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From epic fails to jaw-dropping showcases, the talent shows on RuPaul's Drag Race have given us unforgettable moments! Join us as we count down our picks for the most sickening and cringe-worthy performances in Drag Race herstory. From spoken word poetry to live dress-making to making... a glass of water? These queens either slayed or got slayed!
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00:00Controllers up!
00:02Are you ready for the combo?
00:04Up, up, triangle!
00:06Did you like that split?
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo!
00:08And today, we're counting down our picks
00:10for the most unforgettable performances
00:12from the talent shows and variety extravaganzas
00:14on RuPaul's Drag Race.
00:16For this list, we'll only be considering
00:18the U.S. regular and all-star seasons.
00:20Are you ready?
00:30Number 10. Worst. Farrah Moan.
00:32Burlesque numbers on the All-Star's
00:34variety extravaganza had always felt like
00:36a safe choice. After Roxy Andrews
00:38and Ben de la Creme both snagged wins
00:40with their own takes on the art form,
00:42Farrah Moan clearly hoped lightning would
00:44strike a third time.
00:45I'm gagged. Farrah's setup is fabulous.
00:48It looks expensive.
00:50Interesting.
00:51Initially, things looked promising.
00:53The routine was undeniably sultry,
00:55the setup was lavish, and her reveal
00:57was genuinely impressive.
00:59However, her downfall, literally,
01:01came when she accidentally slipped on
01:03her own garment and hit the floor
01:04in spectacular fashion.
01:06Whoa. She fell.
01:11She fell hard, bitch.
01:13The best performers know how to turn
01:15any mishap into gold.
01:16But unfortunately, Farrah was unable
01:18to recover.
01:19Shaken and unsteady, she limped
01:21through the rest of her number and
01:23unsurprisingly landed in the bottom too.
01:25America, she might be in the bottom.
01:29Cause it's not stunning.
01:31Number 10. Best. Willow Pill.
01:33Willow Pill.
01:42Right out of the gate in season 14,
01:44Willow Pill made it clear that her brain
01:46operates on a delightfully twisted frequency.
01:49While most of her sisters opted for the usual
01:51original dance tracks, Willow floated on stage
01:54in a flowing nightgown, serenely mouthing the words
01:56to Enya's only time.
02:07She then ran a bubble bath and dropped several confusing
02:10objects into the tub, including a glass of wine,
02:13a plate of spaghetti, and ultimately a toaster
02:16before climbing into the tub herself.
02:18What did it all mean?
02:20Who knows?
02:27Willow described it as her personal spin on self-care
02:29during lockdown.
02:30Although she feared the number would send her packing,
02:33it ended up becoming one of the most iconic moments
02:35in Drag Race herstory.
02:36But baby, I understand Willow now.
02:39That was chaotic in the best way possible.
02:44Number 9. Worst. Trinity K. Bonet.
02:47On her original season, Trinity K. Bonet surprised everyone
02:50with her genuinely hilarious routine
02:52in the stand-up challenge.
02:54My mother would read us recipes from a cookbook.
02:56And oh, how I got full mini nights off of
03:02the roast beef on page 27.
03:04When she returned for All Stars,
03:07the Atlanta queen decided to go down the comedy route
03:09again for her talent show number.
03:11But this time, the magic was nowhere to be found.
03:14Yes!
03:15Bitch, RuPaul brought me back and I'm dressed like a...
03:18Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh...
03:24From the second she hit the stage,
03:26Trinity stumbled on her words,
03:28heralding what was to come.
03:29Instead of fresh material,
03:31Trinity leaned heavily on callbacks
03:33to her season six routine,
03:35seemingly hoping history would repeat itself.
03:38It didn't.
03:39She wanted to read her Bible with the table lamp.
03:41I politely cut it off and handed her flashlight.
03:44You gonna have to get the word,
03:46like, uh, Summers, uh, uh...
03:50The jokes fizzled, there was even more stumbling,
03:53and her poorly placed wig made it hard to even see her face.
03:56The performance nearly sent Trinity packing,
03:58but she ultimately lived to slay another day.
04:01Yeah.
04:02Sure.
04:03God damn it.
04:07Number 9. Best.
04:08Kennedy Davenport.
04:09They don't call her the dancing diva of Dallas for nothing.
04:12When Kennedy Davenport hits a stage,
04:19she is sure to have you spellbound for every second.
04:22When Kennedy Davenport hits a stage,
04:24she is sure to have you spellbound for every second.
04:27And this performance was no exception.
04:29She came out swinging, kicking, spinning, twirling,
04:33and launching into jaw-dropping splits with no hesitation.
04:36Even just watching this performance from the audience
04:38would leave anyone out of breath,
04:40which naturally begs the question,
04:42how does she still have air in her lungs?
04:52And just when it seemed like she had emptied her bag of tricks,
04:55Kennedy flipped herself onto an even higher platform,
04:57leaving the judges completely gagged.
05:06That this performance didn't land her in the top
05:08is frankly mind-boggling.
05:10Number 8. Worst.
05:12Amethyst.
05:13There's a world of difference between performing on social media
05:16and performing in real life.
05:18And Amethyst's talent number made that painfully clear.
05:21I'll never give up looking for my baby.
05:27The self-proclaimed TikTok queen attempted a comedic interpretation
05:34of Lisa Stansfield's All Around the World,
05:36playing a wine-sipping woman literally looking for her baby.
05:39But barely two seconds in,
05:41she burned through the joke that was meant to carry the entire routine
05:44and had nothing new to offer for the rest of it.
05:46To make matters worse, she hit the stage in a pair of regular sneakers.
05:57Had she saved the punchline for the end and built more momentum along the way,
06:01this number could have worked.
06:03But she failed to do so and landed herself in the bottom.
06:06And I don't know when he can be my baby.
06:11Number 8. Best.
06:12Raja O'Hara.
06:13If you give me a minute of your time,
06:15I hope to make a dress that's blind.
06:17Ross!
06:18Ready, set, go!
06:20By now, it's no secret that Raja O'Hara is a phenomenal designer and seamstress.
06:25For her talent number on All Stars 6,
06:27she decided to raise the stakes by attempting something truly wild.
06:31With just 60 seconds on the clock,
06:34Raja rolled out a sewing machine and set out to make an actual dress in real time.
06:38How am I doing on time?
06:4040 seconds left.
06:41Amazing.
06:42Even while sewing the garment,
06:44Raja didn't forget to entertain,
06:46as she fired off quips to Ross Matthews that kept everyone laughing.
06:49Remarkably, she finished the dress with more than 20 seconds to spare
06:53and still had time to slip behind a screen and put it on.
06:56As talent showcases go,
06:58this was the full package,
06:59and it definitely should have placed her in the top two.
07:02Three, two, one.
07:11Number seven.
07:12Worst.
07:13Monet X Change.
07:14There's no denying that Monet X Change is a terrific singer,
07:18although you wouldn't know it from watching her All Stars 4 talent show alone.
07:21People hiding undercover without knowing what you're all about.
07:32Monet's performance of her original song,
07:34Soak It Up,
07:35began with her voice bouncing around several different keys
07:38before eventually settling into the right one.
07:40But then, after revealing into her sponge outfit,
07:43the performance didn't offer anything particularly exciting.
07:53We'd already seen the fake split move,
07:55and the song itself was already big in the Drag Race fandom.
07:58The less-than-stellar showing from Monet gave us one of the funniest moments of the entire episode,
08:03courtesy of Gia Gunn,
08:04so at least something memorable soaked through.
08:07Girl, so...
08:12What up?
08:13I mean, maybe some of that sweat on that forehead.
08:16Number seven.
08:17Best.
08:18Juicy Love Dion.
08:19The princess of Miami entered the workroom on season 18,
08:22bragging about her amazing dance skills.
08:24My name is Juicy Love Dion,
08:25and I'm Miami's Afro-Cuban dancing duo.
08:29Girl, she gon' lip sync down, bitch.
08:32I mean, isn't it obvious?
08:33I'm a dancing queen.
08:34But it wasn't until the talent show that she truly got to showcase those skills.
08:39Performing an original song,
08:40Juicy Love Dion unleashed a jaw-dropping routine
08:42packed with moves most people wouldn't dare attempt,
08:45let alone land.
08:55From a handstand that melted seamlessly into a split
08:58to her razor-sharp heel-clacking step,
09:00Juicy served hit after hit that fired up the entire room.
09:03And it certainly helped that the song she performed to was an absolute bop.
09:08To say that she simply ate would be selling this performance way short.
09:12Juicy I ate that.
09:14Quick unplugger!
09:15There's juice in the system!
09:20Number six.
09:21Worst.
09:22Vita Von T Star.
09:23Sometimes a queen is so gifted in one area that they seem incapable of doing well at literally anything else.
09:29A one-of-a-kind designer and seamstress,
09:32Vita Von T Star struggled with just about anything that didn't involve a sewing machine.
09:36And that includes her talent number.
09:38Her original song seemed inspired by 80's workout videos,
09:45with lyrics outlining an exercise routine meant to keep the audience in shape.
09:49But Vita didn't seem interested in following her own plan,
09:52opting instead for an entirely different choreography.
09:55When you hear fitness workout, you expect a high energy number.
10:07But Vita's was surprisingly lackluster.
10:09Despite the fact that she had sneakers on.
10:12She should count herself lucky the judges had no say in the episode's ranking.
10:16Number six.
10:23Best.
10:24Mirage.
10:25You think I'm a bitch?
10:26Well, you're not that wrong.
10:28I put your man in a leash.
10:29I put your man in a leash.
10:30Cause all men are dogs.
10:31This was yet another queen whose rightful placement in the talent show was derailed
10:35by the Raid of Queen twist.
10:36But in the exact opposite way from Vita.
10:39Like many other queens,
10:40Mirage performed an original track.
10:42But unlike most of them,
10:44her number had everyone buzzing long after it ended.
10:47She's such a bitch.
10:48I'm not that nice and I'm not your sis.
10:52Heel clacking.
10:53Yes, ma'am.
10:54More, please.
10:55From walking an imaginary dog to the front of the stage
10:58to sliding effortlessly into a dip,
11:00Mirage's moves were smooth, sultry, and totally assured.
11:03But perhaps the peak of the performance came when she unleashed the heel clacking.
11:07I'll call up Anitra, she'll chop you in too.
11:09The Swiffer of Las Vegas, as Mirage called herself,
11:19put a truly unique spin on the original dance track
11:22and had everyone sold.
11:24It's no wonder the performance instantly went viral.
11:27Number 5.
11:28Worst.
11:29Mayhem Miller
11:30Mayhem Miller is such an unserious individual,
11:32it has now pretty much become her brand.
11:34For her All Stars 5 talent number,
11:44Mayhem leaned into the viral video of her performing with her eyes.
11:48The first part of it went well, but she then decided to sing live.
11:52It did not take long for the judges to realize that she barely knew the words to her own song.
11:57I'm the queen of the party in this middle of time.
11:59They're lining these eyes in the quarter of nine.
12:01Now there's a beat and I think so high.
12:03The greatest we all do is this is I.
12:05Excuse me, sir, yeah, I'm talking to you.
12:07Mayhem fumbled through the words,
12:09and at one point even laughed at herself.
12:11Because if you can't laugh at yourself,
12:12how in the hell are you gonna laugh at somebody else, right?
12:14Just when we thought this was her most unserious performance,
12:23Mayhem raised or lowered the bar when she returned for UK vs. The World.
12:27Never trust a fart.
12:39Number 5 best, Gia Gunn.
12:44Having performed in traditional Japanese kabuki theater since the age of seven,
12:53Gia Gunn has long incorporated the art form into her drag.
12:56She brought it vividly to life on the Drag Race All-Stars main stage,
12:59performing a mesmerizing kabuki routine for her talent show number.
13:03Even with so many moving parts, the performance still felt soothing.
13:14An undeniable testament to Gia's mastery of the art form.
13:17After watching this, nearly everyone expected Gia to secure her first ever win on the show.
13:22But shockingly, she wasn't even placed in the top two.
13:26And that itself was a robbery of epic proportions.
13:29How do you do that?
13:31That was magic to me.
13:40Number 4 worst, Derek Barry.
13:42Although the judges have taken her to task for relying solely on her Britney Spears act,
13:46Derek Barry truly shines whenever she leans fully into that persona.
13:50Sticking to her Britney for her All-Stars 5 talent number might have earned her a safe placement.
14:03But Derek decided to take a risk.
14:05She rolled out a parade of celebrity impressions from Cher to Madonna to Miley Cyrus,
14:10all supposedly doling out advice on how to slay the competition.
14:13Madonna, wearing a kimono is a no-go.
14:16Tell Michelle Visage that she's not me, but ask her if she wants to adopt or borrow a baby from Malawi.
14:22Perhaps one of them should have told her not to go down this route,
14:25as her impressions blended into one another and failed to deliver any laughs.
14:30The judges certainly held it against Derek, placing her in the bottom two, which led to her elimination.
14:35Wait, I did forget one. I also called Joan Rivers and she said,
14:40I didn't say anything. I am dead, you f***ing moron.
14:46Number 4 best, Anitra.
14:48Perhaps the most memorable catchphrase from season 15 was Anitra's walk that effing duck.
14:53And we have this talent number to thank for it.
14:56It's A-N-E-T-R-A. Six letters and three vowels.
15:02My name is Anitra, ladies and gentlemen.
15:04Anitra wasted no time making her mark on the season,
15:07delivering a show-stopping performance that fused two of her favorite things,
15:11martial arts and duck walking.
15:13After walking that duck straight to the front of the stage,
15:15she then unleashed her combat skills, karate chopping one block of wood
15:19and obliterating another with a roundhouse kick.
15:26This performance left everyone floored and immediately showed the other queens
15:30how formidable a competitor Anitra was going to be.
15:33Her kitty cat was certainly on fire that night.
15:36And according to reliable sources, it still is.
15:39Fire extinguisher.
15:41Number 3.
15:47Worst, Coco Montrese
15:49In many ways, Coco Montrese paved the way for memorably bad talent show performances on Drag Race.
15:54I decided to step out of my box just to show a different side of myself.
15:59I hope it pays off for me this time.
16:01On All Stars 2, she stepped out of her comfort zone, opting for a routine inspired by classic Hollywood glamour.
16:07That risk ultimately failed to pay off.
16:10Coco simply ran around the stage, delivering neither a compelling dance routine nor a coherent story.
16:20While we now know that this wasn't her original plan,
16:23one would still expect a seasoned performer like Coco to make something work.
16:27Instead, the snoozefest of a number dragged on for what seemed like an eternity before limping to a dismal end.
16:33We all make choices, but that was a choice.
16:37It was indeed a choice, just not a good one.
16:40Number 3. Best, Monet X Change
16:43Sometimes, all it takes to stun an audience into silence is a microphone and a killer set of pipes.
16:57After her disastrous talent show flop on All Stars 4,
17:00Monet X Change decided to dig out her degree in opera performance when she returned for the All Winners season.
17:05Singing a rendition of Vincenzo Bellini's La Sonnambula,
17:08Monet left the entire room floored with her incredibly rich operatic vocals.
17:13With nothing but her voice, the All Stars 4 winner transported the audience from the Drag Race main stage to an opera house,
17:27complete with an imaginary orchestra and conductor.
17:30As far as pure, undeniable talent goes, very few come close to this masterpiece.
17:35Number 2. Worst, Jasmine Masters
17:53She may be the queen of viral memes, but Jasmine Masters quickly learned that casually going viral online is a far cry from delivering a hilarious stand-up routine.
18:16For one, Jasmine refused to do any sort of preparation, and decided to simply wing it on stage.
18:22Spoiler alert, she bombed spectacularly.
18:25I went on a date with this guy, and when he called me back for another one, I said, hell no.
18:31And he asked me why, I said, cause baby, your breath smells exactly like your ass.
18:36Your breath stinks.
18:38Her crude monologue about rejecting a guy because of his bad breath contained plenty of detail, but not one single discernible joke.
18:45Unsurprisingly, it left the judges, queens, and audience members utterly confused.
18:50Where are the jokes?
18:54Even after bombing on stage, Jasmine remained convinced she was hilarious, and the problem was that everyone else simply didn't like her choice of topic.
19:02How do you feel, Jasmine?
19:03You can't say that I wasn't funny.
19:05Okay.
19:06You may not like what I was saying, but you cannot say I wasn't funny.
19:10Oh, the level of delusion? Far too much.
19:13Number 2. Best, Aja
19:16For the second ever All Stars talent extravaganza, Aja brought Ballroom to the Drag Race main stage and showed the children exactly how to Vogue.
19:24Ooh, she looks even uglier out of drag. I just can't take you.
19:30Performing to her own track, she delivered crisp Vogue lines, lightning-fast footwork, and an effortless duck walk that showed real technical mastery.
19:38The routine kept building and building, leading up to the moment everyone remembers.
19:43Aja climbing onto a box and launching herself into a clean, fearless dip from several feet in the air.
19:49Gasps all around.
19:51One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, seven, eight.
20:00Fans still echo Milk's unforgettable line to this day.
20:03In under one minute, Aja reminded everyone that she had the charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and particularly, talent to make it all the way.
20:11Paramedics, paramedics make sure she's okay. Because I was not ready. Not.
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20:34Number one worst, Irene the Alien.
20:38Irene Dubois here with a fun little tutorial.
20:41Today we're going to be making one of my favorite recipes, a glass of ice cold water.
20:46Let's get started.
20:47Irene the Alien walked into season 15 with the confidence of an all-star.
20:51But when it came time to justify that aura with a sickening talent number, the Seattle diva stumbled.
20:56Her big idea? Making a glass of ice water. On stage. In real time.
21:02You just get a little ice, and you...
21:05If it...
21:06Just put some ice right into the glass.
21:12No one's laughing.
21:13What followed was an excruciatingly literal demonstration that involved ice, water, and absolutely no punchline to justify the buildup.
21:21Instead of clever absurdity, the joke landed somewhere between unfinished performance art and a rehearsal that accidentally went live.
21:28Mmm, so good.
21:31I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe.
21:35While Drag Race has celebrated deadpan humor before, this one lacked any escalation, payoff, or even clarity.
21:42In the end, Irene landed in the bottom two, and was sent home as the pork chop queen.
21:47I wasn't expecting to go home first. I don't think it was necessarily my time to go, but I won the first mini challenge, so at least I won something.
21:58Number one, best, Tatiana.
22:00When Tatiana took the stage on All Stars 2, she zigged where everyone else zagged, and it paid off.
22:06Instead of singing or dancing, she delivered a spoken word monologue titled Same Parts, set to an eerie instrumental.
22:12People at the party, and I'm wanting to dance. Other ugly ass bitches ain't standing no chance.
22:23The piece about her genitals was strange but hypnotic. Every pause felt intentional, every word deliberate, as Tatiana built the tension without ever raising her voice or doing anything excessive.
22:34Granted for a second, his stuff's getting thick. He doesn't know it, but I'm getting firm too.
22:46Still, she managed to pull the judges and viewers in, and held everyone's attention from start to finish.
22:52Years later, it is still quoted, dissected, and celebrated, because it proved that drag excellence isn't about doing the most, but about making sure you're unforgettable.
23:01And she certainly was.
23:03Settle the same parts that you do.
23:07The same parts.
23:10The same parts.
23:13For that, Tatiana, we say thank you.
23:16Which of these is your favorite Drag Race talent number? And which do you never want to see again? Let us know in the comments.
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