The Norm Can Conform

The opinions you never asked for on the subjects you’re not bothered about.

RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars 4 – Meet The Queens

Thank the gay gods in heaven above, RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars 4 is coming just in time for Christmas! There has been much speculation, debate and intrigue as to who the next group of All Stars queens would be to grace our screens once more. But I can now confirm which queens we shall be enjoying this season (and we don’t have long to see them in action). Best of all, the season will be starting on the 14th of December!

Now, I don’t want to get my hopes up too much – as a Drag Race fan, that sounds quite shitty, I know, but All Stars 3 really left a bitter taste in the mouth of fans. We saw the BenDeLaCreme leave the competition despite winning pretty much every challenge bar 1. We also saw the original winner and all around bizarre contestant Bebe Zahara Benet make a return (although her Kitty Girl verse was iconic – not good iconic, but like… Roxxxy Andrews iconic). And of course, we saw #JusticeForShangela take the gay (and straight white women who are loud in gay bars and scream “yaasss queen”) world by storm!

I had quite a big rant about All Stars 3 ending in a way that left a lot of fans (myself included) feeling a bit let down. Which is why I believe the producers decided to start Season 10 the week after the All Stars 3 finale. Usually, there’s a big gap, but I think they knew people weren’t happy so they got the next season started straight away. And don’t get me started on the Season 10 finale! My word, by looking at the top 4’s outfits, who could have guessed that they were all going to have a ‘reveal’ – and then there were the butterflies…

But I’m not going to dwell on the past – All Stars 4 is coming to town and the festivities will soon begin. There are loads of queens I would love to see on All Stars; Mrs Kasha Davis, Tempest DuJour, Joslyn Fox, Willam (this one will probably never happen), even Madame LaQueer would be a fun one to bring back!

Who will be competing on All Stars 4?

Just from a first glance – I’m pretty excited by what I’m seeing. We’ve got a good mix of queens from different seasons. Even though All Stars 2 was by far the greatest season of Drag Race to date, they did have quite a lot of queens from one season. In fact, half of the cast (literally) was from Season 5. Now, I would have hoped that with 10 seasons of Drag Race under Ru’s belt, we would have had a queen from each season for All Stars 4. Sadly, that wasn’t the case, but we do have a relatively balanced cast this year.

Do you like the little graph I made? Maybe I’m taking this new season a bit too far. 😂 Obviously, we’re going to see more of the recent seasons competing, but it’s a shame that we don’t get more queens from the earlier seasons (1–4). But enough about my wishful thinking – on with the cast.

I’m going to blog the season

Already, I’m quite excited about this season so I think I’m going to do a weekly review of each episode on my blog. I’ll toot and boot the runways, discuss the challenges and let you know what I’m thinking.

Tom and I have decided to do a Drag Race Draft

We thought it would be a nice fun thing to do, so we’ve decided to make this season a little competition of our own. We’ve created a little fantasy league. We’ve decided on the point scoring and we’ve selected out competitors. We flipped a coin to decide who picks first and after Tom lost the toss, I got to start. Here’s how we picked:

1st Harry – Manila / Tom – Valentina
2nd Harry – Latrice / Tom – Trinity
3rd Harry – Monét / Tom – Naomi
4th Harry – Jasmine / Tom – Monique
5th Harry – Gia / Tom – Farrah

The Rules:

5 points to the winner / 3 points to runner-up / 1 point to ‘safe’ queens / 0 points in the bottom / -3 eliminated

Play it with a friend. Let me know who you and your friend drafted and let’s compare. Check in with me each week when the competition starts for my draft results and opinions on the episodes.

Toot or Boot

I’ve been waiting to see the cast promo looks for some time now. With this season being a potential ‘Christmas Queens’ show, it was nice to see some frosty looks from the queens. But which looks stood out to me the most? I’ve split the cast into 5 toots and 5 boots based on what I enjoyed about their looks. You can see which outfits I loved and loathed below as I’ve coloured their gowns in to represent which I liked (green = toot, red = boot).

All Stars 4 Toot or Boot

Let me get into my thoughts on the cast:

Farrah Moan – Season 9 – Look: Boot

I’ve got to admit, I was pretty surprised to see Farrah Moan get called back to do All Stars 4. I found her pretty underwhelming on the show and her whining to be more irritating than endearing. She’s known for her highlighter and very little else – though her “You don’t love me” confrontation with Valentina was pretty juicy at the Season 9 reunion.

Why I booted: It’s like a dull version of Princess Leia’s slave costume when she got captured by Jabba the Hutt. The drape of cheap fabric hanging from her arms also does nothing for me as its baggy and pretty wrinkled. Derrick Barry would lose his shit because he at least sewed a hem.

Gia Gunn – Season 6 – Look: Boot

Even though I didn’t particularly like Gia Gunn on Season 6, I did find her commentary and quite funny. She was a young queen who was very confident and she had some interesting looks. Now, Gia has become a proud trans woman who still has a real talent for performing. When I saw her perform in Leeds, I thought she was pretty awesome so she’s one I’m quite looking forward to watching this time around.

Why I booted: I don’t think Gia is wearing a bad outfit by any stretch of the imagination – I just think it’s a bit dull. She looks stunning but her outfit could have been so much more than this.

Jasmine Masters – Season 7 – Look: Toot

I was never the biggest Jasmine fan, I found her quite angry, confrontational and dated, however, since the show she has become a walking talking meme. Much like the Walmart yodelling kid or Gemma Collins. I kind of want her to win because I think it will be hilarious to have Jasmine Masters in the All Stars hall of fame.

Why I tooted: I hated most of Jasmine’s drag on Season 7. I still find it hilarious when she gave that whole spiel about having a dress that was so good that Ru would save her just off of that alone then she got sent home… It wasn’t even that nice a dress. It was like an old-school drag outfit. However, even though I find most of her looks dated, I actually rather like this one. It’s well proportioned, it has nice details and her wig looks stunning  – well done Jasmine.

Latrice Royale – Season 4 – Look: Boot

‘Chunky yet funky, large and in charge’ it’s Latrice Royale! Yes, she has previously been on the first season of All Stars, but I think that was a season that most people have either not watched or erased from their memory. Still, Latrice is a firm fan favourite and she was Miss Congeniality on Season 4 – she’s going to do some pretty great things this time around.

Why I booted: I don’t quite understand what this outfit is. It’s half Lady Gaga – Judas nun style outfit and half wild west wench. The hat is kind of sassy but I’m not mad keen on the Oktoberfest wig.

Manila Luzon – Season 3 – Look: Toot

Honestly, I’m so happy to see Manila return to the competition. She’s one of the best competitors the show has ever had but because she’s from an early season (3), people tend to forget about her. She came 2nd in her season and honestly, it could have gone either way with her or Raja for the crown. Like Latrice, Manila also competed on the first All Stars, in fact, they were a team! My money is on Manila to win All Stars 4.

Why I tooted: Manila is the queen of making comedy couture. I’m sure you all remember her iconic pineapple dress or the legendary Big Bird outfit which she wore to lip sync to MacArthur Park. This outfit is dripping with sass, class and her usual Luzon style.

Monét X Change – Season 10 – Look: Toot

Fresh off of Season 10, Monét is back for more. She was Miss Congeniality and the first ever one to be voted for by her fellow contestants rather than the fans. She’s funny, fierce and intriguing. Do I think she will win? No. Do I think she will do well? Probably.

Why I tooted: Monét looks stunning in this look. If you’re going to go minimalist, you’ve got to make sure that shit is polished! The leotard fits perfectly, the hips look right, the shoulder pad cape thingy looks sleek, the shoes look cute and her hair is sculpted.

Monique Heart – Season 10 – Look: Toot

“Brown cow – stunning!” Monique instantly became a modern day meme thanks to her misinformed judgement of animal print. Though she didn’t win Miss Congeniality, she’s did become a firm fan favourite.

Why I tooted: Ordinarily, an outfit like this would have gotten a boot from me – if the face wasn’t on it. Even then, it could have still been booted. However, the face is so recognisably Monique’s face that it becomes funny again. I could tell who it was supposed to be straight away just by the mouth – and for that reason, I love it! (But the random one wrap of fabric on the leg should have been abandoned.

Naomi Smalls – Season 8 – Look: Boot

“She’s legendary, all legs, no dairy”. Naomi Smalls certainly is a fashion queen with a real joie de vivre for looking sassy. Her two biggest inspirations are Naomi Campbell and Biggie Smalls (hence the drag name) which is why her runway looks are always a beautiful hybrid of couture fashion and an R&B flavour.

Why I booted: Maybe it’s just the photograph, but what the hell is going on with her face?! I’m going to hope and pray that it’s just the photo. Anyway, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad outfit by any stretch of the imagination – it’s just not that exciting. Honestly, I expected more from Naomi… Maybe she’s saving her best looks for the competition.

Trinity “The Tuck” Taylor – Season 9 – Look: Toot

I’m very happy to see Trinity Taylor return for another shot at the crown. Her season was the first to have the winner decided by lip syncs and honestly if this wasn’t the case the crown could have been hers. Not saying that she’s not a fierce performer because she absolutely is. Maybe All Stars 4 could be the perfect time for her.

Why I tooted: The new hair, the makeup, the outfit – it’s all perfection. Though I do miss classic pageant Trinity, I know she’s never far but this looks is utterly lush.

Valentina – Season 9 – Look: Boot

She brought the telenovela flavour to Season 9 with the scandal of the mask. People believed she could have gone all the way – including RuPaul. Now she’s back, we can only assume she’s perfected her lip syncing skills and donned some more beautiful outfits and charm to prove that she really is Miss Congeniality Fan Favourite.

Why I booted: She can do better than this. Also, I hate this big wig thing, she’s worn so much better and I felt the same way about the wig she wore for her Season 9 promo. It’s just not an exciting outfit when she delivered so many great ones on her season.

If my little review has left you gagging for more, I suggest you get yourself comfy and watch Trixie Mattel RuVeal All Stars 4 with Detox and Katya. It’s full of laughs, insights and shade – just what I’ve been waiting for! Check out the video below. 

RuPaul words

Harry J Bartlett

Digital Content Creator, lover of fashion, drag queen connoisseur and all around phenomenal human being. If I had to describe myself in 3 words I would say; Gorgeous, Talented and Humble.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top