All Hail The Queens!
Where does one begin when it comes to discussing the RuPaul empire? For those who are unfamiliar with RuPaul (nee RuPaul Andre Charles), He is the in my opinion the world’s most famous drag queen. Since the 1990’s Mama Ru has been visibly on the scene. Though he struggled as a musician and filmmaker during the 1980s, RuPaul began to make a name for himself on public access TV and with independent films. In 1989 Ru lucked out as a backup dancer for The B-52’s “Love Shack”, and hit Billboard Hot 100 at #45 with his Supermodel to the World in 1993, Ru continued to produce music and even had a talk show on VH1 in the 90s. But it wasn’t until 2008 that RuPaul started becoming a household name in the U.S. That was the year RuPaul’s Drag Race was born!
We can see that Mama Ru is not an overnight sensation. Within the 11 years of launching RuPaul’s Drag Race we have witnessed an empire develop. Boom! 2009 he released his album “Champion”, which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums as well as 26 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. Boom! In 2012 his spin-off RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars was launched. But wait there is more! 2013 Ru collaborated with cosmetic manufacturers Colorevolutionto release a beauty collection and a unisex perfume called “Glamazon”. The music and albums continued and Born Naked was released on February 24th 2014, quickly reaching #1 on the iTunes dance album chart. And then on April 9, 2014 RuPaul and Michelle Visage released the first episode of their podcast, RuPaul: What’s the Tee? with Michelle Visage. So “spilling the tee” has been around for a bit!
Rupaul continued to create music and reality TV as well as a daytime talk show in June of 2019 called RuPaul. But how fans of all things drag could become engulfed into the world of RuPaul; was with the launch of RuPaul’s DragCon in 2015 in Los Angeles. In 2017 DragCon then debuted in New York City at Jacob Javit’s Center. By 2018, (my first year attending), the event expanded to 3 days with over 50K attendees. The panels were amazing and informative, especially the panel called “Beyond the Binary”, with Aja, performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon, and actor Nico Tortorella discussing “how can we make the world more inclusive of non-binary and gender non-conforming people? This was definitely was a hot topic back at the time. The kids zone had Drag Queen Story Hour, a bouncy house, and arts and craft. And let’s not forget the vendors! I feel in love with a South Korean shoe designer named with collection out of Brooklyn called SYRO. I also met Kimchi, Ongina and countless other beautiful drag queens that year.
Which brings us to to year three of RuPaul’s DragCon NYC 2019, bigger and better than ever! RuPaul dazzled attendees from the beginning with the the infamous ribbon cutting ceremony to that bright neon pink carpet. The crowds were met at the entrances by people with clipboards reminding them to register to vote in the 2020 polls. And if one was not registered they would register you straight away right then and there. Crowds walked through rows named “Death Drop Alley”, “Glamazon Blvd,” “Sickening Street,” or “Werq The World Way”. Panels were held in breakaway rooms named “Tea” and “Shade” Once fans were pushed through the pink carpet threshold they could walk through the aisles draped with over 220 vendors. From cosmetics, wigs and jewelry RuPaul’s DragCon had plenty to offer everyone. Rupaul made the announcement that some of the most famous drag queens in the world were setting up residence on the Las Vegas Strip with RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! which hits the stage at Flamingo Las Vegas in early 2020.And now the fun begins!
Friday, if you were fortunate to have purchased a VIP ticket, you were able experience a VIP Exclusive mixer with RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Queens and VIP Exclusive Performance by Trixie Mattel.On the main stage with the performance, Moderators Nina West, Alexis Michelle hosted Disney On Broadway, with panelists Alyssa Fox, Bradley Gibson, Noah J. Ricketts, Michael James Scott discussing Broadway’s tips and tricks and secrets to creating Disney’s looks with the wigs, costumes, and makeup from Disney’s current smash hits Frozen, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Embracing everything Asian the main stage also presented, Thailand Take Over, with appearances by Angele Anang, Vanda Miss Joaquin, Mocha Diva, and Genie. TikTok one of the main sponsors teamed up with POP Beauty to do the TikTok x POP Beauty Makeover. And in case you missed it they worked the stage Saturday and Sunday as well.
Saturday, The Queens Walk featured the Queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race as they made their grand entrance on the pink carpet from the Main Stage which was followed by a panel called “Queens of NY” in the Shade room. Back on the main stage RuPaul entertained fans with his first DJ set for the weekend. Yes, for 2 days RuPaul was our DJ! Applause for all those fabulous hits from the disco era and beyond! From across the pond the girls from RuPauls’s Drag Race U.K. in London 2020, made their first appearance stateside, prancing and dancing on the main stage. RuPaul made sure to keep things real with a pre-recorded message from Senator Elizabeth Warren* discussing how she is fighting for LGBTQ equality. You can watch it here. (Instagram or Twitter link below at end of article) Soju sang her songs and did a K-pop cover of 2NE1’s “I am the best.”
Did you miss @ewarren‘s message to @RuPaulsDragCon? Don’t worry, we saved it for you! #DragCon pic.twitter.com/7zFZpMl9Y8— Team Warren (@TeamWarren) September 8, 2019
Winding down the day was the icing on the cake, spilling the tea from the Tea room with RuPaul as he hosted his RuTalk with the queen of fashion, the iconic, legendary, Diane Von Furstenberg. They discussed her new HBO documentary “Liberty: Mother of Exiles” produced and directed by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey of World of Wonder, (incidentally World of Wonder is the production company that partners and produces RuPaul’s DragCon). Diane was bold and unapologetic about her views on life, men and feminism. She exclaimed, “I am 100% a feminist. I have always been 100% a feminist. Which doesn’t mean I can’t also be feminine. And, I still have room for the man in me as well.” -Diane Von Furstenberg
Sunday definitely did not disappoint with a continuation DJ-ing and dancing, fabulous performances and great panels including, Fashion Talk with Carson Kressley. Carson returned once again to DragCon, with RPDR judge Carson Kressley to host a fashion and styling panel featuring experts Isaac Mizrahi, Garo Sparo, Zaldy (RuPaul’s Emmy award winning fashion designer), and Queen Brooke Lynn Hytes. They spilled the tee on up and coming trends to the impact drag has made on the fashion world. It was the last day for “squirrelfriends” to grab merchandise, take selfies and get autographs before saying good-bye until next year. But RuPaul had to go out with a bang by closing out with his second RuTalk featuring actor, comedian, and television personality Whoopi Goldberg. They discussed individuality and how to be yourself, how to make a difference and be motivated to change the world you live in. Whoopi graced the audience with words of wisdom, “It’s up to us to create the world we want, we can’t wait for other people to do it for us. We have to talk it into existence.” And… “If you know you are good, you have to say it. People will say that’s bragging, but if I don’t tell you, you’re not going to know, you are just going to assume by looking at me that I am something else. I am good at what I do…this is who I am, dig it or not dig it, this is me.”
And this year as in every other year people of all ages, shapes and sizes, genders and sexual preferences got together for 3 days with Mama Ru and were allowed to be… “just me”.
