Watching and appreciating Drag of all kinds will always be a ritual of mine! 'Life's A Drag' is back, back, back again with another Drag focussed blog feature! Please allow me to present Non-Binary Finery, Joseph Shepherd's 'Exposed' series and those Drag Race Holland 2, queens! Lekker Met De Meiden? I don't know her! Serving 'Honey Roast Glam?' A glamour bug? Oh, Etc!
Being a live vocalist, Shar recounted that their performance at London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern as part of 'NADC' stood out as one of her most pivotal moments! Performing 'I Am Changing' from Dreamgirls at the recent final of 'Not Another Drag Competition' triggered a few emotions. Like a rainstorm of emotions, the madness of the last 18 months washed over Shar during that vocal showdown. Coining the phrase 'delicious', the 'Queen of the Deli' felt a wave of pride during that finale situation as the phenomenal 'Wet Mess' took the crown. Shar could not deny the sweet displays of Queer love whilst she performed 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' at 'Colchester Pride'. Cooterie described those moments as 'joyous' to see such a wide variety of visible diverse representation. Shar told me that there are many GNC, Non-Binary, Trans+ and Agender performing folks who deserve our attention. @cyrodragthing, @richard_energy and @thatdosacat are a few to mention! Follow Shar Cooterie at @sharcooterie for gig information.
Worldwide we all found new things to do during the Lockdowns and Quarantine periods during 2020 and 2021, other than tending to my blog I watched a whole lot of 'Exposed' by Joseph Shepherd. A YouTube and Podcast series that has so far lifted the lid on certain queens experiences on a little show called 'RuPaul's Drag Race' with the 'International Franchises' also featured. How did such a series come to be? Joseph had been working as a producer on a show called 'Happily Ever After' which followed two twins from 'The Bachelor' on their move to Los Angeles. A drag queen was needed to mentor the girls for a few episodes, Joseph called up 'Willam' from RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 4. Willam arrived into the office in full drag on a hoverboard, automatically sealing the deal for that gig, a Barbara Walters style Drag interview series was imminent. Agreeing to be the first interviewee, 'Exposed' went onto birth its first interview with Willam. The views came in like a tidal wave, Joe's 'down-to-earth' exposé soared!
The pandemic saw Joseph Shepherd redefining his once 'in-person style' interviews because on the day of BenDeLaCreme's interview, Califronia went into 'Quarantine!' JP's boyfriend suggested that 'Exposed' could work virtually. After much persuasion, Joseph conducted his first virtual installment of 'Exposed' with 'Jaremi Carey' (Phi Phi O'Hara). People weren't mad, for me personally having the interview available at all continues to be a great addition to my Pandemic experience at home. As the 'Drag Race Franchise' has expanded past the U.S Mainland, Joseph has been able to bring us many an 'International Ru-Girls' on his channel. Winner of 'Drag Race España', 'Carmen Farala' was interviewed by Joseph in September 2021, I was amazed to see that the interview had been conducted in a bilingual fashion with the help of @MartaMamma. I'm personally looking forward to those 'Down Under' queens having their time on an 'Exposed' by Joseph but we must wait for those bulletproof NDA's to expire first! Watch 'Exposed' today!
2021 brought us the 'Glamour Bug' b*tch from Down Under, we weren't ready for this 'Non-Binary Finery!' Going on and on just like their drag name, 'Etcetera Etcetera' walked into the 'werkroom' on the debut season of 'RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under' as the first queen of Lebanese descent on any Drag Race show! Etcetera represented Canberra, bringing a message to the Australian and New Zealand Drag Race that being a 'Drag' performer can mean absolutely anything without barriers nor boundaries, their presence on the show was so refreshing to see! As Snatch Game came around, Etc Etc brought the controversy with boundless laughs. "Has anyone seen my baby!?' I had no idea who 'Lindy Chamberlain' was until Etcetera brought her to the Snatch Game panel, it was such a moment but deep down it made me laugh out loud! 'Queens Down Under' brought this 'Non-Binary Finery' when we saw the lightning and heard that thunder! With a snatched face and tiny waist, I didn't know this queen before Drag Race!
Piss? Lord have mercy! Down Under brought a similar 'infomercial' maxi challenge like other versions of Drag Race, Etc Etc was about to make their mark! The assignment saw the queens on 'DRDU' create their own yeast extract spread advert, honestly 'Mama Ru' wasn't ready for Etcetera's pissy Drag Race commercial! Were they taking the piss? Etc's yeast extract infomercial told us that PISS wasn't just a spread, it was also a fragrance, an oven cleaner and even a neurotoxin! Michelle Visage thought that Etcetera's Piss inspired efforts reinforced the bonkers humor 'Down Under' is so famous for! Post Drag Race, Etcetera Etcetera has been walking fashion show runways, extending their activism work and most recently planning a National Australian 'As Seen On TV Tour' with former 'DRDU' sister, Art Simone. This ongoing pandemic really needs to take a hike, the world needs to see Etc performing worldwide without any ifs or buts! Serving hard like 'Federer', the 'Glamour Bug' known as 'Etcetera Etcetera' slayed 'DRDU!'
Hey Trut! Club Glamazon unleashed ten fierce Dutch queens onto Drag Race Holland's second season, hitting my World Of Wonder Plus screen during early August 2021! The first season had served much for us to marvel at, of course 'Envy Peru' took that crown, sceptre and custom made dress as the winner of the first series in 2020. Of course, who would be doing 'Fred Van Leer's' make up? Envy would be taking care of that, she's the Raven of Holland! Ten queens showed off their talents during the first episode, a certain social media queen known as 'Juicy Kutore' sashayed away first! 'Reggy B' told us that she'd always be in our area, week 2 saw her leave the competition. 'Love Masisi' served 'Lady Gremlin' Realness on the runway, learning to love herself was the wisdom she took away from the Race during week 3. Dutch-Javanese-Surinamese queen, Ivy-Elyse Monroe because the lip-sync assassin of season two with her valiant efforts! The queens of season two knew that they had big heels to fill! Koffie Meid, who!?
Like UK's 'Morning Glory' news reading challenge, the top five queens donned their best morning television drag to read the autograph as if their lives depended upon it! I loved Keta Minaj's high pitched screeching, pour me a cup of 'Koffie' to watch with the 'Meiden', please!? 'Tabitha' had the pleasure of lip syncing with 'Vilvadli' to Merol's 'Lekker Met De Meiden', for me that Dutch pop song lives rent-free in my head to this very day! These 'International Franchises' continue to be massively helpful for me to learn the shows primary language with all of those key 'Drag Race' phrases and terms! The fandom went berserk when 'Keta Minaj' was eliminated in the semi final, she served excellency throughout. 'Vivaldi' got scolded by Fred for having her phone on her person, dodging disqualification she was able to finish third in the Race. 'My Little Puny' reigned supreme with her 'Punani' nature, making her place as 'runner up' well deserved. Flemish-Italian Trans beauty, 'Vanessa Van Cartier' left the runway victorious! Trut, when's S3!?
What's 'Wortel Taart' mean!? ... Oh, It's 'Carrot Cake!'
Joseph Harrison
