RuPaul’s Drag Race season 9 contestant and Miss Congeniality winner Valentina caught up with Billboard Pride’s Patrick Crowley during RuPaul’s DragCon Los Angeles to chat about seeing young queens at the event, this season’s Drag Race contestants, and her new music.
Discussing what her favorite part about DragCon is, Valentina explains that she loves seeing little kids there doing drag, while having supportive parents and “just having a good old time.”
“It kind of makes me reflect back on my childhood,” she explains, “and I’m like, ‘If I was a little kid here…ooh girl, I would be serving all the looks as a little 5-year-old.’”
The queen also discusses the current season of the RuPaul-hosted television show, revealing that while she doesn’t know who she’s rooting for at this point and that “whoever wins is fine with me,” she has a lot of love for Eureka O’Hara, who originally appeared during her season but left early due to a knee injury.
“I have a love of Eureka’s soul and her spirit and I really feel like since she was on my season, she came and she really delivered,” Valentina says. “And then Aquaria, when it comes to her looks, she’s just so polished and refined and has a really great idea of what her references are, and I really enjoy that with her.”
Valentina also chats about fellow drag queen Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, who has left a lasting impression on fans, despite being the first contestant to leave the current season of the show. Asked who she thinks will be crowned Miss Congeniality this year, Valentina responds, “To be quite honest, I think it’ll just be the fans giving it to Vanjie. And if it is Vanjie, I’ll be so happy to give it to her…She’s a lovely girl, she really is very congenial. She’s very sweet, very caring…She’s funny, too. She’s exactly what you see on TV.”
You can watch the full video above to hear much more from Valentina, including her plans for a single which she hopes to release “some time soon.”