Drag Race wouldn’t be Drag Race without its lip syncs. Across the years, we’ve gotten
dips, wig reveals, breakdowns and stunning lyrical interpretations.
But when it comes time to separate the girls from the queens, whose performances really
stand out?
We asked Xtra readers to chime in with their picks for the best lip syncs of each season,
and then we scoured herstory to find the best of the best.
Some of the most memorable lip syncs came from the show’s earliest seasons, when performance
ability actually trumped looks in casting. Season 1 saw Akashia break the dawn to a Michelle
Williams song, and Shannel showed her true vulnerability to Whitney Houston’s “The
Greatest Love of All.” But the clear Season 1 winner has to be BeBe Zahara Benet versus
Angina to Britney Spears' Stronger, in an epic face-off -- two frontrunners fighting
for their lives, and a decision so difficult Ru had to leave the stage to make her choice.
Season 2 saw more strong battles, including the incredibly tight fight between Morgan
McMichaels and Sonique on “Two of Hearts,” but it was lip sync assassin Jujubee who thrilled
us the most. Her best performance was against the late, great Sahara Davenport, as the two
turned out wildly different interpretations of Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet.” Juju’s
emotional rendition trumped Sahara's dance routine and instantly entered the pantheon
of iconic lip syncs.
Season 3 had plenty of memorable face-offs, including the sexy and sultry lip sync to
“Straight Up” by Raja and Carmen Carrera. Our pick for the top slot — and mentioned
by some of you on Facebook -- is one of the absolute wildest. Delta Work tried her hardest,
but Manila Luzon’s crazy-eyed, deeply committed performance of “MacArthur Park” takes
the cake.
Coming to the end of the old-school section, we have Season 4’s best lip sync. And let
me tell you, there is only one choice for the best. It is absolutely the legendary,
the iconic, “This Will Be” lip sync, featuring The Princess and lip sync assassin Dida Ritz.
Dida said she wanted to impress the guest judge, the late Natalie Cole, and suffice
it to say she left Natalie, and all of us, screaming for more.
The next four regular seasons saw a surge of lip sync assassins. In Season 5 it was
Coco Montrese, who had her work cut out for her next to a cast that included Detox, Jinkx
Monsoon, Roxxxy Andrews and her rival Alyssa Edwards. There were plenty of iconic moments,
including Roxxxy's double wig-revealing battle to “Whip My Hair" against Alyssa, but it
was Alyssa's own battle with Coco -- Coco won out -- to Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted"
that stands above the rest.
In Season 6, the assassin was none other than Trinity K. Bonet. Even when she lost, she
won, as she and Adore Delano absolutely stunned in their fire face-off to Paula Abdul’s
“Vibeology." But I give the edge to another pick of Trinity's from the comments: it was
her very first battle, against April Carrión to Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman.”
Seasons 7 and 8 featured fewer iconic battles, but the good ones were truly great. There
was Kennedy Davenport and Katya’s split-heavy battle to Katy Perry’s “Roar,” and Laila
McQueen versus Naysha Lopez to Lady Gaga’s “Applause.” But it was for Season 8 that
our commenters across social media agreed as to what was the best, and that had to be
the recently departed legend Chi Chi DeVayne’s versus Thorgy Thor on the iconic Dreamgirls
ballad, “And I Am Telling You."
On the later iterations of All Stars, the lip syncing queens are the top gals, not the
ones in the bottom two. Without the same fire to avoid elimination, the results are often
less impressive. Aja and BenDeLaCreme’s battle to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” stands
out in All Stars 3, and Yvie Oddly and India Ferrah facing off to Ricky Martin’s “Livin’
La Vida Loca” was the best All Stars 5 had to offer. But both of those lip syncs were
the first ones out of the gate!
There’s something to be said for a later lip-sync, one that comes at a really crucial
juncture of the competition. In All Stars 1, bottom dwellers Raven and Jujubee, who
had been on the same team, cried for their lives to the tune of Robyn’s “Dancing
on My Own.” The heartbreaking battle wound up saving them both, in All Stars first double
shantay.
All Stars 4 was the rare All Stars season with multiple great performances. Commenters
mentioned Monet X Change's battle with Valentina to Into You, Valentina's big redemption. There
was Monet’s big Broadway battle to “Come Rain or Come Shine" opposite Naomi Smalls.
I have to shout out personally Gia Gunn's battle with Naomi to Adrenaline in RuPaul-a-Palooza
and Manila Luzon's battle against Trinity the Tuck to Whitney Houston's “How Will
I Know,” too.
Not quite so tough a choice: All Stars 2. And there's one lip sync for your life that
is often mentioned among the all time best on the show. You know what it is. That’s
right, we’re going zero to 60 in 3.5 with Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna.
With a shift to casting more social media queens in modern Drag Race seasons, the performance
quality in lip syncs has been a bit unsteady. Season 9, however, is a welcome exception.
That season alone, with Peppermint alone, the lip sync assassin of that season, you
had it in battles against Trinity the Tuck and then Trinity Taylor to Britney Spears'
Stronger, and against Cynthia Lee Fontaine to Madonna's Music.
For Season 9, though, there is truly only one pick -- it's one that many of you across
social media came up with. It has to be Sasha Velour’s epic rose petal reveal against
Shea Coulée in the finale. The move was so ambitious and exciting, it’s no wonder queens
have tried so hard to replicate the moment in the years since.
Seasons 10 and 12 do have a couple of solid lip syncs, but it’s Monet X. Change versus
Dusty Ray Bottoms to Nicki Minaj’s “Pound the Alarm” that stands out the most from
Season 10, and it's Widow Von’Du versus Jackie Cox to Katy Perry’s “Firework”
that stands out the most from Season 12. Neither had the impact as the best lip sync of season
11, though, which was the single most-mentioned by fans across social media. It’s Yvie Oddly
and Brooke Lynn Hytes’ round 1 -- their gravity-defying battle, double shantay-earning
smackdown to Demi Lovato’s “Sorry Not Sorry.”
That could easily be the end of our list — there are a lot of very amazing performances in
there — but we can't go without acknowledging our ferocious queens of the north, can we?
Canada’s Drag Race has arguably been the best season for lip syncs ever — certainly
up there with Season 5 and All Stars 4. You’ve got such epic battles as Priyanka versus Ilona
Verley to Allie X’s “Hello,” you've got Lemon versus Rita Baga to Alanis Morrisette’s
“You Oughta Know,” and you've got a personal favorite of mine, Ilona versus Tynomi Banks
to Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.”
But my personal #1 from Canada's Drag Race was mentioned over and over by commenters
across social media. It’s one of the best lip syncs Drag Race has had in years, honestly
one of the best in herstory, and absolutely should have earned a double shantay. These
queens made Celine Dion proud: it’s Priyanka and Kiara to Celine Dion's “I Drove All
Night.”
And that’s our list! Did we get all of your favorites? Did we miss any? Comment down below
and let us know! You can also tweet at us and follow us on Twitter @XtraMagazine, and
follow us on Instagram at the same handle. Until next time, just remember: Shantay means
stay!