Two episodes in, and the premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 is finally complete — the remaining seven contestants entered the work room, were put to the test, and one sashayed away yet again.
In season 14’s second episode, which aired on Friday, Jan. 14, we met the remaining cast, as they were tasked with performing once again in RuPaul’s Charisma, Nerve & Talent Show, much like the first batch of queens before them. Atlanta’s drag superstar Angeria Paris VanMicheals snatched herself a win for her witty lip sync to an original track, while queens Daya Betty and DeJa Skye were put on the chopping block for their lackluster lip-syncs and comedy routines, respectively.
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Performing in a lip sync to guest judge Alicia Keys‘s “Fallin’,” the pair served melodrama to try and win their spot on the show. But DeJa’s embodiment of the song edged her out just enough to earn her place back, leaving Daya Betty to get the chop. Below, Billboard chats with Story about her relationship with drag sister Crystal Methyd, why Avril Lavigne best describes her style of drag, and what it was like to work with Alicia Keys on the set.
I was sorry to see you go so soon on the show! How are you feeling about your time on Drag Race?
I loved every second of it! The happiness, the little bit of anger, I felt every emotion I could have imagined feeling, and I wouldn’t want to feel it anywhere else. As cliché as it sounds, we are such a close cast — we all love and support each other, and our group chat is non-stop going all hours of the day. I came out of it with a bunch of new sisters, and I kind of got a validation! Like, what I’ve done thus far worked for me, and I’ll keep doing it.
I loved getting to see you represent Missouri on the show, a state that, up until recently, did not have a whole lot of representation on the show. How did it feel getting to represent that on national TV?
When I first came into the drag scene in Springfield, there was a lot of pageantry drag going on. There was one major gay bar, and to be real, Crystal [Methyd] kind of cultivated more of the “club kid” culture there. I love the fact that, ever since [we created our drag show] “Get Dusted” and our monthly shows in a bar that was not a gay bar, it was just a dive bar, it opened doors to a lot of people starting to express themselves differently in drag on the scene. So now, when you go to Springfield, every type of drag queen, drag king, they are there. There is a lot of representation, it’s always been there, but now there is a light being shown in Springfield that I love.
Speaking of your drag sister, was there any concern when you were going on that there would be endless comparisons between you and Crystal Methyd?
I think the biggest thing, for me, was that Crystal was so well-received on her season. So it wasn’t so much a pressure that Crystal gave me, I just knew that the fandom really love Crystal. I mean, I get compared to her a lot — people say we sound the same when we talk, we’ll even get mistaken for one another when we’re out and in drag together. So, if anything, I saw it as a compliment that part of my drag family was so well-loved that I might be compared with her. Yeah, no hard feelings if somebody calls me “Crystal” on accident. Like, “You’re still wrong, but thank you.”
I feel like you showed off quite a few different styles of your drag in just one episode, with your rocker girl entrance, your campy performance outfit, and that punk-esque ribbon runway. Is your fashion sense very versatile like you were presenting on the show, or were you trying some new stuff out?
Have you seen that TikTok of Avril Lavigne being like, “I don’t call myself punk, because calling yourself punk isn’t punk,” or something to that effect? That is my style. [Laughs.] I’m gonna do what I wanna do in the moment. I call myself “the human mood ring,” because if I wanna be sexy, I’ll be sexy; if I wanna be dark and edgy, I’ll be dark and edgy. That’s what drag is to me — why limit yourself, why put yourself in a box? If I had to put myself in a box, I’d say artsy underground punk, because punk is basically whatever the hell you want it to be. But Avril is correct, it is not punk to say you’re punk.
You spoke a little bit about this on the show, but you ended up lip-syncing to Alicia Keys’ “Fallin'” and said that you were freaked out performing with her sitting right there. What kind of pressure does having the original performer there do to you when you’re trying to lip sync for your life?
Well, here’s the thing — especially as an artist myself, you create art because you are trying to convey a thought, an emotion, an experience that you have encountered in your own life. And when you put it out for other people, you’re not trying to make them understand that, persay, you’re trying to have them connect to it in their own way. So, yes, it is terrifying performing in front of the Alicia Keys. [Laughs.] But, also, Alicia Keys is one of those artists who is like, “I am putting art out there for me, and however you can connect to it, that’s what it’s about.” That’s the best type of artist to me. Terrifying, scary, yes, but it’s part of being an artist to me.
I also just feel like Alicia has the exact correct vibe for something like Drag Race — like, she’s all about positive vibes and making people feel good about themselves, which is sort of great in terms of who you want watching you in a lip-sync.
One hundred percent agreed. She was an absolute breath of fresh air when she was on set. You know, in the spring, when you go outside, and it’s like, “Wow it’s warm, I don’t need a jacket, I feel like I could go on a run even though I’m not going to go on a run?” She’s very that. Such a warm energy, like, “How do I take this home with me?”
Last question before you go — what’s a song, or artist, or album that has really been giving you life and inspiring you as of late?
Okay, do not judge me, do not read me, but Lady Gaga is always my No. 1. She cannot do wrong in my head. I will always go back to Artpop, I don’t know what it is, I think it’s because I’m in this point in my life where I’m trying to envision social media as an art platform while still being able to use whatever medium I want to create art. I really connect with Lady Gaga in the fact that she was trying to do something that I don’t even know if she had fully fleshed out in her head. [Laughs.] But she did it, and it’s an amazing album, I love it so much. Doing what you feel in the moment, it’s what I will always love about her.