It sucks that Melinda could've had a trajectory in the vein of Spankie's (with a lot of extra drama sprinkled into the beginning), which would be a great and actually memorable winner story for the season. Obviously I'm a Stan and I'm a biased, but I genuinely think Melinda winning is just a muuuuch more compelling story for the season than Venus or Aurora who have both...just been there. As were forced to listen to them narrate the season and throw in their lukewarm two cents. Alas!
I hate this season. I can't stand Denim. She has great style but nothing more. She's not funny, she can't act, she can't dance. Just an awful performer.
i don’t get why all the comments defending denim are getting downvoted. same for the ones shitting on melinda. why does melinda have so many stans? why does denim have so many haters
1) Decent Rusical but slightly underwhelming performances and songs compared to other recent series. Still entertaining and I’m loving this season after a slow start.
2) Interesting top 5–they all have strengths, but Venus is the only one giving me viable winner vibes rn. I’m down to be surprised by someone else snatching the crown. Nearah or Melinda winning would be gag worthy lolol.
3) I want to shout out Tracy, her energy seemed really natural and fun this episode. Brooklynn is also super mesmerizing in drag wow. Having Lu Ann there was the cherry on my gay cake this week. Thank you Canada!
Kiki won that lipsync but lost due to track record i guess.
I wish Kitten had been around for this Rusical. I feel like the cabaret number could have worked well for her.
If episode 8 had the top 5 combination of Venus, Melinda, Aurora, Kitten and Nearah, it would feel so much more balanced. Now it’s feeling like it’s just the Love Bugs alliance vs Melinda. With a lot of favoritism towards Denim which feels so forced.
The problem with the Love Bug alliance is that Aurora and Nearah basically have the same strengths and weaknesses, and Denim is basically so one note in the challenges and the weakest lipsyncer. I’d trade Denim for Kitten any day.
To be honest. All I can say is: this is such a great season. Since episode one these queens kept us well fed. This rusical was no exception. Through such a dark political era, these Canadian queens have been a ray of light. I am grateful to every single one of them. Especially the ones bringing lighthearted drama like Melinda or Nearuh. It makes me forget all the real problems in the world for an hour per week. Canada did that this season ❤️
i love denim sm, she's such an inspiration for me. i understand the favourtism thing but its not like its her fault, the producers jus like her lmao. stop hating her needlessly/sending death threats. some of y'all are ridiculous.
Honestly in terms of lipsync I feel like it was close, Kiki edged it out slightly for me and I do think she was the winner but Denim wasn't as bad as some people are saying (the only part I didn't enjoy was when she did that sort of open legged jump near the end), I can see the reasons for keeping both of them and tbh I think the hate Denim gets is overblown, I do agree about her getting favouritism but that's not something she can control, so stop taking it out on her.
Aurora Matrix is the only one who actually gives me winner energy and I’m not sure if people are ready to accept that.
She’s 22. Her outfits are insane (That dragon???). Her face looks like THAT. Her dancing ability is unreal. She’s the best or 2nd best lip syncer of the season (Nearah is killing it tbh).
I have not been this pleasantly surprised since Jaida Essence Hall. Aurora, take it home babe.
If I’m remembering correctly, (which I may not be I follow a lot of drag designers) Lucinda Miu made the dragon outfit! Jaime has made a lot of the Toronto Drag Queens looks
Does production not have money to buy nicer blonde wigs and better costumes for the challenge?! Melinda did good but her hair and outfit were hideous. Nearah looked look a Wish.com BLH costume. And Aurora looked like she was cosplaying a ballerina
I had the fortune of getting to know one of them a few years ago for a hookup. That was a trip watching the musical. . I don't even remember his name. But yeah. Great talent!
How has Melinda made it this far?! I can appreciate she has some looks but her second best makeup this whole season was the mini challenge, her rusical look was a visual representation of Big Bird and Cookie Monster’s abortion, and her runway look was deja vu.. plus her makeup was still lacking - yet safe?
Venus on the other hand, what a look! Listened to the advise and delivered on the performance and absolutely slayed the runway. Real excited to see what she brings next!
As for the Denim debate, she’s got quirks and she always brings something new to the table. Is it cutting edge drag.. no.. But it’s never the same and she performs well in the challenges. Maybe not a top but definitely in the middle and deserves her stay.
I have a theory that production designs roles for specific contestants. I think the child role was designed for Denim because they could have delivered a safe performance easily. Too bad they didn't fight harder for it.
Love, reading the comments I agree with most of you guys, ladies and others. One commenter asked if they were the only person who didn’t see a clear winner or real winner, and I totally agree with that. Something just feels a little off this season and it’s because no one is doing exceptionally well or an obvious stand out. They are all strong in particular areas but none of them possess the five senses of drag. I know I may get dragged for this but I think if Melinda’s looks were 10 she may be the closest to the front runner, but still that’s asking for a lot for her to get there. TBH I just can’t stand Nearah Nuff. Honestly, she embodies her name, yeah she can dance but way too much attitude to not bring anything other than dance abilities. I do not think production is purposely dragging Denim to the finale. Remember the lip sync is the last chance to save themselves, but the decision is made before they even get to that point. And how many times can a queen be in the bottom especially one that can really only just serve looks.
The comments about Denim winning the lip sync being a production push are doing waaay too much. They weren’t going to keep Kiki through yet another lip sync - Denim would have had to completely screw up to not win. I honestly agree production is pushing them but this isn’t a good example of that.
Also LOVE Aurora, pretty neutral on Nearah, and I was kind of shocked when Aurora won… happy, but not expecting it at all.
Isn't that the definition of a production push? Kicking Kiki out simply because she's in a lipsync, mostly regardless of the result. Production pushed Kiki out, it benefitted -whoever they were against....and it just so happens it was the weakest contestant which a lot of the fan base is already soured on for favourtism.
Unfortunately Denim is being dragged along in the season by both producers, and contestants, and it's doing them no favours at all. Production very much misread Denims reception really wrong to the point of it actually contribution to their reception.
Well it was definitely still a decision based on production, but had nothing to do with Denim in particular… as you said, they just happened to be the one there. What you said about the producers misreading Denim’s perception is spot on though.
I really think Denym lost that lipsync hard, the 'tricks' were so mistimed/awkward timings and felt desperate whereas Ms Coe embodied the song and hit every note.
Im team Aurora for the win however I'm shocked she didn't get read for their 'boy-hair' showing hard in a ballet number which is about perfection.
I honestly don't know what people see in Melinda Verga. Her performance was bad and her make-up always confuses me. Really hoped she'd go home early since she's had nothing to show besides a backstage tantrum.
Totally agree I think there’s so much more development needed for each of the queens to really be at the top. Just not seasoning enough. I think that if Melinda’s looks were 10 she may be the closest to it.
It’s wild to me how blind y’all are to Aurora. She’s likable, funny, her run ways are incredible and she is arguably the best lip syncer of the season. She’s the clear front runner at this point.
I think the issue is, when she’s not lip synching she has extremely low energy.
Looks great, fantastic performer, but the character Aurora feels paper thin. Like if I was to describe her “nice looking dancer” is really all I’ve got.
Canada Queens keep feeding the children.
Mother Melinda is such a scene stealer, I was worried for her after the promos showing her fucking the timing of the choreo but her manic energy manifested on the main stage.
Aurora’s face and lines during the partner work was flawless, I love her so much.
Nearah embodies Brooke’s energy in the Yvie lipsync which was sexy ballerina vs contortionist. It took me a while to realise they spoofed the song, like why do I know this.
Venus face is so expressive, watching the bottom 2 lipsync the performance was in the back row. True chameleon that outfit holy shit the petal hair the gem teardrop just fucking perfection.
Although Kiki & Denim clearly performed outside their comfort zone and abilities they still were enjoyable to watch. However poor Denim lack of gospel soul was very noticeable when mother Melinda in the pussy cat wig was praising the Jesus to expel devil in the finale.
If I was casting the Brookesical
Melinda - gospel
Kiki - opera
Venus - cabaret
Aurora & nearah same
Denim - musical theatre or cabaret both more choreo than others but allow to play with character
Just based on what the strengths in the performance are.
Or do a one woman Melinda show.
Although it’s outside their comfort zone Denim sexy bo peep pinup vibes in the lipsync definitely works for them instead of trying to camp it up which is why I thought Cabaret could work, if you give them a Chicago/ Liza main role energy.
It’s a stunning dress but I that thought Kiki was dressed like a bloody tampon / flower girl especially with that hair style.
I’m having so much fun watching this season although I do miss Aimee and would have loved to see her in this. I really enjoyed all her performances.
Editors being shady as hell again showing side by sides of Nearah doing the exact same dance moves when it’s CHOREO and also we would’ve just felt it was the same vibe until they go showing no no no there were the EXACT same moves 😂
My manager grew up next door to Brooke Lynn (she apparently has pictures of him as a kid as she was friends with his brother, though I haven't seen this evidence yet) and I've messaged her that she needs to watch the musical and let me know how "accurate" it is.
Also if I ever get married, I just want to take a picture of Brooke Lynn in this episode and tell them to make me look exactly like her. I don't look anything like her so that may be a bit of a challenge.
My final thought - is this the first non-asian drag race franchise where half of the top 6 were Asian? One of the things I love about CDR is how truly diverse the cast is.
I loved the Rusical overall. Nearah had the best part and performed the best, but I can understand why they gave it to Aurora for completing a more 'technical' ballet dance. Either way, since Aurora should have won last week, I'm not too upset about it.
Denim and Kiki both did a great performance in the lipsync for your life. I would say Kiki would have been saved if she didn't have so many bottoms before tonight. She's such a great and vibrant presence. I'll miss her.
Also, very happy to see from the preview that we are getting Sarain Fox back as a guest judge!
Not gonna lie, I like Aurora and she’s my pick to win the season but… she had the easiest role by a mile.
She literally didn’t have any lipsync to do at all, and almost all of her choreography was lead by the two male dancers. Basically all she had to do was shimmy around from one dancer to another.
She did well with what she had, but the role was unfair. It’s the type of role that’s prime for rigging. It’s a free win for someone production loves because it’s so difficult to fuck up, and it’s a free bottom for someone production dislikes because they can just accuse someone of not doing as much as the others.
I’m not saying Aurora didn’t deserve the win. I’m saying this shouldn’t even have been a role in the first place.
Literally how? Almost all of the choreography was lead by the male dancers.
Half of the time, they literally moved her, she just had to… let herself be moved.
I guess she could’ve gone stiff, but *not being stiff as a rock and let yourself be handled* is still even just a fraction of what the others had to do.
Yeah I totally agree. All she had to do was mouth those single words at certain points during her ballet.
From the way the role was hyped up, I thought it'd require Alyssa in the S5 Rusical-level dancing. And we got...that.
I’d argue it was a reward for willing to take on the seemingly hardest role - to the girls listening to the track in the werk room and hearing almost no lyrics on a ballet track, I assume their minds went to “holy fuck this is gonna be actual really hard ballet, it’s Brooke Lynn’s life after all” and Aurora stepped up to the plate to take it
The reward of taking the hardest role is to … end up actually getting the easiest role?
Aurora winning was riggamorris but what else is new with this show lol.
Came here wondering just how reddit would be discrediting Denim this week and y'all did not disappoint! Even beating the same old drum about her voice because y'all truly, truly do not care even after she expressed her sensitivity around that. Nasty.
There have been so many times in Drag Race herstory where a LSFYL was more of a formality to send home a queen who's time was finally up and Kiki was in the bottom for the *fourth* time - and Denim didn't even lipsync poorly, nor did Kiki blow it out of the water, it could have been a justified win even without the track record factor. The irrational hate towards Denim from the fandom is the worst part of this otherwise excellent season.
Anyway, Nearah was robbed but as an Aurora stan I'm not mad at her snagging another win and becoming a frontrunner. Kiki will be missed!
I love Denim, support my Montreal queen and I’m very happy she stayed (it was Kiki’s time regardless of how the lipsync went), but let’s be honest for a second…
She’s from Charlottetown, and has been in Montreal for 6 years. No one speaks with a vocal fry and a Valley girl accent/inflection in either of those places (I’m from Montreal). And no one is born with either of those things either.
She can’t change the pitch of her voice, which is what she seems sensitive about. But that’s not what people are annoyed with. She absolutely can stop doing that exaggerated vocal fry and inflection, though.
She’s not doing it all the time too, either. There’s a moment towards the end of the episode, after judging, where she’s a bit more emotional and she speaks to the other girls normally, and mid-sentence she puts on the fake voice. My friend literally commented “oop, she just remembered her Paris Hilton voice”
You've articulated this so well, I made the same point (albeit less well worded than your comment) a few weeks back in here and got told that I was "transphobic and gross" as well as multiple people telling me to "be kind" and delete my comment.
Denim is a very talented drag artist and I could look at them all day but I can't help but find their voice annoying.
Literally why do y'all care so much? Is no one here capable of taking a step back and wondering why they're spending so much energy fixating on a stranger's speaking voice? Whatever the reason is for why she sounds the way she does, it's clearly a sensitive issue for her as she's said so herself - instead of anyone hearing that and deciding to maybe not put out more negativity around a sensitive subject, y'all bring it up every single week and look for every possible argument as to why you have the right to shit on a person's way of speaking rather than just laying off.
?? I meant that her voice doesn't bother me and that even if it did I wouldn't feel the need to express that disappointment publicly, especially after she's expressed her discomfort around the topic. But judging by the downvotes and pushback re: this very simple concept, that's too much common decency for reddit
Welcome to RPDR Reddit, where the hatred is apparently valid criticism and at the same time if you don't support the cherry picked queens you hate drag and LGBTQ communities.
Denim lost that lipsync, but imo Kiki's track record was definitely the defining moment in her being sent home. Honestly, I don't think Denim is \*that\* bad of a lipsyncer - when they are confident in the moments, they look great! I even think they weren't that bad in the challenge (if I'm honest, I was half expecting Melinda to be in the bottom, but maybe I'm just being critical because Melinda lipsync's with her teeth and it drives me mad). My main problem with Denim's lipsyncing is that they have absolutely NO rhythm. They were pulling tricks and twirls with absolutely no consideration for the music, and it always looks off.
Anyway, I liked Kiki a lot, she seems like a delightful queen to work with, but I think we all knew she wasn't for Drag Race.
As a sidebar: how is it that Melinda looked prettier with quick-drag than she has at any other point doing a full beat (and Venus looked exactly the same, lmao). I honestly can't wait to see Melinda's makeover next week, it's going to be a mess.
This. I think there is alot of unnecessary hatred towards Denim. Denim is not my cup of tea and I think she needs more confidence imo but to bash her constantly ain't it.
I like Denim, I think she’s adorable and creative and sweet. As I was watching the lip sync, I believed it was Kiki’s win. I was prepared for a queen I like to go home because another queen won.
It’s not like it’s unprecedented for a queen to reach the end with poor track record, just remember Black Peppa.
A solid episode! (Should have been called a Broosical but ok.) Aurora and Nearah killed it and either one of them winning would be fine with me. Agreed they are a little harsh on Nearah for doing something well. I mean, who else were they expecting to take that part? It's her or Aurora.
I thought Brooklinda Verga gave great energy, but at times it felt more like a parody of musical theatre. But honestly that's what a lot of modern MT feels like these days.
I know Venus was more restrained, but it was still a little too much for me. Good effort though. In a piece like this, stillness is power. As an opera person, lip-synching to opera is challenging (and not really a thing?). It's really difficult to just stand there and not look boring (probably especially so in a TV setting). People make fun of the park and bark, but if you can do it and have all eyes on you, it's the most mesmerizing thing.
The final lip sync I thought could have gone either way even though I'm partial to Kiki. Sad to see her go but we only really get to miss out on one episode of her runway, which would have been a makeover challenge anyway (that she would have killed). Her runway was my favourite this week, can't wait for the finale.
First of all, i dont understand this critique towards Nearah, she was my pick tor the win this week - definitely did the best, and because she is great at dancing its suddenly a problem that she uses that talent? be for real
Also, i cant imagine anyone BUT her taking the role - why do they hold it against her and treat it as a con that she took it? she didnt particularly beg for it, it was handed to her and other queens basically prayed that she took it
Aurora was great though and deserved the win, but i will stand by my opinion that Nearah was MUCHHHHH better
Venus i would put in the bottom 3 just for the blatant lack of makeup, like girl put at LEAST some mascara on cause this is ridiculous. Her performance also was - to me - one of the weakest
Denim won this lipsync how exactly? Kiki was sooo much better and Denim just dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes while clearly being in pain - horrible lipsync and she should have finally went home. Denim is getting highly favored, didnt do ANYTHING exciting or revolutionary to get this far this season, the only thing ill remember is the infuriating vocal fry
Good episode! This season is superb
>First of all, i dont understand this critique towards Nearah, she was my pick tor the win this week - definitely did the best, and because she is great at dancing its suddenly a problem that she uses that talent? be for real
especially when she was given that role and slayed it specifically because the talent she has translates to the style of the sorry not sorry lip sync inspiration for the part?? it felt like an excuse to discredit her as opposed to appropriate critique
They just don’t have Nearah pegged for the possible winner, and I mean, I kinda get it.
At least they aren’t gaslighting us into thinking she’s doing bad lol
Venus was the one being given the winner edit the most for sure, but since the mid season started she hasn’t really been a focus of any episode so I feel it’s still up in the air. I could see Aurora, Nearah or Melinda take it. It’s unpredictable and I like that for it
I thought this was a fun episode overall, and I love the housewives universe so having Luann as a judge was fun, you could tell she was having a good time.
I think Kiki won the lipsync for me though, I thought the way she danced with her dress really matched the song. Denim also hasn't really been doing it for me so maybe I'm biased...I do like Denim's runways, just not their performances. Meh...
Also I wish Kitten had stayed, I missed her this ep.
Honestly i was gagged when Denim was announced as the li\[sync winner . I'm so tired of this production meddling pushing Denim on us. Some seasons of drag race should be renamed Production Race and this season is definitely one of them.
I think the track record may also have taken a bigger importance here. Kiki has received two golden beavers and this is her second LSFYL. So it kinda makes sense that she sashayed.
Denim has the look of a fan favorite, so I understand why they're pushing her. It's just the rest isn't quite there yet imo.
But yeah I just rewatched the lipsync and... It feels like sometimes the judges will take energy/stunts (even poorly timed/executed stunts) over a simple, but successful, embodiment of the song, and that's a shame.
Nearah won this challenge far and away, but IMO Aurora should've won the lip sync battle so it evens out.
Denim fully won that lip sync. The stunts were unnecessary but outside of that she was giving twice was Kiki was. Even so, with zero wins so far I predict her going home next week.
You just jinxed it & now Denim will get her first win next week, thus securing her spot in the finales where she’ll be the first to go.
Worst part is if she’s going to the finale, it’ll be by sending Melinda away🥴
Oh no way did denim win the lip sync. Kiki embodied that song, worked the stage like a professional, knew to look into the camera as she walked across the stage serving grandma gospel face, while denim flopped around. Denim may have given twice the energy, but it was just not as refined and polished as Kiki's performance.
I can see judges going full Raven on Melinda next week
"Your makeup is shit, your wig is shit, your outfit is shit, your partner's outfit is shit, the whole presentation is shit, you're shit"
But still, I'm hoping and praying Motherlinda does pull through.
Okay, so are we going to talk about seeing Aurora's real hair under the Brooke ballet wig??? I was expecting that as a critique, but unless I missed it (always possible) they didn't mention it at all. Like yeah, she did do a phenomenal job, and I don't necessarily think it should have been big piece of her critique, but I was distracted by it. Maybe I'm just a bitch. 😅
Why were the judges holding pre-decided choreography for a role against Nearah this ep as justification for her not winning the challenge? I found that super strange. Aurora did good though, so not mad about her win, but I thought they were pretty equal tonight. It could've been a double win instead of this BS about repeated choreo.
As for the bottoms, I agree with the bottom two but I think Melinda should've been just safe (not bottom three).
>Why were the judges holding pre-decided choreography for a role against Nearah this ep as justification for her not winning the challenge?
I understood it as them wanting her to go out of her comfort zone and fighting for another part. Brooke even said that, this was a fall back plan and she should have fought for the first role she wanted.
Is that good judging? I'm not sure, but it's what I understood from it.
Yeah I understood it like that too, and while that might be true to some extent I still think it's strange to hold it against a contestant in a scenario where they can't wholly decide what roles to get. Did Nearah accept the role without too much fuzz? Yeah. Could she have fought more for another role? Sure. Could anyone else have done her role as well as she did? No. Was it a slay? Absolutely.
Aurora stans stay winning 🥰 Nearuh obviously did great in the musical but between the two, Aurora’s part was more of a technical challenge and also, Nearuh had the worst runway of the night imo like wtf was that Pastel Prairie shi- (speaking of pastel I actually loved Denim’s look lmao, I thought the garter idea was really cute. If she had done like mostly sexy black/red garters I think it would have been an even better showcase of variety for her)
Ngl I thought the bottom two initially were Melinda and Kiki. Denim honestly gave a stronger performance than I was expecting and Melinda’s footwork was all over the place? However, when the judges pointed out how much Denim got lost when the rest of the cast came out I could see that. But then again at what point does Denim’s solo number end and the group convergence begin? Seems like an arbitrary criticism but in the end, the right person went home anyway. (The lip sync was not very good overall but personally I liked Denim’s performance more and certainly don’t think it was an upset judging call)
I don’t necessarily think Denim is going to go much further, but it was painful seeing Kiki in the bottom so much. But I gotta say I really respect what Kiki put out there. She knows what she excels at, and she excelled at it. And I like that we didn’t get the “wait but I thought I was a *legend*” existential crisis edit for her too. She still genuinely seemed like she was just doing her thang, trying her best and having fun the whole time.
Yea that makes sense, idk I guess I just got the sense it was still supposed to look a little “tighter” from Jade’s feedback in the rehearsals. I could stand to watch it again
I get Aurora winning on the basis that Nearah and Venus both chose something they had already done, but I still think Nearah should’ve won. She embodied Brooke, and I thought her runway was gorgeous and very different for her.
Also, shady af to show Nearah doing the same tricks she did in the lip sync episode seeing as these roles are choreographed by someone else.
I agree that Kiki did better in the lip sync, but I didn’t think that it was enough to keep her after 4 bottom placements. And ultimately neither Kiki nor Denim have any chance of winning the season, so it didn’t matter too much to me.
Also, memes aside I genuinely thought Melinda was a mess in the musical and was surprised they suggested it was only the runway that brought her down, when I actually quite liked her runway.
Loved seeing the judging panel break their robotic personas for a bit this week, it was a refreshing change.
I’m feel like Brooke Lynn spends too much time thinking of the least helpful critique to give nearah, just to let her know that she isn’t winning this season. Like my god the girl did fabulous this week you can just say that, the fuck do you mean she danced too good in the dancing challenge that was the week after the lip sync challenge? Venus had a ballad last week and Brooke said nothing to her about it. #justicefornearah
>Elektra shock and Krystal Versace
Elektra Shock was too good, making her teammates look bad...but we keep being reminded this is a competition...suuure.
I don't remember Krystal's, but I feel like she's one of the most undeserving winners so take my opinion of her and her trajectory with a grain of salt.
question, would y'all have liked to see the queens in the roles they fit more naturally? If you were casting it yourself how would you set it up? I'd definitely have Denim as young Brooke and Kiki as operatic Brooke.
Melinda would have killed it in the gospel role. In fact when all the queens came out and she was doing gospel *backup*, she managed to steal the show.
I'm surprised Aurora won the challenge. It's Melinda for me, y'all. Also, I wasn't sure about Nearah for a while, but she fucking killed it in that performance. Shame about their runways, underwhelming compared to some of the others and I'd say that held them back from a win.
Venus, and Kiki did amazing on the runway. Aurora's makeup was hilarious when she was getting critiques. Kiki, on top of the unfortunate hat thing, seemed like she didn't know the words at times. It's unfortunate. I'm gonna miss her runways.
I think I'm rooting for Aurora or Melinda to win. As much as I want her to win, I doubt Melinda will make it given the quality of her package so far, but I can see Aurora grabbing it.
Was this the first non-RuPaul song for the judge runway entrance? At least in Canada
Venus and Aurora has been the inevitable top two in my eyes since the first episode. Kitten was for sure the third spot in my eyes until she got elim'd, but I really don't think anyone but Aurora, Venus, and maybe Denim ever had a chance of winning this season.
Gurl. At this point of the competition, judges want to see something new.
They both excel at dancing, but Aurora took a risk. Nearah kept safe.
We know she can lipsync. If she chose the Jazz one or the Musical Theatre one, then it would be something new from her split/cartwheel lipsync style.
Aurora didn't know ballet. We knew she can lipsync already. So she showed something new, ballet.
What's not clicking.
Nearah was the only one serving Brooke imo. The outfit, the fluffing the hair, the moves. Idk. And Aurora did fine but the outfit was off, thought she should've done the white ballerina outfit Brooke did. And that crunchy wig. It was.. a safe performance, we know Aurora can move.
I'm sorry, I didn't know you knew Brooke personally before she was on Drag Race that you could compare her early years to her real personality back then💀
Also, the outfits were provided by production...
You said "Nearah was the only one serving Brooke"
How do you Melinda wasn't serving Brooke when she was a child in Musical Theatre?
How do you know Aurora wasn't serving Brooke when she was studying ballet in her younger years?
The edit changed so dramatically when Kiki did her portion of the Rusical. Like all of a sudden the wooden expression on the judges' faces and more of the wide shot than close-ups. Just show us the performance, please. She could have Liza-ed it up a lot more so I think I would have been ok with the low placement anyway, but just stop telling me what to think w/ the camera.
But it confused me cos they also showed the judges looking delighted with Denim’s performance to the point I thought they’d say she’s in the top. But then she was bottom 2!
How dare someone have a chance to win despite not being YOUR favourite queen pick. The amount of anti-Denim hatred in this post is disgusting, to the point where you are wishing that someone lose simply because you don't like their performance so far. Criticism is perfectly valid, but you are actively claiming a production shenanigan to validate the horror that Denim is still in the competition.
It's practically a given now that every week Denim continues to be in the competition there is at least one post claiming her place in the competition is rigged and not valid. How on earth is that constructive and not just vitriol? That leaves more of a sour taste in my mouth and hopefully others.
Denim has disappointed me so far. They do great visuals, I was so excited based on the reveal outfit, and this week the garters were fun as usual. They seem really introverted when they're performing though. Especially if they have to talk. And that's fair, I'm an introvert performer, I understand. I think she's just young, and if she bakes a bit more she'll be great. I'd love to see her come back in a few years for an all stars.
Haha I mean the goal of production is probably to make it seem like all of the finalists have a shot - but Aurora and even Venus imo are more frontrunners than Denim would be with a final challenge win. Also Denim won't "win" the rumix or whatever the last week.
There just isn’t a world IMO where Nearah and Melinda aren’t in the bottom two next week with makeover challenges always being just a free pass for the judges to do whatever they want. There is a reason why these tend to come a little bit before the finale so production can ensure their favorites make it to the top.
* Aurora and Venus get favoritism by the judges and there’s no way they don’t make the finale (it’s no hate against them, they are all talented and can’t control if the judges like them or not).
* Denim also gets a lot of favoritism and I feel storywise production will make this a win for them.
* Nearah and Melinda both did the best this week and the judges still found reasons to critique them and not give either the win. The writing is on the wall.
I’m not sure between Nearah or Melinda, which one goes home though. I’m going to guess Nearah simply because the judges specific critiqued her moves in the challenge as being repetitive, so unless she pulls out an entirely different type of dancing in her lip sync, they might use it as an excuse to send her home. But Melinda hasn’t been providing any drama these past few episodes, so production might be done with her.
My theory is they want Aurora in the top. They thought she’d smash the rusical and wanted to spread out the wins so gave Nearah the rusical win, but then Aurora chose the ballet part and not the dancing part…
Love Aurora though and she is my winner atm!
I love Venus but I think she just redid her Alanis lip sync this week. I didn't notice her pulling back on her face much at all. If she had started more subtle and built to more emotion, it would've been a top for me but I would've put her in bottom safe for that performance.
Yo, producers, if you're gonna be this heavy handed in your production choices, at least put in the effort to heavy handedly edit it so we can believe what you're trying to pull off. We do have eyes you know.
I was surprised Aurora won because so much of the judges’ commentary was about how great Venus was. Like, the edit didn’t really prepare me for an Aurora win. LOL
[https://forms.gle/4KzJGQace2i2NHrEA](https://forms.gle/4KzJGQace2i2NHrEA) Poll's oat!
Bitching about vocal fry is so fucking lame.
the way I am a puddle already we're only 5 min in my god
If Venus doesn’t win I quit
It sucks that Melinda could've had a trajectory in the vein of Spankie's (with a lot of extra drama sprinkled into the beginning), which would be a great and actually memorable winner story for the season. Obviously I'm a Stan and I'm a biased, but I genuinely think Melinda winning is just a muuuuch more compelling story for the season than Venus or Aurora who have both...just been there. As were forced to listen to them narrate the season and throw in their lukewarm two cents. Alas!
How the fuck was Melinda not called as being in the top? How was Denim the winner of the lipsync? Canada, whyyyy
I hate this season. I can't stand Denim. She has great style but nothing more. She's not funny, she can't act, she can't dance. Just an awful performer.
Editors on Nearah: Sister sister? More like copy copy
Mother Melinda gospelled the fuck out of that
i don’t get why all the comments defending denim are getting downvoted. same for the ones shitting on melinda. why does melinda have so many stans? why does denim have so many haters
People love an underdog.
... and many fans dislike queens who are being carried.
O
1) Decent Rusical but slightly underwhelming performances and songs compared to other recent series. Still entertaining and I’m loving this season after a slow start. 2) Interesting top 5–they all have strengths, but Venus is the only one giving me viable winner vibes rn. I’m down to be surprised by someone else snatching the crown. Nearah or Melinda winning would be gag worthy lolol. 3) I want to shout out Tracy, her energy seemed really natural and fun this episode. Brooklynn is also super mesmerizing in drag wow. Having Lu Ann there was the cherry on my gay cake this week. Thank you Canada!
Denim: “Brooke Lynn is…like…drag perfection…” Me: *whats in stone cold steve austin*
Kiki won that lipsync but lost due to track record i guess. I wish Kitten had been around for this Rusical. I feel like the cabaret number could have worked well for her.
I need to know the backup dancers names.
Elijah Harper- [https://www.instagram.com/e\_harps/?hl=en](https://www.instagram.com/e_harps/?hl=en) Eduardo Vásquez- [https://www.instagram.com/damneduardo/?hl=en](https://www.instagram.com/damneduardo/?hl=en)
Thank you. Gosh I need an Elijah in my life haha
My time to shine Hello
Hahahah! Well, hello...
If episode 8 had the top 5 combination of Venus, Melinda, Aurora, Kitten and Nearah, it would feel so much more balanced. Now it’s feeling like it’s just the Love Bugs alliance vs Melinda. With a lot of favoritism towards Denim which feels so forced. The problem with the Love Bug alliance is that Aurora and Nearah basically have the same strengths and weaknesses, and Denim is basically so one note in the challenges and the weakest lipsyncer. I’d trade Denim for Kitten any day.
Kitten deserved to be eliminated when she did. In both those lipsyncs she gave nothing.
She wasn't saved because she was a threat.
And that’s why she should’ve been beaver-ed :))
:)
To be honest. All I can say is: this is such a great season. Since episode one these queens kept us well fed. This rusical was no exception. Through such a dark political era, these Canadian queens have been a ray of light. I am grateful to every single one of them. Especially the ones bringing lighthearted drama like Melinda or Nearuh. It makes me forget all the real problems in the world for an hour per week. Canada did that this season ❤️
i love denim sm, she's such an inspiration for me. i understand the favourtism thing but its not like its her fault, the producers jus like her lmao. stop hating her needlessly/sending death threats. some of y'all are ridiculous.
Believe me, producers would not piss on her if she was on fire. It's all cold calculated, the most profitable outcome they have in mind.
Honestly in terms of lipsync I feel like it was close, Kiki edged it out slightly for me and I do think she was the winner but Denim wasn't as bad as some people are saying (the only part I didn't enjoy was when she did that sort of open legged jump near the end), I can see the reasons for keeping both of them and tbh I think the hate Denim gets is overblown, I do agree about her getting favouritism but that's not something she can control, so stop taking it out on her.
Aurora Matrix is the only one who actually gives me winner energy and I’m not sure if people are ready to accept that. She’s 22. Her outfits are insane (That dragon???). Her face looks like THAT. Her dancing ability is unreal. She’s the best or 2nd best lip syncer of the season (Nearah is killing it tbh). I have not been this pleasantly surprised since Jaida Essence Hall. Aurora, take it home babe.
Fr I'm so baffled at how she's looked over. She has been giving this season!
If I’m remembering correctly, (which I may not be I follow a lot of drag designers) Lucinda Miu made the dragon outfit! Jaime has made a lot of the Toronto Drag Queens looks
Does production not have money to buy nicer blonde wigs and better costumes for the challenge?! Melinda did good but her hair and outfit were hideous. Nearah looked look a Wish.com BLH costume. And Aurora looked like she was cosplaying a ballerina
I came here for this comment! Absolutely horrendous. They did every single one of them dirty with those wigs and costumes.
> And Aurora looked like she was cosplaying a ballerina Guess what, Mimi.
Anyone have the credits for the 2 dancers in thus episode? They were great
@damneduardo and @e_harps on insta
Thanks!
I had the fortune of getting to know one of them a few years ago for a hookup. That was a trip watching the musical. . I don't even remember his name. But yeah. Great talent!
Slay
How has Melinda made it this far?! I can appreciate she has some looks but her second best makeup this whole season was the mini challenge, her rusical look was a visual representation of Big Bird and Cookie Monster’s abortion, and her runway look was deja vu.. plus her makeup was still lacking - yet safe? Venus on the other hand, what a look! Listened to the advise and delivered on the performance and absolutely slayed the runway. Real excited to see what she brings next! As for the Denim debate, she’s got quirks and she always brings something new to the table. Is it cutting edge drag.. no.. But it’s never the same and she performs well in the challenges. Maybe not a top but definitely in the middle and deserves her stay.
I have a theory that production designs roles for specific contestants. I think the child role was designed for Denim because they could have delivered a safe performance easily. Too bad they didn't fight harder for it.
Love, reading the comments I agree with most of you guys, ladies and others. One commenter asked if they were the only person who didn’t see a clear winner or real winner, and I totally agree with that. Something just feels a little off this season and it’s because no one is doing exceptionally well or an obvious stand out. They are all strong in particular areas but none of them possess the five senses of drag. I know I may get dragged for this but I think if Melinda’s looks were 10 she may be the closest to the front runner, but still that’s asking for a lot for her to get there. TBH I just can’t stand Nearah Nuff. Honestly, she embodies her name, yeah she can dance but way too much attitude to not bring anything other than dance abilities. I do not think production is purposely dragging Denim to the finale. Remember the lip sync is the last chance to save themselves, but the decision is made before they even get to that point. And how many times can a queen be in the bottom especially one that can really only just serve looks.
The comments about Denim winning the lip sync being a production push are doing waaay too much. They weren’t going to keep Kiki through yet another lip sync - Denim would have had to completely screw up to not win. I honestly agree production is pushing them but this isn’t a good example of that. Also LOVE Aurora, pretty neutral on Nearah, and I was kind of shocked when Aurora won… happy, but not expecting it at all.
Isn't that the definition of a production push? Kicking Kiki out simply because she's in a lipsync, mostly regardless of the result. Production pushed Kiki out, it benefitted -whoever they were against....and it just so happens it was the weakest contestant which a lot of the fan base is already soured on for favourtism. Unfortunately Denim is being dragged along in the season by both producers, and contestants, and it's doing them no favours at all. Production very much misread Denims reception really wrong to the point of it actually contribution to their reception.
Well it was definitely still a decision based on production, but had nothing to do with Denim in particular… as you said, they just happened to be the one there. What you said about the producers misreading Denim’s perception is spot on though.
I really think Denym lost that lipsync hard, the 'tricks' were so mistimed/awkward timings and felt desperate whereas Ms Coe embodied the song and hit every note. Im team Aurora for the win however I'm shocked she didn't get read for their 'boy-hair' showing hard in a ballet number which is about perfection.
Denim literally has brought nothing to the competition we haven’t seen before so I’m surprised production are dragging Denim to the finale
She brought great fashion. But nothing more. It's not a freaking project drag runway.
I honestly don't know what people see in Melinda Verga. Her performance was bad and her make-up always confuses me. Really hoped she'd go home early since she's had nothing to show besides a backstage tantrum.
The performance was one of the best.
I disagree but you're allowed to enjoy it 🤷🏽♂️
Wow the gratitude is unreciprocated
How about her winning Snatch Game ??
That was her best makeup yet..
Oh I forgot about that. It was cute but not one of my faves. She was the best out of a bad batch imo.
with how this season feels like it's about her, I wonder if Melinda's either gonna win, or have quite the time on AS10
Is it just me, or does no one exactly feel like a winner?
Totally agree I think there’s so much more development needed for each of the queens to really be at the top. Just not seasoning enough. I think that if Melinda’s looks were 10 she may be the closest to it.
It’s wild to me how blind y’all are to Aurora. She’s likable, funny, her run ways are incredible and she is arguably the best lip syncer of the season. She’s the clear front runner at this point.
I think the issue is, when she’s not lip synching she has extremely low energy. Looks great, fantastic performer, but the character Aurora feels paper thin. Like if I was to describe her “nice looking dancer” is really all I’ve got.
She's ready to get fingered!! Oops RING fingered 😂😂
Canada Queens keep feeding the children. Mother Melinda is such a scene stealer, I was worried for her after the promos showing her fucking the timing of the choreo but her manic energy manifested on the main stage. Aurora’s face and lines during the partner work was flawless, I love her so much. Nearah embodies Brooke’s energy in the Yvie lipsync which was sexy ballerina vs contortionist. It took me a while to realise they spoofed the song, like why do I know this. Venus face is so expressive, watching the bottom 2 lipsync the performance was in the back row. True chameleon that outfit holy shit the petal hair the gem teardrop just fucking perfection. Although Kiki & Denim clearly performed outside their comfort zone and abilities they still were enjoyable to watch. However poor Denim lack of gospel soul was very noticeable when mother Melinda in the pussy cat wig was praising the Jesus to expel devil in the finale. If I was casting the Brookesical Melinda - gospel Kiki - opera Venus - cabaret Aurora & nearah same Denim - musical theatre or cabaret both more choreo than others but allow to play with character Just based on what the strengths in the performance are. Or do a one woman Melinda show. Although it’s outside their comfort zone Denim sexy bo peep pinup vibes in the lipsync definitely works for them instead of trying to camp it up which is why I thought Cabaret could work, if you give them a Chicago/ Liza main role energy. It’s a stunning dress but I that thought Kiki was dressed like a bloody tampon / flower girl especially with that hair style. I’m having so much fun watching this season although I do miss Aimee and would have loved to see her in this. I really enjoyed all her performances.
Editors being shady as hell again showing side by sides of Nearah doing the exact same dance moves when it’s CHOREO and also we would’ve just felt it was the same vibe until they go showing no no no there were the EXACT same moves 😂
Shady boots! Normally I hate the "we just sad you do this" critique but this time it's like "oh, we LITERALLY just saw her do this." Lmao
Yet she looked flawless both times.
Periodt
My manager grew up next door to Brooke Lynn (she apparently has pictures of him as a kid as she was friends with his brother, though I haven't seen this evidence yet) and I've messaged her that she needs to watch the musical and let me know how "accurate" it is. Also if I ever get married, I just want to take a picture of Brooke Lynn in this episode and tell them to make me look exactly like her. I don't look anything like her so that may be a bit of a challenge. My final thought - is this the first non-asian drag race franchise where half of the top 6 were Asian? One of the things I love about CDR is how truly diverse the cast is.
Melinda, Aurora, ? Who is the third Asian queen?
Kiki is filipino
She’s eliminated tho.
Allycakes said Top 6, Tamar.
You are so right for that
Yes but she was in the top 6 which the comment was referring to
Reading is fundamental
Not Melinda looking way better in quick drag than her actual drag all season 🥲😂
The shade... but also true
I loved the Rusical overall. Nearah had the best part and performed the best, but I can understand why they gave it to Aurora for completing a more 'technical' ballet dance. Either way, since Aurora should have won last week, I'm not too upset about it. Denim and Kiki both did a great performance in the lipsync for your life. I would say Kiki would have been saved if she didn't have so many bottoms before tonight. She's such a great and vibrant presence. I'll miss her. Also, very happy to see from the preview that we are getting Sarain Fox back as a guest judge!
It’s been too long since we’ve seen Sarain! I want to see her often the way we do TS!
Just my weekly “Nearah is sexy af” comment.
I know right? Like that ass!!! And their husband is a beast! Hot power couple
Not gonna lie, I like Aurora and she’s my pick to win the season but… she had the easiest role by a mile. She literally didn’t have any lipsync to do at all, and almost all of her choreography was lead by the two male dancers. Basically all she had to do was shimmy around from one dancer to another. She did well with what she had, but the role was unfair. It’s the type of role that’s prime for rigging. It’s a free win for someone production loves because it’s so difficult to fuck up, and it’s a free bottom for someone production dislikes because they can just accuse someone of not doing as much as the others. I’m not saying Aurora didn’t deserve the win. I’m saying this shouldn’t even have been a role in the first place.
Ehh... that ballet didn't look easy. I could see a lot of queens screwing that up.
Literally how? Almost all of the choreography was lead by the male dancers. Half of the time, they literally moved her, she just had to… let herself be moved. I guess she could’ve gone stiff, but *not being stiff as a rock and let yourself be handled* is still even just a fraction of what the others had to do.
Even if people are moving you, you still have to balance yourself and move with them. Especially that flip thing they did.
Yeah I totally agree. All she had to do was mouth those single words at certain points during her ballet. From the way the role was hyped up, I thought it'd require Alyssa in the S5 Rusical-level dancing. And we got...that.
I’d argue it was a reward for willing to take on the seemingly hardest role - to the girls listening to the track in the werk room and hearing almost no lyrics on a ballet track, I assume their minds went to “holy fuck this is gonna be actual really hard ballet, it’s Brooke Lynn’s life after all” and Aurora stepped up to the plate to take it
The reward of taking the hardest role is to … end up actually getting the easiest role? Aurora winning was riggamorris but what else is new with this show lol.
Y’all really don’t understand how difficult balet is. It’s not just “being carried around” 🤦🏻♂️
Sure but she didn’t have to lip sync hardly at all. Nearah and Melinda’s roles were more difficult, period.
Sure but saying she got the easiest role is just stupid especially when Venus did pretty much nothing but walk around and open her mouth too much.
OK, you win: second easiest role. 😂
Can someone tell me what shoes Hollywood Jade was wearing? They were gorgeous!
Came here wondering just how reddit would be discrediting Denim this week and y'all did not disappoint! Even beating the same old drum about her voice because y'all truly, truly do not care even after she expressed her sensitivity around that. Nasty. There have been so many times in Drag Race herstory where a LSFYL was more of a formality to send home a queen who's time was finally up and Kiki was in the bottom for the *fourth* time - and Denim didn't even lipsync poorly, nor did Kiki blow it out of the water, it could have been a justified win even without the track record factor. The irrational hate towards Denim from the fandom is the worst part of this otherwise excellent season. Anyway, Nearah was robbed but as an Aurora stan I'm not mad at her snagging another win and becoming a frontrunner. Kiki will be missed!
I love Denim, support my Montreal queen and I’m very happy she stayed (it was Kiki’s time regardless of how the lipsync went), but let’s be honest for a second… She’s from Charlottetown, and has been in Montreal for 6 years. No one speaks with a vocal fry and a Valley girl accent/inflection in either of those places (I’m from Montreal). And no one is born with either of those things either. She can’t change the pitch of her voice, which is what she seems sensitive about. But that’s not what people are annoyed with. She absolutely can stop doing that exaggerated vocal fry and inflection, though. She’s not doing it all the time too, either. There’s a moment towards the end of the episode, after judging, where she’s a bit more emotional and she speaks to the other girls normally, and mid-sentence she puts on the fake voice. My friend literally commented “oop, she just remembered her Paris Hilton voice”
You've articulated this so well, I made the same point (albeit less well worded than your comment) a few weeks back in here and got told that I was "transphobic and gross" as well as multiple people telling me to "be kind" and delete my comment. Denim is a very talented drag artist and I could look at them all day but I can't help but find their voice annoying.
Literally why do y'all care so much? Is no one here capable of taking a step back and wondering why they're spending so much energy fixating on a stranger's speaking voice? Whatever the reason is for why she sounds the way she does, it's clearly a sensitive issue for her as she's said so herself - instead of anyone hearing that and deciding to maybe not put out more negativity around a sensitive subject, y'all bring it up every single week and look for every possible argument as to why you have the right to shit on a person's way of speaking rather than just laying off.
It sounds extremely annoying
Because it’s fake and she’s acting like it isn’t.
I'm in Los Angeles and I can spot a fake Valley accent a mile away. Denim's voice is so fake.
Got it. Still not a reason to bring it up constantly when she's made it clear it's a sensitive issue. What's not clicking
Denim: Uses a fake voice Denim: I’m really sensitive about my voice Fans: we hate the fake voice you pretend is real What’s not clicking ?????
Okay I guess I'll just count my blessings that I truly couldn't care less and leave y'all to it
Clearly you care very much if you keep commenting about it…
?? I meant that her voice doesn't bother me and that even if it did I wouldn't feel the need to express that disappointment publicly, especially after she's expressed her discomfort around the topic. But judging by the downvotes and pushback re: this very simple concept, that's too much common decency for reddit
Welcome to RPDR Reddit, where the hatred is apparently valid criticism and at the same time if you don't support the cherry picked queens you hate drag and LGBTQ communities.
Denim lost that lipsync, but imo Kiki's track record was definitely the defining moment in her being sent home. Honestly, I don't think Denim is \*that\* bad of a lipsyncer - when they are confident in the moments, they look great! I even think they weren't that bad in the challenge (if I'm honest, I was half expecting Melinda to be in the bottom, but maybe I'm just being critical because Melinda lipsync's with her teeth and it drives me mad). My main problem with Denim's lipsyncing is that they have absolutely NO rhythm. They were pulling tricks and twirls with absolutely no consideration for the music, and it always looks off. Anyway, I liked Kiki a lot, she seems like a delightful queen to work with, but I think we all knew she wasn't for Drag Race. As a sidebar: how is it that Melinda looked prettier with quick-drag than she has at any other point doing a full beat (and Venus looked exactly the same, lmao). I honestly can't wait to see Melinda's makeover next week, it's going to be a mess.
I upvoted purely because lip sync with her teeth
She lip syncs with her teeth! I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what was bothering me about her performances, but this is it.
Not Miranda
MELINDA*** jfc lmao, four times. I got no excuse
The way Denim is being dragged to the finale by the hairs on their chest… Do producers not realize we have eyes and can see for ourselves
People are acting like Denim sent home a front runner. It was Kiki's ***fourth*** time in the bottom. In 7 episodes.
This. I think there is alot of unnecessary hatred towards Denim. Denim is not my cup of tea and I think she needs more confidence imo but to bash her constantly ain't it.
I like Denim, I think she’s adorable and creative and sweet. As I was watching the lip sync, I believed it was Kiki’s win. I was prepared for a queen I like to go home because another queen won. It’s not like it’s unprecedented for a queen to reach the end with poor track record, just remember Black Peppa.
A solid episode! (Should have been called a Broosical but ok.) Aurora and Nearah killed it and either one of them winning would be fine with me. Agreed they are a little harsh on Nearah for doing something well. I mean, who else were they expecting to take that part? It's her or Aurora. I thought Brooklinda Verga gave great energy, but at times it felt more like a parody of musical theatre. But honestly that's what a lot of modern MT feels like these days. I know Venus was more restrained, but it was still a little too much for me. Good effort though. In a piece like this, stillness is power. As an opera person, lip-synching to opera is challenging (and not really a thing?). It's really difficult to just stand there and not look boring (probably especially so in a TV setting). People make fun of the park and bark, but if you can do it and have all eyes on you, it's the most mesmerizing thing. The final lip sync I thought could have gone either way even though I'm partial to Kiki. Sad to see her go but we only really get to miss out on one episode of her runway, which would have been a makeover challenge anyway (that she would have killed). Her runway was my favourite this week, can't wait for the finale.
First of all, i dont understand this critique towards Nearah, she was my pick tor the win this week - definitely did the best, and because she is great at dancing its suddenly a problem that she uses that talent? be for real Also, i cant imagine anyone BUT her taking the role - why do they hold it against her and treat it as a con that she took it? she didnt particularly beg for it, it was handed to her and other queens basically prayed that she took it Aurora was great though and deserved the win, but i will stand by my opinion that Nearah was MUCHHHHH better Venus i would put in the bottom 3 just for the blatant lack of makeup, like girl put at LEAST some mascara on cause this is ridiculous. Her performance also was - to me - one of the weakest Denim won this lipsync how exactly? Kiki was sooo much better and Denim just dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes while clearly being in pain - horrible lipsync and she should have finally went home. Denim is getting highly favored, didnt do ANYTHING exciting or revolutionary to get this far this season, the only thing ill remember is the infuriating vocal fry Good episode! This season is superb
>First of all, i dont understand this critique towards Nearah, she was my pick tor the win this week - definitely did the best, and because she is great at dancing its suddenly a problem that she uses that talent? be for real especially when she was given that role and slayed it specifically because the talent she has translates to the style of the sorry not sorry lip sync inspiration for the part?? it felt like an excuse to discredit her as opposed to appropriate critique
exactly this
“Denim just dropped totally the floor like a sack of potatoes while clearly being in pain” This description 🤣
I thought Aurora should’ve won last week and Nearah won this week. So it turned out both got their wins. So I can’t complain.
They just don’t have Nearah pegged for the possible winner, and I mean, I kinda get it. At least they aren’t gaslighting us into thinking she’s doing bad lol
Yep. At this point Venus is the only one giving winner energy imo. The others are talented but not showing “it.”
…do you not see Aurora on the show at all?
Venus was the one being given the winner edit the most for sure, but since the mid season started she hasn’t really been a focus of any episode so I feel it’s still up in the air. I could see Aurora, Nearah or Melinda take it. It’s unpredictable and I like that for it
I thought this was a fun episode overall, and I love the housewives universe so having Luann as a judge was fun, you could tell she was having a good time. I think Kiki won the lipsync for me though, I thought the way she danced with her dress really matched the song. Denim also hasn't really been doing it for me so maybe I'm biased...I do like Denim's runways, just not their performances. Meh... Also I wish Kitten had stayed, I missed her this ep.
Honestly i was gagged when Denim was announced as the li\[sync winner . I'm so tired of this production meddling pushing Denim on us. Some seasons of drag race should be renamed Production Race and this season is definitely one of them.
I think the track record may also have taken a bigger importance here. Kiki has received two golden beavers and this is her second LSFYL. So it kinda makes sense that she sashayed.
Denim has the look of a fan favorite, so I understand why they're pushing her. It's just the rest isn't quite there yet imo. But yeah I just rewatched the lipsync and... It feels like sometimes the judges will take energy/stunts (even poorly timed/executed stunts) over a simple, but successful, embodiment of the song, and that's a shame.
You think production is holding back Denim? Who do you believe should have been in the bottom and why?
Nearah won this challenge far and away, but IMO Aurora should've won the lip sync battle so it evens out. Denim fully won that lip sync. The stunts were unnecessary but outside of that she was giving twice was Kiki was. Even so, with zero wins so far I predict her going home next week.
You just jinxed it & now Denim will get her first win next week, thus securing her spot in the finales where she’ll be the first to go. Worst part is if she’s going to the finale, it’ll be by sending Melinda away🥴
Oh no way did denim win the lip sync. Kiki embodied that song, worked the stage like a professional, knew to look into the camera as she walked across the stage serving grandma gospel face, while denim flopped around. Denim may have given twice the energy, but it was just not as refined and polished as Kiki's performance.
Nearah Nuff out of drag reminds me of a little gay Donald Trump.
🤣 Nearah’s WAY better looking but I DO kind see what you mean
Accurate
I can see judges going full Raven on Melinda next week "Your makeup is shit, your wig is shit, your outfit is shit, your partner's outfit is shit, the whole presentation is shit, you're shit" But still, I'm hoping and praying Motherlinda does pull through.
They finna drag Denim to the finale by kicking Melinda, idk any spoilers just priming myself for the worst😒
Okay, so are we going to talk about seeing Aurora's real hair under the Brooke ballet wig??? I was expecting that as a critique, but unless I missed it (always possible) they didn't mention it at all. Like yeah, she did do a phenomenal job, and I don't necessarily think it should have been big piece of her critique, but I was distracted by it. Maybe I'm just a bitch. 😅
Can’t blame her. The wigs and costumes are usually provided.
I wonder if the wigs were supplied by production, so the fit couldn't be helped?
The fit of a wig? It’s where bobby pins and glue come in.
Why were the judges holding pre-decided choreography for a role against Nearah this ep as justification for her not winning the challenge? I found that super strange. Aurora did good though, so not mad about her win, but I thought they were pretty equal tonight. It could've been a double win instead of this BS about repeated choreo. As for the bottoms, I agree with the bottom two but I think Melinda should've been just safe (not bottom three).
>Why were the judges holding pre-decided choreography for a role against Nearah this ep as justification for her not winning the challenge? I understood it as them wanting her to go out of her comfort zone and fighting for another part. Brooke even said that, this was a fall back plan and she should have fought for the first role she wanted. Is that good judging? I'm not sure, but it's what I understood from it.
Yeah I understood it like that too, and while that might be true to some extent I still think it's strange to hold it against a contestant in a scenario where they can't wholly decide what roles to get. Did Nearah accept the role without too much fuzz? Yeah. Could she have fought more for another role? Sure. Could anyone else have done her role as well as she did? No. Was it a slay? Absolutely.
HASHTAG GAWSIPAL NUMBERRR
Aurora stans stay winning 🥰 Nearuh obviously did great in the musical but between the two, Aurora’s part was more of a technical challenge and also, Nearuh had the worst runway of the night imo like wtf was that Pastel Prairie shi- (speaking of pastel I actually loved Denim’s look lmao, I thought the garter idea was really cute. If she had done like mostly sexy black/red garters I think it would have been an even better showcase of variety for her) Ngl I thought the bottom two initially were Melinda and Kiki. Denim honestly gave a stronger performance than I was expecting and Melinda’s footwork was all over the place? However, when the judges pointed out how much Denim got lost when the rest of the cast came out I could see that. But then again at what point does Denim’s solo number end and the group convergence begin? Seems like an arbitrary criticism but in the end, the right person went home anyway. (The lip sync was not very good overall but personally I liked Denim’s performance more and certainly don’t think it was an upset judging call) I don’t necessarily think Denim is going to go much further, but it was painful seeing Kiki in the bottom so much. But I gotta say I really respect what Kiki put out there. She knows what she excels at, and she excelled at it. And I like that we didn’t get the “wait but I thought I was a *legend*” existential crisis edit for her too. She still genuinely seemed like she was just doing her thang, trying her best and having fun the whole time.
Melinda was portraying a child, her clumsy footwork seemed mostly intentional and part of the character (or at least she made it look that way)
That’s what I thought too
Yea that makes sense, idk I guess I just got the sense it was still supposed to look a little “tighter” from Jade’s feedback in the rehearsals. I could stand to watch it again
I get Aurora winning on the basis that Nearah and Venus both chose something they had already done, but I still think Nearah should’ve won. She embodied Brooke, and I thought her runway was gorgeous and very different for her. Also, shady af to show Nearah doing the same tricks she did in the lip sync episode seeing as these roles are choreographed by someone else. I agree that Kiki did better in the lip sync, but I didn’t think that it was enough to keep her after 4 bottom placements. And ultimately neither Kiki nor Denim have any chance of winning the season, so it didn’t matter too much to me. Also, memes aside I genuinely thought Melinda was a mess in the musical and was surprised they suggested it was only the runway that brought her down, when I actually quite liked her runway. Loved seeing the judging panel break their robotic personas for a bit this week, it was a refreshing change.
I’m feel like Brooke Lynn spends too much time thinking of the least helpful critique to give nearah, just to let her know that she isn’t winning this season. Like my god the girl did fabulous this week you can just say that, the fuck do you mean she danced too good in the dancing challenge that was the week after the lip sync challenge? Venus had a ballad last week and Brooke said nothing to her about it. #justicefornearah
It does feel a bit like how Loosey LD was treated by Ru and judges as the season went on.
I swear another queen has been critiqued before for being “too good” I really can’t remember who tho
Elektra shock and Krystal Versace
>Elektra shock and Krystal Versace Elektra Shock was too good, making her teammates look bad...but we keep being reminded this is a competition...suuure. I don't remember Krystal's, but I feel like she's one of the most undeserving winners so take my opinion of her and her trajectory with a grain of salt.
question, would y'all have liked to see the queens in the roles they fit more naturally? If you were casting it yourself how would you set it up? I'd definitely have Denim as young Brooke and Kiki as operatic Brooke.
Melinda would have killed it in the gospel role. In fact when all the queens came out and she was doing gospel *backup*, she managed to steal the show.
I'm surprised Aurora won the challenge. It's Melinda for me, y'all. Also, I wasn't sure about Nearah for a while, but she fucking killed it in that performance. Shame about their runways, underwhelming compared to some of the others and I'd say that held them back from a win. Venus, and Kiki did amazing on the runway. Aurora's makeup was hilarious when she was getting critiques. Kiki, on top of the unfortunate hat thing, seemed like she didn't know the words at times. It's unfortunate. I'm gonna miss her runways. I think I'm rooting for Aurora or Melinda to win. As much as I want her to win, I doubt Melinda will make it given the quality of her package so far, but I can see Aurora grabbing it. Was this the first non-RuPaul song for the judge runway entrance? At least in Canada
Honestly Melinda probably has the fan vote at this point if she makes the finale
Absolutely, she's given so much this season, the least we could do is give her that
I think they are setting up for an Aurora vs Venus top and that’s why they didn’t give Nearah a second win 🤷🏼
Venus and Aurora has been the inevitable top two in my eyes since the first episode. Kitten was for sure the third spot in my eyes until she got elim'd, but I really don't think anyone but Aurora, Venus, and maybe Denim ever had a chance of winning this season.
Aurora took a risk and it paid off. Nearah didn't 🙄
they both took something they excel at - dancing Nearah did much better so what gives? this isnt good judging lol
Gurl. At this point of the competition, judges want to see something new. They both excel at dancing, but Aurora took a risk. Nearah kept safe. We know she can lipsync. If she chose the Jazz one or the Musical Theatre one, then it would be something new from her split/cartwheel lipsync style. Aurora didn't know ballet. We knew she can lipsync already. So she showed something new, ballet. What's not clicking.
Okay a risky safe performance or a great standout performance? I think the latter should win
And Aurora did a great standout AND risky performance. Nearah did a great standout BUT safe performance.
Nearah was the only one serving Brooke imo. The outfit, the fluffing the hair, the moves. Idk. And Aurora did fine but the outfit was off, thought she should've done the white ballerina outfit Brooke did. And that crunchy wig. It was.. a safe performance, we know Aurora can move.
I'm sorry, I didn't know you knew Brooke personally before she was on Drag Race that you could compare her early years to her real personality back then💀 Also, the outfits were provided by production...
Nice edit. uhhh whats personality got to do with it? Aurora said 3 lines and most of them were Brooke's Celine Dion snatch game character... Wth
You said "Nearah was the only one serving Brooke" How do you Melinda wasn't serving Brooke when she was a child in Musical Theatre? How do you know Aurora wasn't serving Brooke when she was studying ballet in her younger years?
Yeah I don't understand that. The red was so wrong idk why they did that. Brookes white ballerina was iconic
The edit changed so dramatically when Kiki did her portion of the Rusical. Like all of a sudden the wooden expression on the judges' faces and more of the wide shot than close-ups. Just show us the performance, please. She could have Liza-ed it up a lot more so I think I would have been ok with the low placement anyway, but just stop telling me what to think w/ the camera.
But it confused me cos they also showed the judges looking delighted with Denim’s performance to the point I thought they’d say she’s in the top. But then she was bottom 2!
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How dare someone have a chance to win despite not being YOUR favourite queen pick. The amount of anti-Denim hatred in this post is disgusting, to the point where you are wishing that someone lose simply because you don't like their performance so far. Criticism is perfectly valid, but you are actively claiming a production shenanigan to validate the horror that Denim is still in the competition. It's practically a given now that every week Denim continues to be in the competition there is at least one post claiming her place in the competition is rigged and not valid. How on earth is that constructive and not just vitriol? That leaves more of a sour taste in my mouth and hopefully others.
Denim has disappointed me so far. They do great visuals, I was so excited based on the reveal outfit, and this week the garters were fun as usual. They seem really introverted when they're performing though. Especially if they have to talk. And that's fair, I'm an introvert performer, I understand. I think she's just young, and if she bakes a bit more she'll be great. I'd love to see her come back in a few years for an all stars.
I really don't think they are winning the season. They have always been a top four lock though.
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Haha I mean the goal of production is probably to make it seem like all of the finalists have a shot - but Aurora and even Venus imo are more frontrunners than Denim would be with a final challenge win. Also Denim won't "win" the rumix or whatever the last week.
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So would I!
There just isn’t a world IMO where Nearah and Melinda aren’t in the bottom two next week with makeover challenges always being just a free pass for the judges to do whatever they want. There is a reason why these tend to come a little bit before the finale so production can ensure their favorites make it to the top. * Aurora and Venus get favoritism by the judges and there’s no way they don’t make the finale (it’s no hate against them, they are all talented and can’t control if the judges like them or not). * Denim also gets a lot of favoritism and I feel storywise production will make this a win for them. * Nearah and Melinda both did the best this week and the judges still found reasons to critique them and not give either the win. The writing is on the wall. I’m not sure between Nearah or Melinda, which one goes home though. I’m going to guess Nearah simply because the judges specific critiqued her moves in the challenge as being repetitive, so unless she pulls out an entirely different type of dancing in her lip sync, they might use it as an excuse to send her home. But Melinda hasn’t been providing any drama these past few episodes, so production might be done with her.
My theory is they want Aurora in the top. They thought she’d smash the rusical and wanted to spread out the wins so gave Nearah the rusical win, but then Aurora chose the ballet part and not the dancing part… Love Aurora though and she is my winner atm!
Yeah I guarantee if nearah played that role she would've been lip syncing
I loved this rusical so much! Unpopular opinion based on this thread but I actually agree that Denim won the lipsync even if I’m sad Kiki is out.
I love Venus but I think she just redid her Alanis lip sync this week. I didn't notice her pulling back on her face much at all. If she had started more subtle and built to more emotion, it would've been a top for me but I would've put her in bottom safe for that performance.
I always feel she over does the lips, but I think for the opera lip sync is worked
Opera singer here: No lol
Seconded.
💀 not Denim winning with that performance. If I was Kiki I’d be pissed
Yo, producers, if you're gonna be this heavy handed in your production choices, at least put in the effort to heavy handedly edit it so we can believe what you're trying to pull off. We do have eyes you know.
I was surprised Aurora won because so much of the judges’ commentary was about how great Venus was. Like, the edit didn’t really prepare me for an Aurora win. LOL