The Best (And Wildest) Songs To Come Out Of ‘Drag Race’
Katya's 'Be Your Own Dentist' still haunts our nightmares.
For a RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant — or any drag performer, for that matter — lip-syncing has always been par for the course.
A really good lip-sync captures the essence of a song, then bends it, twists it, pushes it into the weird, or the poignant, or the hilarious. This practice, over time, can help drag performers develop a special kind of musicality – even one that can translate into compositional prowess.
Over the 13-year span of the show, many, many contestants on RPDR have released original singles, EPs, even albums after their run, often lining up a single release to the day after their elimination airs on the show. These musical offerings are, at best, mixed. Often contestants tend to rely too heavily on a running joke, look, or convention from their time on Drag Race, stumbling over themselves to produce content for their new audience before they slip from memory.
Viewing original music as content and nothing more seems to be the fatal flaw. The music that pushes through the noise is that which has that sense of weirdness, or poignance, or hilarity, the very same as that of a brilliant lip-sync performance.
To succeed, the artist does not need to be a truly accomplished musician (although it can help), they just need to have something interesting to say, and a sincere need to create — one that does not hinge on the need to remain relevant.
Aja, WNNR, DJ Accident Report — ‘FINISH HER!’
A Drag Race run can be a double-edged sword. Contestants are at the mercy of producers who need to tell a story, and passionate queens like Aja are often villainised, or at the very least, tested, by production in favour of a dramatic story arc.
Both of Aja’s runs on Drag Race were punctuated by memorable confrontations and genuine injustices (remember when she was heavily criticised for ‘not knowing her history’ in All Stars 2 despite accurately and reverently portraying Crystal Labeija in Snatch Game?)
‘FINISH HER!’ just seethes — every line on this grime rap track is delivered with urgent vitriol, as though Aja wrote the entire thing while filming the show and had to wait months to release it. It’s very good.
Adore Delano — ‘My Address Is Hollywood’
Adore is well known for her musical talents — she competed in American Idol in 2008, making it to the top 16. She’s released three albums and an EP since her run on Drag Race, and each one is worth a listen; over the years, she’s moved through electric dance-pop to stoner rock and wears each genre as comfortably as the last.
‘My Address Is Hollywood’ is the last track on her debut album Till Death Do Us Party — emotive, and truly moving, it feels like early Gaga both in sound and lyric; a love letter to Hollywood, but also to the weirdos, to never fitting in — the lyric “heaven wouldn’t have me, because I’m all about me/hell I’m on my way”, is particularly special.
Jiggly Caliente — ‘Pretty Girl Anthem’ (feat. Peppermint)
It’s hard to go wrong with a relentless beat and a stubborn hook, and ‘Pretty Girl Anthem’ keeps it tight, simple and joyous. Two powerful trans women, Jiggly Caliente and Peppermint take the lead on this one, and with its Azealia Banks-esque rhythm, ‘Pretty Girl Anthem’ is a worthy addition to any pre-drinks playlist.
Violet Chachki, Allie X — ‘Mistress Violet’
Violet Chachki, winner of Season 7 of Drag Race, has always been interested in pushing the boundaries of drag (her shockingly minuscule waist memorably gagged Ariana Grande).
Her collaboration with songwriter Allie X and French producer Lecomte De Brégeot, entitled ‘Mistress Violet’, is a powerful, gothic, ’80s inspired synthwave track that toys with sub/dom relationships and BDSM culture. It’s a statement piece, designed to intrigue and seduce, and is refreshingly thoughtful, nuanced and a touch unsettling — in the best kind of way.
The video, which features incredible fashion pieces from Schiaparelli, and Violet and Allie X ritualistically dressing as themselves then the other, using costume to denote power and submission, all shot on analog film, is a must-watch.
Shangela — ‘Werqin’ Girl (Professsional)’
Shangela, arguably the most beloved queen to ever grace the Drag Race mainstage, knows how to market herself – in fact, as she tells us in ‘Werqin’ Girl’, she’s a professional pro.
Generally speaking, ‘Werqin’ Girl’ is an exception to the ‘music as content = not good music’ rule. While the song clearly exists purely to promote Shangela, remind audiences of her ‘Shangela-isms’ (‘hallelu!’), and reinforce her relevance as new queens are introduced to the world, ‘Werqin’ Girl’ is irresistibly good. Dripping with charm, it powers on for nearly four minutes (maybe a little too long, but hey —it’s Shangela!). Full of quotable, memorable lyrics, ‘Werqin’ Girl’ is a fun, chaotic insight into Shangela’s world – and she’s here to work.
Priyanka — ‘Come Through’ (feat. Lemon)
When ‘Come Through’ dropped last year, it was nothing short of a sensation — Lemon’s verse, in particular, was extremely popular on TikTok. ‘Come Through’ has everything a good club track needs — a persistent beat, a catchy hook, and fun, modern production.
Priyanka’s 2021 EP Taste Test is a considered, skilful collection of dance-pop tracks, ready-made for the stage. It’s clear that when it comes to music, she knows what she’s doing, and where her strengths lie.
Katya — ‘Be Your Own Dentist’
Warning: This video and track are both genuinely a little disturbing.
During a blooper wrap-up of Trixie and Katya’s YouTube show UNHhhh, Trixie asks Katya, ‘You’re a trained Yoga instructor, right?’
Katya responds, ‘I’m trained to teach, but they won’t let me.’
‘Be Your Own Dentist’ effectively captures this energy — extraordinarily weird, incredibly unsettling and darkly funny, Katya leads the listener through a serene guided meditation, where the end goal is (you guessed it) to become one’s own dentist. The experimental 3D video that accompanies ‘Be Your Own Dentist’ is as strange as the track itself, as Katya sits cross-legged in an amorphous environment that eventually becomes the inside of a mouth.
‘Be Your Own Dentist’ is refreshing in that it’s definitely never been done before, particularly by a queen who is deeply entrenched in what would generally be considered ‘mainstream’ drag. An enduring fan favourite, Katya is known for being a weirdo’s weirdo; she’s fiercely intelligent, has a certain knack for mastering languages, and is charismatic almost to a fault. It’s honestly just very interesting to see a Drag Race queen make something so clearly for her own amusement.
Trixie Mattel — ‘Heavy Crown’
With Honourable Mentions for: Gold, Stranger, I’ll Wear Your Ring, I Know You All Over Again, Red Side Of The Moon
Since her original run on Season 7 of Drag Race, Trixie Mattel has managed to build one of the most impressive empires in the history of the show — even rivalling that of RuPaul herself. She’s an admirably hard worker and a genuinely talented singer-songwriter — many of her singles and album tracks could have easily made this list.
‘Heavy Crown’ strips everything back, until all that’s left is Trixie’s soft, assured vocal, and sweet, steady acoustic guitar. The minimal country track is a vulnerable one from Trixie, released as a part of the original soundtrack for Moving Parts, the 2019 documentary that follows Trixie as she grapples with fame and the breakdown — and reconstruction — of her relationship with fellow queen Katya.
Drag can be so loud, and we love it for that — it’s everything all at once, chaos in the extreme. ‘Heavy Crown’ is a steadying breath in, a quiet moment, a reflection. (A very good track, in fact, to listen to after ‘Be Your Own Dentist’.)
Eilish Gilligan is a musician and writer from Melbourne. She streams at twitch.tv/eilishgilligan and tweets at @eilishgilligan.
Photo Credit: Trixie Mattel — Gary Gershoff/Getty Images