Top 10 Times RuPaul's Drag Race Queens Didn't Know the Words During a Lip Sync

Top 10 Most Jaw-Dropping Times RPDR Queens Didn’t Know the Words During a Lip Sync

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most shocking times “Drag Race” queens forgot the lyrics to a lip sync song. We’ll be focusing on the American franchise and discussing elimination outcomes, so a spoiler alert is in effect.

#10: Jujubee
All Stars 5

Fans cannot get enough of Jujubee. The famously competitive season 2 queen has appeared on nearly every “Drag Race” spin-off she’s eligible to compete on. Her lip syncing skills are pretty well-known at this point. That’s why it was really surprising to see her struggle during a performance of Lizzo’s “Juice.” Going up against Lip Sync Assassin Monét X Change, Juju didn’t seem too comfortable with the song. For every line she knew, there was another where her mouth just started making shapes in time to the music. Monét would still have been stiff competition even if Jujubee knew all the lyrics, but it would have been amazing to see both firing on all cylinders.

#9: Porkchop
Season 1

It’s so important to remember our history, and Victoria “Porkchop” Parker is nothing if not a trailblazer. Not only did Porkchop make “Drag Race” herstory by being the first queen to sashay away, she also was the first to go up on her lyrics during a Lip Sync for Your Life. The good-natured veteran queen twirled and did her best to entertain. What she forgot to do was actually mouth the words to the song. For large pockets of RuPaul’s “Supermodel (You Better Work),” she made the curious choice to not move her lips at all. It was confusing, considering that Porkchop was the most seasoned performer of the entire cast.

#8: Tammie Brown
Season 1

Akashia slayed Porkchop in the very first lip sync, but she once again found herself in the bottom in the very next episode. This time, she was there with the lovably eccentric Tammie Brown. Performing Michelle Williams’ “Hold Back the Dawn” right in front of the former Destiny’s Child member, Akashia was as shocked as we were when Tammie didn’t put up a fight. There was a reason. Tammie didn’t know the song. In a confessional, she admitted she hadn’t learned the lyrics, and either as a show of defiance or to preserve some dignity, she decided she wouldn’t even try to perform it.

#7: Mariah Paris Balenciaga
Season 3

After falling short in season 3’s Snatch Game, Delta Work and Mariah Paris Balenciaga dueled to Jody Watley’s “Looking for a New Love.” It was clear that Mariah wasn’t as comfortable with the song as her competitor. Although she tried to compensate by mugging for the camera and striking some gorgeous poses, the judges and the other contestants saw through it. She just didn’t know the words as well as she should have. Mariah’s hilarious strategy to fill in the gaps with some alternate lyrics ultimately didn’t work. She was sent packing at the end of the lip sync.

#6: Spice & Malaysia Babydoll Foxx
Season 15

What happens when neither queen knows the words? Well, in the case of this season 15 performance, the answer is: absolute hilarity. Like a Russian doll of “Drag Race” plot twists, this one has layers. As Spice and Malaysia Babydoll Foxx battle it out in the Lip Sync LaLaPaRuZa Smackdown, it dawns on everyone watching that both queens don’t know their lyrics. Normally, this would be a disaster. The end result is a completely wacky and endlessly entertaining battle to be slightly less worse than the other bottom queen. From the color commentary by the queens in the Werk Room to the innovative choreography on the mainstage, this one is a great time all around.

#5: Katya
Season 7

The Glamazonian Airways challenge was definitely one of the most bizarre challenges the queens ever had. At least, to that point in “Drag Race” herstory. Eventual Miss Congeniality and fake Russian woman Katya Zamolodchikova opened the season’s Rusical with a lengthy and fast-paced monologue. Viewers could feel the awkwardness as she barreled through the words. There were lyrics she just completely missed, and even the ones she got right were seconds too late. To her credit, Katya remained committed to the bit. She may not have gotten a single word right, but she never stopped moving her mouth. Honestly, we lucked out, as a result. If she hadn’t landed in the bottom, we never would’ve gotten her incredible Olivia Newton-John lip sync.

#4: Penny Tration
Season 5

The first lip sync of Season 5 was a showdown between the youngest queen and one of the most seasoned ones. Penny Tration may have had years on Serena ChaCha, but the fresh-faced and controversial young queen had a not-so-secret weapon. She knew the lyrics. The crowd pleasing Miley Cyrus track, “Party in the U.S.A.,” proved too wordy and unfamiliar for Penny and it ended up being her swan song. Everyone went into this lip sync fully expecting Serena to go home. The other queens’ shock at the eventual elimination was as much about Penny as it was about Serena getting to remain with them for another week.

#3: Mo Heart
Season 10

Facts are facts, America. And the fact here is Mo Heart didn’t know the lyrics to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Cut to the Feeling.” Try as she might, she could not get her footing in this Lip Sync for Your Life against the Vixen. She seemed to have caught a few words during the track’s catchy chorus, but it was clear she was lost at sea on that stage. We didn’t even need Asia O’Hara’s astute observation to realize what had gone wrong. Viewers had grown to love Mo, but it was pretty rough to see her ditch her wig and try out some unique cartwheels instead of lip syncing. Even Ru couldn’t hide how disappointed she was.

#2: Charlie Hides
Season 9

It was the “Charlie, let’s go!” heard round the world. When she landed in the bottom two for the talk show challenge, Season 9’s Charlie Hides decided it was her time to go. While Trinity the Tuck poured her entire soul into this Britney Spears lip sync, Charlie stayed in one spot and pointed for most of the song. Although she clearly knew the tune, it seemed like she was usually a beat behind the next line, as if waiting for the lyric to start to figure out what was next. Whether it was complete disinterest or defeatism, Charlie’s was one of the show’s most notorious eliminations.

#1: Valentina
Season 9

Season 9 was a particularly good season for jaw dropping moments, and they run the gamut from the iconic to the completely baffling. Our number one pick belongs in the second category. Valentina was a frontrunner when she landed in the bottom two. That’s why we all let out a collective gasp when she wouldn’t take her mask off. Little did we realize, she didn’t know the words to the song. On top of giving us several iconic and meme-able moments, Valentina’s demise also made her a “Drag Race” legend. And who knows? Maybe she was just teaching us the importance of masking up long before it was necessary to do so.

Which of these forgetful queens had you clutching your pearls? Bring it to the comments.