

[Blakeston]

i didn't care for Nicki Minaj's comments as much as others did. Brita's rap lyrics were awful, and I was irritated by the way Nicki lavished praise on them. Virtually any contestant is going to position herself as "cocky" in her rap lyrics - there's nothing special about that.

I also thought Crystal's lyrics (and body suit) were pretty basic. And if the judges were going to come down so hard on Heidi for her drag name, why not throw some shade at Crystal's? Her name is tacky and not at all clever, IMO.

I liked Widow, Gigi, Nicky, Jackie and Heidi, though. I could listen to Nicky explaining words like "lemurian" to the producers all day long.

Edited March 1, 2020 by Blakeston

[DisneyBoy]

On 2/29/2020 at 6:40 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm not sure how smart it was for her to show off so many of her dance moves in the first episode, but she definitely has a bag full of tricks if she ever has to LSFYL.

I was thinking the exact same thing - this is episode 1 and you're definitely not being eliminated. Save some of these tricks for later when you really need them!

16 hours ago, zenithwit said:

In general, I liked the idea of splitting the premiere into two episodes and having this first one be a non-elimination episode in favor of getting to know the queens better.  But I was hoping that the judges would then take advantage of this time to provide some more constructive criticism (so that the queens could really bring their A game when the eliminations actually started).

That's a good point. I know they couldn't have stated outright that they weren't going to eliminate anybody, but I kind of wish they had because I spent so much time in the episode trying to figure out who was getting what kind of edit and who was going to be walking away when I could have just been relaxing and getting to know the Queens before the elimination start.

That one queen with the gap in her teeth look way too much like Kennedy Davenport and I found it super distracting. Just me?

The French one - Gigi was it? - had some slick looks but absolutely no moves during the lipsynch.

6 hours ago, Mayberry said:

I was getting a bit worried when Nicki disagreed with Michelle in the judging that it would turn into another Nicki and Mariah situation on American Idol. But, they both dialed it back. 

Same! But I'm going to give Michelle the benefit of the doubt that she wouldn't frown and make faces just because a guest judge seemed to disagree with her. Maybe Nikki was being a bit more Diva than we saw.

Heidi's name is so clunky that I'm surprised the producers didn't talk to her about changing it before they started filming. Why shame her on the show? How is she supposed to brand herself properly if she spends her time this season trying to settle on a new better name for herself? At this point, with so many queens having come and gone, their name is a really crucial part of how or why they are remembered. I would think someone involved in the production would pull her aside and suggest reworking it before appearing on camera.

I definitely think Jackie has something to prove. I don't mind the Retro slant or the Annette Funicello reference, but I think she's not quite as polished as she could be. Hopefully we'll see some growth over the season. If not, I can easily see her back on All Stars.

Overall I really liked the episode, though I wish we could have spent a bit more time looking at each of their looks. I think they all had five looks in this one episode! That's a lot of money...

Edited March 1, 2020 by DisneyBoy

[Dandesun]

So did anyone else get HIM from the Powerpuff GIrls in Crystal's runway?

Just my house?

[TresGatos]

On 2/29/2020 at 6:40 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Her BDSM jockey look was an eye catching twist.

Her waist looked so small in that outfit it was stunning!

[hilaryvm]

I listened to it a few times and still couldn't totally understand the lyrics that Nicki Minaj praised for having a double meaning.  Anyone catch it?

[Blissfool]

On 3/1/2020 at 2:06 PM, Blakeston said:

I liked Widow, Gigi, Nicky, Jackie and Heidi, though. I could listen to Nicky explaining words like "lemurian" to the producers all day long.

Nicky Doll became my favorite when she rolled her eyes and mocked the producer who didnt understand her accent.

10 hours ago, hilaryvm said:

I listened to it a few times and still couldn't totally understand the lyrics that Nicki Minaj praised for having a double meaning.  Anyone catch it?

"I'm here to win and leave a BITCH on read. "

 

I'm no rap lyricist, but I don't think it had a double meaning. When you leave someone on read it's pronounced <red>, not <reed> as Nicki Minaj said.

[TheLukeP]

Y'all I'm so happy this is back.  The entrance looks were all really well done, I really appreciated that the producers split this into two groups as intros, so that we actually got time to know the girls and put a face to a name.

Of note:
Leprosy Print.  
Civil Rights Hair
"oh you mean hum-mussss' /basic white girl accent/
Freddy Kreuger drag!!!!
Everything about Jackie

And Gigi Goode (the e is silent) surprised the heck out of me, and I loved it all.  Everything. Every look, every bon mot, and her performance on the main stage.

While I agree that Widow's main stage performance was pulling out all the stops, can we just be big girls and keep our effin' shoes on for the lipsynchs? Instead of flopping around like a flat-footed webbed toe creature from the gross dragoon?

[TheLukeP]

Also, shout out to Mayhem Miller and Kimora Blac as the Kim and Kanye look-a-likes in the fashion show.

 

Edited March 3, 2020 by TheLukeP

[Dandesun]

2 hours ago, TheLukeP said:

Also, shout out to Mayhem Miller and Kimora Blac as the Kim and Kanye look-a-likes in the fashion show.

 

THAT WAS MAYHEM?!?!?!

*dies*

[Sile]

On 3/1/2020 at 8:35 PM, Mayberry said:

I agree that it is odd they are trying to change her name now. They should've done before the season, since she would be gaining fame already. Maybe she'll just change her surname, or not at all. 

 

She said something on stage about them not allowing her to use her previous name of Sasha Nicole Fierce.  The easiest explanation for her make up was that she got completely wasted the night before, fell into bed without washing her face, it's now 10am the next morning and she's hungover as hell.

As for the double meaning someone was asking about, I took Nicki's explanation to mean when your text is showing "read" meaning that they not responding to your text doesn't mean that they haven't seen it.  It says "read" answer me!

Gigi has my vote for frontrunner.  That pirate outfit was exquisite in every detail and Boy Gigi = DAYUM!  Sort of a cross between Ioan Gruffudd and a young Tom Brady.

Jackie was right up there with her, but the big glasses with no lenses took her down a few notches for me.

[Kaboom 2.0]

On 3/1/2020 at 11:25 PM, Dandesun said:

So did anyone else get HIM from the Powerpuff GIrls in Crystal's runway?

Just my house?

OMG I knew she looked familiar! Love love love that outfit and Crystal  even more now.

Locas! Nicki Minaj vaulted herself to my personal top ten fave guest judges. She was beyond adorable and so onto the experience. We LOLd at her tiny steps as she hustled to get off the stage! 

You know, I didn't even mind Raven being there for the mini challenge, I like her when she's not being triggered by someone. 

For now I like this first group of queens, can't wait for the second group and when they meet for the first time. 

[Blissfool]

31 minutes ago, Kaboom 2.0 said:

 

Locas! Nicki Minaj vaulted herself to my personal top ten fave guest judges. She was beyond adorable and so onto the experience. We LOLd at her tiny steps as she hustled to get off the stage! 

I think I'm the only person in the world that enjoyed her as a judge that one season of American Idol. I, too, felt that she was into the experience and she seemed to care about the contestants.

[OldPizzaTroll]

On 2/29/2020 at 12:45 PM, rlc said:

Watched with my 9 year old this morning (don’t judge me- it’s our hobby) and afterwards she said ‘they were all nice. You know next week is going to be all the shady girls’.

No judgement here, I watch with my baby and change the words to theme song (Maya’s drag race, start your engines, Maya’s drag race, may the best baby win!) and sing it to her 😂

[RoxiP]

LOL...I never watched Drag Race until my daughter (who is now 23) started making me.

[Tammee]

On 3/1/2020 at 1:05 PM, belligerent said:

I really wish that any time someone said Heidi's full name, she'd reply "it's pronounced "clah-zay."

It just needs an n.  Heidi'n Closet

Heiding in closet...

Yeah theres got to be something better

 

[CraftyHazel]

9 hours ago, Tammee said:

It just needs an n.  Heidi'n Closet

Heiding in closet...

Yeah theres got to be something better

 

Heidi Nina Closet

Say it quickly.

[Tammee]

On 4/17/2020 at 4:51 AM, Marmiarmo said:

Heidi Nina Closet

Say it quickly.

I just dont like Closet.   Too clunky or something.  Alas i dont have anything better.  Heidi is my favorite Queen too.  I havent seen the latest ep yet.  My theory is that a new name will be found, either by Ru, or by cast, or by John Q. MF Public!  And all will be revealed at the reunion.  In the meantime we have a season of funny guesses.

just thought of a new business venture for Ru, 'Name the Queen', or 'Name THAT Queen', which is a whole different show.  I'd still watch Lol!

[Tammee]

I liked Nicki previously in her career and such.  Also liked her on the panel of judges.  It was Untucked that pissed me off.  I dont remember who asked the question, if it was Heidi or whomever, but when Nicki replied 'yes you may ask me a question'. May?  May?  Beat me up but whoTF is a sanctimonious bitch now.  She has the right to not listen or respond to it, but I'll ask what i want when i want. Free country and all that.  Sorry, not sorry.  I dont know if she meant to sound like that but thats how i took it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 4/18/2020 at 9:40 AM, Tammee said:

I liked Nicki previously in her career and such.  Also liked her on the panel of judges.  It was Untucked that pissed me off.  I dont remember who asked the question, if it was Heidi or whomever, but when Nicki replied 'yes you may ask me a question'. May?  May?  Beat me up but whoTF is a sanctimonious bitch now.  She has the right to not listen or respond to it, but I'll ask what i want when i want. Free country and all that.  Sorry, not sorry.  I dont know if she meant to sound like that but thats how i took it.

To me, that sounds like Nicky was just using proper English which is much more common with non-native speakers because they learn the literal definition of words.

Colloquially, Americans say, "Can I XYZ?" which literally means "Do I have the ability to do XYZ?" (and for some reason, it's very common in American English to preface a question with "Can I ask you a question?" or "Can I ask XYZ?" rather than just asking a question). In contrast, "May I XYZ?"means you are asking the other person's permission to do something.

I remember several elementary school teachers would always respond to students asking, "Can I XYZ?" with "I don't know - CAN you?" because they were sticklers for the difference between can and may.

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I remember several elementary school teachers would always respond to students asking, "Can I XYZ?" with "I don't know - CAN you?" because they were sticklers for the difference between can and may.

I remember it more from high school teachers and it was so fucking stupid and annoying and always came from asshole teachers lol.

[OnceSane]

7 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I remember several elementary school teachers would always respond to students asking, "Can I XYZ?" with "I don't know - CAN you?" because they were sticklers for the difference between can and may.

 

16 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I remember ot more from high school teachers and it was so fucking stupid and annoying and always came from asshole teachers lol.

My mom is a retired English teacher...she STILL does this to us and her grandchildren.  It's really fucking annoying since my sisters and I are all adults.  We got her good, though.  Three girls growing up in the '80s & '90s?  I thought she would end up murdering us in our sleep due to how much we said "like".

[RoxiP]

With my mother it would be not "CAN I" - it would be "MAY".  

[Tammee]

12 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

To me, that sounds like Nicky was just using proper English which is much more common with non-native speakers because they learn the literal definition of words.

Colloquially, Americans say, "Can I XYZ?" which literally means "Do I have the ability to do XYZ?" (and for some reason, it's very common in American English to preface a question with "Can I ask you a question?" or "Can I ask XYZ?" rather than just asking a question). In contrast, "May I XYZ?"means you are asking the other person's permission to do something.

I remember several elementary school teachers would always respond to students asking, "Can I XYZ?" with "I don't know - CAN you?" because they were sticklers for the difference between can and may.

Yes i weighed that all.  The Kings proper english.  But thats not how i read it, and then how I red it, because i was pissed.  Nicki will always be Nicki.  Nuf said.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Makeup tutorials from this episode:

Crystal Methyd’s Fall Runway Look

Gigi Goode’s Blue Satin Look

Widow Von’Du’s Entrance Look

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Pit Stop: Bob The Drag Queen & Sasha Velour Recap the Premiere

Entrance looks:

Widow Von'Du & Gigi Goode's “Starships” Lip Sync