Top 10 Lip Sync Assassins on RuPaul's Drag Race
#10: Shangela
As one of the most recurring faces on “Drag Race”, Shangela has had the biggest arc in the show’s herstory, partly thanks to her lip syncing skills. After sashaying away in the first episode of season two, she was, quite literally, repackaged for her surprise return in season three. She got off to another bad start, but clawed her way through a messy lip sync against Venus D-Lite, and later, Carmen Carrera. We wouldn’t see Shangela truly shine, however, until “All Stars 3,” where she racked up three wins against BenDeLaCreme and Trixie Mattel. We’ll never listen to “Freaky Money” again without picturing her twerking in a fat suit.
#9: Trinity K. Bonet
Trinity struggled with her confidence throughout her time on season six, a problem that saw her flounder in many main challenges. But when she had to prove that she deserved to stay in the competition, she really came into her own. Her first victim was, April Carrion - another strong lip syncer - who she took down to Chaka Khan’s classic, “I’m Every Woman.” But her biggest take-down was Milk, a quirky fashion queen expected to go much further in the competition. After banishing her “inner saboteur,” Trinity finally met her match in Adore Delano. The duo delivered a sizzling rendition of Paula Abdul’s “Vibeology,” and Trinity sashayed away on a high note.
#8: BenDeLaCreme
Top 10 BenDeLaCreme Moments on RuPaul’s Drag Race
This “terminally delightful” queen only had to Lip Sync For Her Life twice during her time on season six. Strangely enough, both of them were against her biggest rival, Darienne Lake, with both contestants performing well enough the first time around for RuPaul to eliminate neither of them. If this had been BenDeLa’s only “Drag Race” appearance she probably wouldn’t have cracked this Top 10 list, but when RuPaul brought her back for “All Stars 3,” BenDeLa cleaned up - racking up win after win against Aja, BeBe Zahara Benet, and tying with Shangela. Her hilarious “Anaconda” performance was almost too much for Michelle Visage. In fact, the only person that could beat her was… herself:
#7: Chi Chi DeVayne
Top 20 Lip Sync Assassins on RuPaul's Drag Race
Like Trinity K. Bonet, Chi Chi DeVayne often struggled to find her footing in the challenges, but really stepped it up in the lip syncs. She first found herself in the bottom in the “New Wave Queens” episode, lip syncing to a Blondie favorite against Naysha Lopez, where her high-heeled kicks and flips saved her from elimination. She didn’t need any tricks for her performance against Thorgy Thor though. The song, “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls,” couldn’t have been more appropriate, and Chi Chi expressed the emotion behind the Broadway tune with every fiber of her being. She left RuPaul with no other choice but to send top contender Thorgy home.
#6: Latrice Royale
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Latrice Royale was the heart and soul of season four and she really brought that soul into her lip sync performances. After her epic “Everlasting Love” battle against The Princess, DiDa Ritz seemed to be the assassin to beat. That was, until she met her match in Latrice, whose heartfelt version of a Gladys Knight song won out against DiDa’s peppy energy. Latrice channelled her inner R&B diva again when she lip synced against Kendra Michaels the very next week - a performance that ranks among “Drag Race”’s best. Her skills hadn’t dulled by the first season of “All Stars,” either - taking out Team Brown Flowers on a musical number that was Tammie Brown’s to lose.
#5: Coco Montrese
There’s no question that Coco Montrese was the undisputed lip sync assassin of season five. Though her long-time rival Alyssa Edwards did her fair share of slaying, no-one could match Coco for sharpness or consistency. She first proved her deadly potential when she took Monica Beverly Hillz out of the competition, embodying The Pussycat Dolls’ “When I Grow Up” with her cutesy mannerisms. Jade Jolie was next to go, putting up a good fight but unable to beat Coco’s energy in their showdown. Coco went on to survive a third battle against none other than Alyssa. The fight was as tight as Coco’s lip syncing, and victory over Alyssa couldn’t have been sweeter for her.
#4: Alaska
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Alaska managed to skate through season five into the top three without ever landing in the bottom. As impressive as this was, we were left curious about what an Alaska-style lip sync would look like - a curiosity that was met when she made a welcome return for “All Stars 2.” This time around, the “Drag Race” superfan had her eyes firmly on the prize. Not only did she sweep the most challenge wins of all the girls, but she won the most Lip Syncs For Your Legacy - 4, including the finale; twice against Katya and once against Phi Phi O’Hara. Although, we should really give the credit to Lil’ Poundcake for that last one.
#3: Jujubee
Top 10 Jujubee Moments on RuPaul's Drag Race
In the Werkroom, Jujubee was all play. On the main stage though, she came to SLAY. Although she made it all the way to the top three, Jujubee had plenty of tumbles along the way, leaving herself in danger of elimination on three occasions. Not only did she pull through each time, but she took down some of Season 2’s strongest contenders, like Pandora Boxx. An easy feat for someone with Jujubee’s talent for conveying the emotion behind a song, as well as making difficult vocals look like a piece of lip syncing cake. Her sultry performance of “Black Velvet” against Sahara Davenport is still considered to be one of the show’s greatest.
#2: Peppermint
Peppermint talked a big game before her Madonna lip sync against returning queen Cynthia Lee Fontaine in season nine: Usually, this kind of editing means a contestant is being set up for a faill, but we were pleasantly surprised when Peppermint produced the goods. We didn’t get to see a repeat performance until the final five, where Peppermint whipped Alexis Michelle good to a “Village People” disco classic. And then, just when we thought we’d seen it all, she turned it OUT to Britney Spears’ “Stronger” with a perfectly-timed reveal, pushing the fierce Trinity Taylor out of the top four in the live finale, and advancing to lip sync for the crown against Sasha Velour.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Raven
Alyssa Edwards
Monét X Change
#1: Kameron Michaels
Well, we certainly weren’t going to put Charlie Hides at the top! In the Werkroom, the muscle queen of season ten was the shy and retiring type, and not coming out of her shell landed her in the bottom three weeks in a row. Each time, we were sure that Kameron Michaels’ time was up, and each time she proved us wrong - becoming the first queen in “Drag Race” herstory to survive three lip syncs to compete in the grand finale. As well as tying with Eureka O’Hara, she sent home fan favorites, Monet X Change and Miz Cracker. Poor Asia O’Hara - and her dead butterflies - didn’t stand a chance. Talk about silent but deadly!
