RuPaul's Drag Race (season 6)
The sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing February 24, 2014. Like the fifth season, the season featured 14 contestants competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". For the first time in the show's history, the season premiere was split into two episodes; the fourteen queens were split into two groups and the seven queens in each group competed against each other before being united as one group for the third episode.
| RuPaul's Drag Race | |
|---|---|
| Season 6 | |
 Promotional poster for season six | |
| Hosted by | RuPaul |
| Judges |
|
| No. of contestants | 14 |
| Winner | Bianca Del Rio |
| Runner-up | |
| Miss Congeniality | BenDeLaCreme |
| Companion show | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked! |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Logo TV |
| Original release | February 24 – May 19, 2014 |
| Season chronology | |
Santino Rice and Michelle Visage returned as judges. Two new pit crew members, Miles Moody and Simon Sherry-Wood, joined Jason Carter and Shawn Morales.[1] The winner of this season won a prize package that included a supply from Colorevolution Cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000.[2] This was also the first season where Absolut Vodka and Interior Illusions, Inc. were not sponsors for the show, more specifically for the Untucked episodes. The Interior Illusions Lounge was renamed to the Silver Lounge or FormDecor Lounge. The theme song played during the runway segment every episode was "Sissy That Walk" while the song playing during the credits is "Dance With U", both from the album Born Naked.
The winner of the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race was Bianca Del Rio, with Adore Delano and Courtney Act being the runners-up, and BenDeLaCreme being crowned season 6's Miss Congeniality.
Contestants
(Ages and names stated are at time of contest)
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bianca Del Rio | 37 | New York City, New York | Winner |
| Adore Delano | 23 | Azusa, California | Runners-up |
| Courtney Act | 31 | West Hollywood, California[lower-alpha 1] | |
| Darienne Lake[lower-alpha 2] | 41 | Rochester, New York | 4th Place |
| BenDeLaCreme | 31 | Seattle, Washington | 5th Place |
| Joslyn Fox | 26 | Worcester, Massachusetts | 6th Place |
| Trinity K. Bonet[lower-alpha 3] | 22 | Atlanta, Georgia | 7th Place |
| Laganja Estranja | 24 | Van Nuys, California | 8th Place |
| Milk | 25 | New York City, New York | 9th Place |
| Gia Gunn | 23 | Chicago, Illinois | 10th Place |
| April Carrión | 24 | Guaynabo, Puerto Rico | 11th Place |
| Vivacious | 40 | New York City, New York | 12th Place |
| Magnolia Crawford | 28 | Seattle, Washington | 13th/14th Place[lower-alpha 4] |
| Kelly Mantle | 37 | Los Angeles, California |
- Originally from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Miss Darienne Lake is simply known as Darienne Lake on the show.
- Trinity Kardashian Bonet is known as Trinity K. Bonet on the show.
- Kelly Mantle and Magnolia Crawford competed on separate episodes and therefore, both were the first to go home, but neither was in a higher place than the other.
Contestant progress
| Contestant[lower-alpha 1] | 1[4] | 2[5] | 3[6] | 4[7] | 5[8] | 6[9] | 7[10] | 8[11] | 9[12] | 10[13] | 11[14] | 12[15] | 14[16] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bianca Del Rio | WIN | HIGH | SAFE | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | SAFE | WIN | HIGH | SAFE | Winner | |
| Adore Delano | LOW | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | WIN | SAFE | BTM2 | BTM2 | WIN | SAFE | Runner-up | |
| Courtney Act | SAFE | HIGH | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | LOW | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | LOW | SAFE | Runner-up | |
| Darienne Lake | BTM2 | WIN | LOW | SAFE | LOW | BTM2 | HIGH | SAFE | LOW | BTM2 | ELIM | Guest | |
| BenDeLaCreme | WIN | SAFE | HIGH | WIN | SAFE | BTM2 | LOW | HIGH | HIGH | ELIM | Miss C | ||
| Joslyn Fox | LOW | HIGH | SAFE | SAFE | HIGH | LOW | BTM2 | LOW | ELIM | Guest | |||
| Trinity K. Bonet | HIGH | HIGH | BTM2 | SAFE | BTM2 | HIGH | HIGH | ELIM | Guest | ||||
| Laganja Estranja | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM2 | SAFE | WIN | ELIM | Guest | |||||
| Milk | HIGH | HIGH | SAFE | LOW | ELIM | Guest | |||||||
| Gia Gunn | HIGH | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||||||||
| April Carrión | HIGH | BTM2 | ELIM | Guest | |||||||||
| Vivacious | BTM2 | ELIM | Guest | ||||||||||
| Magnolia Crawford | ELIM | Guest | |||||||||||
| Kelly Mantle | ELIM | Guest | |||||||||||
- The contestant won RuPaul's Drag Race.
- The contestant was a runner-up.
- The contestant was voted Miss Congeniality by viewers.
- The contestant won the challenge.
- The contestant received positive critiques and was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant received judges critiques but was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant received no critiques and was safe.
- The contestant received negative critiques but was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant was in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated.
- The contestant returned as a guest for that episode.
- Contestant progress is referenced through the episodes from LogoTV, alongside the episodes published on iTunes Store.[3]
Lip-syncs
| Episode | Contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kelly Mantle | vs. | Vivacious | "Express Yourself" (Madonna) |
Kelly Mantle |
| 2 | Darienne Lake | vs. | Magnolia Crawford | "Turn the Beat Around" (Vicki Sue Robinson) |
Magnolia Crawford |
| 3 | April Carrión | vs. | Vivacious | "Shake It Up" (Selena Gomez) |
Vivacious |
| 4 | April Carrión | vs. | Trinity K. Bonet | "I'm Every Woman" (Chaka Khan) |
April Carrión |
| 5 | Gia Gunn | vs. | Laganja Estranja | "Head to Toe" (Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam) |
Gia Gunn |
| 6 | Milk | vs. | Trinity K. Bonet | "Whatta Man" (Salt-n-Pepa with En Vogue) |
Milk |
| 7 | BenDeLaCreme | vs. | Darienne Lake | "Point of No Return" (Exposé) |
None |
| 8 | Joslyn Fox | vs. | Laganja Estranja | "Stupid Girls" (Pink) |
Laganja Estranja |
| 9 | Adore Delano | vs. | Trinity K. Bonet | "Vibeology" (Paula Abdul) |
Trinity K. Bonet |
| 10 | Adore Delano | vs. | Joslyn Fox | "Think" (Aretha Franklin) |
Joslyn Fox |
| 11 | BenDeLaCreme | vs. | Darienne Lake | "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" (Kelly Clarkson) |
BenDeLaCreme |
| 12[lower-alpha 1] | Adore Delano | vs. | Darienne Lake | "Sissy That Walk" (RuPaul) |
Darienne Lake |
| Bianca Del Rio | vs. | Courtney Act | |||
- The contestant was eliminated after their first time in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated after their second time in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated after their third time in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated after the final lip sync of the season.
- In the final lip sync, it is noted that all four contestants did not lip sync all at once. There were two lip syncs between Adore Delano & Darienne Lake and Bianca Del Rio & Courtney Act. It was then edited together to make it seem as one lip sync.
Guest Judges
Listed in chronological order:[2]
- Adam Lambert, singer and actor
- Mike Ruiz, photographer
- Khloé Kardashian, television personality
- Lena Headey, actress
- Linda Blair, actress
- Lucian Piane, music producer and composer
- Sheryl Lee Ralph, actress, singer, and activist
- Gillian Jacobs, actress
- Heather McDonald, actress and comedian
- Eve, rapper and actress
- Trina, rapper
- Leah Remini, actress
- Lainie Kazan, actress and singer
- Bruce Vilanch, writer and actor
- Jaime Pressly, actress
- Chaz Bono, writer and activist
- Georgia Holt, actress and singer-songwriter
- Paula Abdul, singer, choreographer and television personality
- Neil Patrick Harris, actor
- David Burtka, actor and chef
- Bob Mackie, fashion designer.
Special guests
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 4:
- Our Lady J, musician and transgender icon
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66 | 1 | "RuPaul's Big Opening" | February 24, 2014[lower-alpha 1] | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, seven contestants are introduced: Adore Delano, April Carrión, BenDeLaCreme, Gia Gunn, Kelly Mantle, Laganja Estranja and Vivacious. For the mini challenge, each queen has to jump off a platform and pose while in the air, with Laganja winning the mini challenge. Ru then takes them outside and has Laganja assign each person a box, based on TV shows. Inside each box is materials that are needed to construct a runway look out of. BenDeLaCreme ends up winning the main challenge with April receiving high praise. Adore, Kelly, and Vivacious all receive negative reviews. Adore is declared safe and Kelly and Vivacious lipsync with Kelly leaving. RuPaul reveals that there is going to be another seven queens entering the competition on the next episode.
| ||||
| 67 | 2 | "RuPaul's Big Opening Part 2" | March 3, 2014 | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, the remaining seven contestants are introduced: Bianca Del Rio, Courtney Act, Darienne Lake, Joslyn Fox, Magnolia Crawford, Milk, and Trinity K. Bonet. For the mini challenge, each queen has to pose with the pit crew on a bed and have a photo shoot during a pillowfight. Trinity ends up winning the mini challenge and has the task of handing out boxes to each queen. Each box is based on a type of party and is filled with materials that are needed to construct a runway look with. Bianca ends up winning with Milk and Trinity receiving high praise. Courtney receives judges critiques but is declared safe neither placing in the top nor the bottom. Joslyn, Darienne, and Magnolia receive criticism with their looks. Joslyn is declared safe and Darienne and Magnolia lipsync, with the latter sashaying away. As the six queens walk back into the workroom, they meet the other queens from the previous episode.
| ||||
| 68 | 3 | "Scream Queens" | March 10, 2014 | |
|
At the beginning of this episode, the queens from last week are introduced to the contestants from week one. For the mini challenge, each queen has to pair up with a different queen that wasn't from their original group and perform a lipsync as one body. Milk and Adore are deemed as the winners and have to choose queens to be on their team. Both Milk and Adore ends up choosing the girls from their original group. For the main challenge, each team has to act in a horror movie, the original and the sequel. During shooting, RuPaul criticizes Trinity's performance and Adore's team for not being prepared. During judges' critiques, Milk's team is deemed safe with Darienne winning. Adore gets criticized for not handling the job as a leader well and her runway look, April for her performance, Laganja for her bland performance, and Vivacious for her performance and outdated runway. BenDeLaCreme is praised for her performance, with Santino saying that if she had been on the winning team, she would've won the challenge. Overall, Vivacious and April lipsync resulting in Vivacious sashaying away.
| ||||
| 69 | 4 | "Shade: The Rusical" | March 17, 2014 | |
|
In the beginning of the episode, the contestants has to look at zoomed in pictures and guess if the picture has a female or drag queen. Adore and DeLa are declared the winner and each chooses the others to be on their team. Each group has to perform in Shade: The RuSical!. During critiques, Bianca, Joslyn, Gia, Laganja, and Milk are safe. Adore, Courtney, and DeLa get positive praise for their performances, with Courtney being the winner of the challenge. April, Darienne and Trinity receive negative critiques for their performances. Darienne got negative critiques for her poor performance, April for her lackluster acting, and Trinity for her singing being unclear. Darienne is declared safe from the bottom, and April and Trinity lip-sync. Trinity is declared the winner and April is asked to sashay away.
| ||||
| 70 | 5 | "Snatch Game" | March 24, 2014 | |
|
The queens compete in a star-studded TV game show that showcase their celebrity impersonations: Bianca as Judge Judy, Adore as Anna Nicole Smith, Milk as Julia Child, Courtney as Fran Drescher (with allusions to Drescher's Fran Fine character on the nanny), Laganja as Rachel Zoe, Darienne as Paula Deen, Gia as Kim Kardashian, Joslyn as Teresa Guidice, Bendelacreme as Maggie Smith, and Trinity as Nicki Minaj. Following this, the queens dressed in RuPaul inspired outfits for the "Night of a 1000 Ru's runway." During critiques, Courtney Act, Darienne Lake, Joslyn Fox, and Trinity K. Bonet are declared safe. Bianca Del Rio and Adore Delano receive positive critiques for their performances in the challenge, but receive mixed reviews for their runway looks. Bendelacreme received unanimous praise for both her performance and runway look, and she is declared the winner of this week's challenge. Milk, Gia, and Laganja all receive negative critiques for both their performances and runway looks, with Milk's decision to dress as Male Rupaul receiving very mixed feedback. Milk is declared safe, leaving Laganja and Gia to lip sync. Laganja wins, leaving Gia to sashay away.
| ||||
| 71 | 6 | "Oh No She Betta Don't!" | March 31, 2014 | |
| ||||
| 72 | 7 | "Glamazon by Colorevolution" | April 7, 2014 | |
| ||||
| 73 | 8 | "Drag Queens of Comedy" | April 7, 2014 | |
| ||||
| 74 | 9 | "Drag Queens of Talk" | April 14, 2014 | |
|
This week's challenge involved the queens channelling their inner talk show host by guest-hosting The RuPaul Show and interviewing Chaz Bono and Georgia Holt
| ||||
| 75 | 10 | "Drag My Wedding" | April 21, 2014 | |
| ||||
| 76 | 11 | "Glitter Ball" | April 28, 2014 | |
| ||||
| 77 | 12 | "Sissy That Walk!" | May 5, 2014 | |
| ||||
| 78 | 13 | "Countdown to the Crown" | May 12, 2014 | |
| This week's episode takes a look back on the highlights, low-lights, and previously unseen footage from the season using various countdowns. In addition, past contestants Alaska, Jinkx Monsoon, Jujubee, Latrice Royale, Manila Luzon, Raja, Raven, Shangela Laquifa Wadley, Sharon Needles (impersonating Michelle Visage), and Tammie Brown also appeared, giving their opinions on the season and the contestants. | ||||
| 79 | 14 | "Reunited!" | May 19, 2014 | |
|
Wigs fly as the queens discuss the drama of the season. Plus, both "America's Next Drag Superstar" and "Miss Congeniality" are crowned
| ||||
Controversy
After use of the term "Shemale" in the "Female or She-male?" challenge of episode 4 led to complaints over transphobic slang specifically from the season contestants Gia Gunn and Courtney Act, as well as prevıous contestants Carmen Carrera and Willam Belli. Logo temporarily removed the episode from all platforms and stopped using "You've got she-mail" as the video message intro.[18] Episode 4 was eventually put back up on streaming services with the "Female or She-Male?" mini-challenge segment removed.
Soundtrack
In this season the theme song for the series remains unchanged from the original season, only being condensed to a shorter length to allow for more show time. As in previous seasons, while RuPaul enters walking the runway before the judging each episode his song "Cover Girl" plays; an instrumental version of the song continues to play while he introduces the judges and celebrity guests. The main musical change-up of the season comes during the runway while each contestant struts, modeling their looks. As in each previous season the song changes to promote more album and/or single sales for RuPaul. The song this season played during the segment is "Sissy That Walk", from RuPaul's album Born Naked. Also from the album "Dance with U" plays at the end of each episode while the remaining queens dance on the runway, exiting the stage.
Born Naked essentially serves as a soundtrack for the season. Its release coincided with the season premiere, primarily for promotional reasons. However, in the time just after Logo's release of the season 6 "Meet the Queens" interviews, which announced and introduced the season's cast, an album entitled The CoverGurlz was released digitally presented by RuPaul, meant to promote the upcoming season. The single "Oh No She Better Don't" was also released during the season.
RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz
| RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | January 28, 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 | |||
| Genre | Dance | |||
| Length | 49:27 | |||
| Label | World of Wonder | |||
| RuPaul chronology | ||||
| ||||
RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz is a 2014 compilation album by entertainer RuPaul, featuring the season 6 cast of his show RuPaul's Drag Race. The album was released on January 28, 2014.[19][20] The album was only released digitally to iTunes and Amazon.[19][21]
Background
Although previous winners and top-three contestants have been given the chance to collaborate with RuPaul either on a song[a] or by performing in one of the artist's music videos, respectively, this album marks the first time in RuPaul's Drag Race history that an album has been produced which features every contestant from the season.
The compilation consists of 14 covers of songs previously released by RuPaul, performed by all of the RuPaul's Drag Race season 6 contestants. It features tracks originally from RuPaul's albums Champion and Glamazon, as well as his extended play SuperGlam DQ, and the 2013 non-album single "Lick It Lollipop". The album also features an outtake from Champion entitled "Let's Turn the Night", reproduced with new vocals by Jason Carter and Miles Davis Moody of the RuPaul's Drag Race pit crew. April Carrión's cover of "Sexy Drag Queen" also features Jipsta from the original version of the song.[b][21]
As promotion for both the season's contestants and the, then, upcoming season, each contestant is also featured in a short music video for their cover ending with a montage of clips from their respective audition tapes.[22] World of Wonder also produced a music video for the pit crew's song "Let's Turn the Night",[23] which also promoted RuPaul's, then, recently released fragrance Glamazon, released as part of a limited edition make-up line with Colorevolution Cosmetics.[24]
Release history
Before the compilation's release, RuPaul confirmed on Twitter that a new album, in which each of the Season 6 contestants covered a song from his catalog, would be coming out.
Reception
The week of release the compilation album debuted at number 6 on the iTunes Dance album chart.[25]
Track listing
(All writing credits adapted from the liner notes of the albums the songs originally appeared.)
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Turn the Night" (featuring The Pit Crew) | 3:40 | |
| 2. | "Ladyboy" (featuring Gia Gunn) |
| 2:33 |
| 3. | "Tranny Chaser" (featuring Joslyn Fox) |
| 3:56 |
| 4. | "I Bring the Beat" (featuring Vivacious) |
| 3:22 |
| 5. | "Superstar" (featuring Adore Delano) |
| 3:29 |
| 6. | "Click Clack (Make Dat Money)" (featuring Bianca Del Rio) |
| 3:09 |
| 7. | "Destiny Is Mine" (featuring Milk) |
| 2:58 |
| 8. | "Devil Made Me Do It" (featuring BenDeLaCreme) |
| 2:59 |
| 9. | "Lick It Lollipop" (featuring Darienne Lake) | 3:13 | |
| 10. | "Glamazon" (featuring Magnolia Crawford) |
| 4:02 |
| 11. | "Main Event" (featuring Kelly Mantle) |
| 2:52 |
| 12. | "Champion" (featuring Courtney Act) |
| 3:27 |
| 13. | "Jealous of My Boogie" (featuring Laganja Estranja) |
| 3:06 |
| 14. | "Cover Girl" (featuring Trinity K. Bonet) |
| 3:01 |
| 15. | "Sexy Drag Queen" (featuring April Carrión with Jipsta) |
| 3:40 |
| Total length: | 49:27 | ||
Future appearances
Adore Delano competed on the second season of All Stars. She quit the competition and placed ninth overall.[26]
In the third season of All Stars, Milk placed ninth, while BenDeLaCreme quit the competition and placed sixth overall.[27]
Gia Gunn competed on the second installment of the Chilean version of Drag Race titled The Switch Drag Race and finished as a runner-up. She also competed as one of the ten contestants of the fourth season of All Stars. She placed 8th overall.[28]
Notes
- A preview of the first episode was unveiled on February 17, showing all but the lipsync.
See also
References
- Lambe, Stacy (February 19, 2014). "Meet RuPaul's Drag Race's New, Bulgier Pit Crew". out.com, Popnography. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
- Shumaker, Jason; Jake Slane (January 13, 2014). ""LET THE TRANSFORMATIONS BEGIN!..."RUPAULS DRAG RACE" RETURNS TO LOGO TV FOR A SIXTH SEASON ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH AT 9 PM ET/PT". Logo Press Room. Logo. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
- "RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 6". iTunes Store (United States). February 24, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
- "RuPaul's Big Opening". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 1. February 24, 2014.
- "RuPaul's Big Opening Part 2". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 2. March 3, 2014.
- "Scream Queens". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 3. March 10, 2014.
- "Shade: The Rusical". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 4. March 17, 2014.
- "Snatch Game". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 5. March 24, 2014.
- "Oh No She Betta Don't!". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 6. March 31, 2014.
- "Glamazon by Colorevolution". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 7. April 7, 2014.
- "Drag Queens of Comedy". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 8. April 7, 2014.
- "Drag Queens of Talk". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 9. April 14, 2014.
- "Drag My Wedding". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 10. April 21, 2014.
- "Glitter Ball". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 11. April 28, 2014.
- "Sissy That Walk!". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode 12. May 5, 2014.
- "The Finale". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 6. Episode Placements. May 19, 2014.
- This challenge was removed after the episode originally aired due to the usage of terms offensive to the trans community.
- Nichols, James (April 14, 2014). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' to Refrain from Using 'Transphobic Slur' in Wake of Controversy". Retrieved April 14, 2014.
- "RuPaul Presents the CoverGurlz by RuPaul on Apple Music". iTunes.
- Avery, Dan (January 21, 2014). ""LET THE TRANSFORMATIONS BEGIN!...Drag Race Season 6 Girls Pay Homage To RuPaul With "Covergurlz" Cover Album: LISTEN". NewNowNext.com. NewNowNext. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- https://www.amazon.com/RuPaul-Presents-The-CoverGurlz-Rupaul/dp/B00HWSHNOO
- Donovan (January 30, 2014). "RuPaul Presents The CoverGurlz". homorazzi.com. homorazzi.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- "RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz - The Pit Crew "Lets Turn The Night" Music Video". World of Wonder and YouTube. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
- "RuPaul's "Glamazon" Limited Edition Makeup and Fragrance Available Now!". World of Wonder. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
- "RuPaul Presents: The CoverGurlz Album Debuts #6 on iTunes Dance Chart". World of Wonder. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
- "Logo Announces Contestants For "RuPaul's All Star Drag Race" Season 2". LOGO News. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' season 3 queens announced: See an exclusive cast photo". Entertainment Weekly. 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
- Nolfi, Joey (November 9, 2018). "Exclusive: Meet the 'RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars 4' cast". EW.com. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
External links
- Official website (U.S.)
- Official website (Canada)
- Official Facebook page
