Top 10 RuPaul's Drag Race Performances That Gave Us Chills

MsMojo

These queens gave us chills... like a snow queen! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the “Drag Race” performances that we still get goosebumps just thinking about.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the drag race performances

00:11that we still get goosebumps just thinking about.

00:14For this list, we'll be looking at the American franchises only.

00:1710.

00:32This Will Be

00:33Dieter Ritz's one-sided duel against the princess was an explosion of joy and spirit

00:43that almost felt like a spiritual experience.

00:45Hyped up by original singer Natalie Cole herself, Dieter ripped through This Will Be

00:50as if she were alone on that stage.

01:03Once she started cutting across the runway, doing a dance move that can only be described

01:08as revving an invisible chainsaw, it felt like she had entered the stratosphere.

01:25It lives on as a moment of pure, unadulterated fierceness from an underrated contestant.

01:30Competitor Latrice Royale said it best,

01:32This is high drag at its finest.

01:359.

01:36Your Name

01:44She didn't come to play, she came to slay.

01:47Shea Coulee's all-winners variety show presentation was the work of a seasoned professional.

01:52Performing her original track, Your Name, Shea Coulee's smooth vocals, tight choreo,

01:57and magnetic stage presence went beyond what we normally see on a season of Drag Race.

02:10Nothing about this performance said reality competition contestant.

02:13If anything, this was giving international pop star sensation on a worldwide arena tour.

02:26It's a level of excellence and sheer stage presence most artists would kill to have.

02:33And she made it all look so easy.

02:358.

02:36Whip My Hair

02:45Things took a serious turn in the stand-up comedy episode.

02:48Roxy Andrews and Alyssa Edwards had bombed hard and were up for elimination.

02:53Little did anyone know they were about to turn it out in a classic main stage moment.

03:07Plenty of queens had lost their wig mid lip sync and it was becoming a bit tired.

03:11Roxy flipped the script and her wig by revealing a second entirely different head of hair underneath.

03:17The judges were gagged.

03:19Since then, every single frame of that moment has been memed to death, but experiencing

03:24it live was absolutely thrilling.

03:297.

03:33So Emotional

03:41Going into the season 9 finale, Shea Coulee was easily the odds-on favorite to win.

03:46She had the most maxi challenge wins under her belt and she was a performer with a capital

03:50P. But the new lip sync smackdown for the crown twist and a full wig of roses ended

03:55it all.

04:03Sasha Velour's exhilarating interpretation of Whitney Houston's So Emotional was an unexpected

04:08tour de force.

04:09Littering the stage with carefully hidden roses at various points of the song, Sasha

04:13used the element of surprise to her advantage.

04:16When she finally made the rose petal shower from her wig, the audience was in a frenzy

04:20that all but ensured she was about to take the win.

04:326.

04:39Rock on Wood

04:52For all the talk about season 15 being Sasha Colby's crown to lose, runner-up Anitra

04:56gave her a run for her money.

04:58She also gave us some of the season's most iconic performances.

05:07Once it came time for the two to lip sync for the crown, it was Sasha's breathtaking

05:11performance that wrapped it up once and for all.

05:24Once she stepped out of that dress and into her nude look, Rue and the crowd never stopped

05:29cheering with sheer delight.

05:30It wasn't just about looking gorgeous, it was a political statement that spoke volumes.

05:35In a time of increasing scrutiny and hatred against the trans community, Sasha's aim

05:39was to display and celebrate her body as a transgender woman.

05:515.

05:52Dancing on My Own

05:59The very first All-Star season was confusing.

06:02Given the baffling decision to make the Queens compete in teams of two, it was certainly

06:05not as thought through as it could have been.

06:08But watching friends and teammates Raven and Jujubee have to lip sync against each other

06:12almost made it all worth it.

06:14Many of us already knew the heartbreak of Robyn's club ballad Dancing on My Own.

06:30Team Rujubee gave us another reason to cry.

06:33They all but refused to compete against each other, choosing instead to lip sync the song

06:37as a duet while tears rolled down their faces.

06:40Even the resident tough judge Michelle Visage was crying.

06:514.

06:57Vir a viso o luoghi a meni

07:11A lot of singers have come through the Drag Race workroom.

07:14Few of them have the technique or training of one Monet X Change.

07:17Given her previous attempt at singing on the show though, Monet had a lot to prove.

07:32This time, she gave us a show for the ages.

07:47Her resonant bass voice shook the entire all-winner's stage as she performed an aria

07:52from La Sonambula, an opera by Vincenzo Bellini.

07:55Queens on RuPaul's Drag Race have taken us to church before, but Monet X Change was

07:59the first one to take us to the opera.

08:103.

08:18Shut Up and Drive

08:19Tensions were high.

08:30The stakes were higher.

08:32Alyssa Edwards and Tatiana were both fighting for the chance to return to All Stars 2, and

08:37this dizzying, hair-flipping, high-kicking Rihanna lip sync was exactly what we needed.

08:41Breathtaking and fun in equal measure.

08:43Shut Up and Drive is an insane watch every time.

08:46Alyssa and Tatiana are radiant.

08:49Every beat, every choice, every movement is perfection from start to finish.

09:04There's so much fierce twirling, it looks like two whirling dervishes have invaded the

09:07main stage.

09:08Needless to say, they both returned to the competition off the back of this performance,

09:13and fans were fed for years to come.

09:272.

09:28You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman

09:43Between a runway theme that featured the contestants in fake baby bumps and a lip sync

09:46song being the ultimate ode to womanhood, it'd be easy to play up the comedy.

09:50A lesser drag queen would go straight for vulgarity.

09:53Latrice Royale didn't do that.

10:06She planted her feet and delivered the Aretha Franklin hit as if she was performing it live,

10:11instilling every word and emotion.

10:13She gave us and her competitors a masterclass in embodying a song.

10:26Even if her opponent weren't completely missing the point, Latrice would have been near impossible

10:31to beat.

10:32Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.

10:35Jinx Monsoon's Judy Garland.

10:37This two-time winner channeled the icon so well it was almost scary.

10:54Mariah Paris Balenciaga's Talent Show.

10:57A timely and haunting performance piece.

11:12Even Angels.

11:13Alexis Mateo's beautiful lip sync even had her competitors gushing.

11:33Aja's Talent Show.

11:35The Season 9 queen stomped back into the competition with a vengeance.

11:50Sorry Not Sorry.

11:51Indi Oddly and Brooklyn Heights brought stunts and attitude to Season 11's best lip sync.

12:22And I am telling you, I'm not going.

12:29Chi Chi DeVayne's entire Season 8 narrative could be summed up in this one lip sync.

12:33She didn't always slay the challenges, but the live performances were another story.

12:38The defiant ballad from Dreamgirls was tailor-made for her.

12:49At the song's most heightened moment, Chi Chi's foot got caught on her necklace, breaking

12:53the string and showering the stage with beads.

13:08You can see RuPaul herself getting goosebumps.

13:11It's the kind of thing that makes a great lip sync an all-time masterpiece.

13:15The performance is even more meaningful now, as we remember this queen's legacy after

13:19her passing in 2020.

13:33Which Drag Race performance lives in your head rent-free?

13:36Let us know in the comments.

14:06And as always, thanks for watching.

14:07We'll see you next time.

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