Season four of RuPaul's Drag Race favored the darker side of things, as Sharon Needles was crowned the winner. The reality-based competition had 13 contestants vying for $100,000 cash prize, a lifetime supply of NYX cosmetics, a one-of-a-kind trip courtesy of AlandChuck.travel and the headlining spot Logo's Drag Race Tour. The winner was announced during a special reunion and coronation broadcast.
The other finalists were Chad Michaels and Phi Phi O'Hara. All three finalists have appeared only once in the bottom two, where they have to lip-synch to remain on the show.
Each hour-long episode of RuPaul's Drag Race finds the competitors contending in a mini-challenge before going into the main challenge. Then the hopefuls prepare their looks to suit the episode's theme before strutting down a catwalk and receiving criticisms from the judge's panel. One would be declared the winner with a prize from a sponsor, while two would have to square off against each other, lip-synching to a song to determine who would be eliminated.
The program, which airs on Logo and VH1, prides itself in being a camp spoof of America's Next Top Model. RuPaul delivers catchphrases with an over-the-top fashion one would find in primetime soap operas. Hilarity ensues as RuPaul says, "Bring back my girls" or warns the contestants, "And don't fuck it up."
Needles excelled at showing off her dark sense of humor throughout her run. The judges tested her to try to be more glamorous, knowing it would not cause her to lose her identity. The Pittsburgh-based female impersonator was the first in the show's history to win four main challenges.
In the premiere episode, Needles showed up in the workroom wearing a pointed witch's hat and said, "Don't worry, I look spooky, but I am really nice." She also pegged herself in a sound bite as "beautiful, spooky and stupid." Some of her memorable looks include a female version of Nosferatu, a she-devil, a star recovering from plastic surgery and the lovechild of Elvis Presley and electro-pioneer Peaches sporting a plastic hairpiece.
Judge Santino Rice described Needles by saying, "Sharon always came out here week after week with something conceptual and creative. And I think that sometimes people are scared of things that are unconventional."
Upon winning, Needles proclaimed, "Happy Halloween, everybody!"
Michaels is a renowned Cher impersonator. The judges applauded her knack at always being polished and playing a character; however, Michaels's own personality often was not apparent. Michaels spoke openly about having plastic surgery to look more like Cher.
During the reunion, LaTrice Royale was voted Miss Congeniality and won a trip for two and accommodation from Orbitz. Royale is a full-figured entertainer from South Beach, Fla., with a laugh that could lighten a mood or cease a conversation in her favor. RuPaul announced that Royale will be an instructor on the makeover program RuPaul's Drag U. Hosting a talk show is a foreseeable role for Royale, too.
It was revealed during the reunion why Willam was kicked out of the competition. Internet rumors were circulating that the working actor was abusing drugs. Willam admitted that her husband would stop by the hotel for conjugal visits. The contestants signed a contract whereby they would not reveal that they were on the show; thus, Willam broke the rules. Willam has appeared in the movie Ticked-off Trannies with Knives and a stage drag parody of Showgirls.
Three of this year's contestants were from Chicago; O'Hara, DiDa Ritz and The Princess.
Dubbed "The Legs of Halsted," Ritz wowed the judges with her gait on the runway. Ritz performed the best lip-synch performance ever in the show's history. Here, Natalie Cole was a guest judge and Ritz pranced across the catwalk while performing to Cole's "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)."
With a moniker like The Princess, one would expect this Windy City-based entertainer to be overly arrogant. It is not the case here. The Princess has appeared without a wig, showing off a striking look with her shaved head and lip piercing.
O'Hara illustrated a lot of growth and unstoppable motivation during the competition. In her audition video, O'Hara said, "I think that in this business we all should be sisters; we all should be friends. We're one of a kind so we all should have our backs and support everybody, and that is my philosophy." Well, her intent on winning had a different mantra—by any means possible. She had feisty exchanges with Needles, Willam and Jiggly Caliente on camera. She purposely gave ill advice to Caliente, which ultimately got Caliente eliminated.
This season had a recurring theme as Caliente, Michaels, Needles, O'Hara and Ritz brought up their troubled pasts of being bullied or enduring difficulties at home. Ritz mended the relationship with her parents and her mom was proud to be in the audience for the reunion.
Also heard a lot was the phrase "No tea, no shade." This usually complements an insult, but the feedback is given honestly, but allegedly not disrespectfully.
In the season's second episode, the 12 remaining queens were paired into tag teams in the professional wrestling spoof, World's Trashiest Fighters (W.T.F.). This was a hilarious nod to the women's wrestling program Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (G.L.O.W.).
Never one to miss an opportunity to plug a product, RuPaul has the contestants, judges and guest judges from this season appear in her "Glamazon" video. At the end of each episode, the remaining hopefuls would dance on the catwalk to RuPaul's "The Beginning," which is also on the album Glamazon.
It is rumored that season five will be open to transgender contestants. Another season of RuPaul's Drag U is set to air this June on Logo. Past episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race can be viewed at www.logotv.com .
