Another May, another round of goodbyes to RuPaul's Drag Race finalists. Bianca Del Rio, one of the best and certainly funniest contestants in the history of RPDR took the crown on Monday night and the onehundredthou$anddolla. Now all three will sashay away...
The curious thing about RuPaul's Drag Race, and reality show winners in general but particularly the performance contest variety of reality show winners -- which to date means singing and dancing and dragging -- is that winning doesn't make you a true celebrity or even more successful than the people you beat. Witness Jennifer Hudson's Oscar. She didn't get very far on American Idol.
Happy Wednesday from Adore DelanoBeing on a popular show to begin with is the real win, instantly securing you a fanbase the size of which varies considerably depending on editing and your own innate appeal and how long you stay there.
Many reality stars in the past have managed whole minor careers from the notoriety of their one season of real fame. Doing well on a reality show only assures that you stay famous within the very particular context of that universe. A sublebrity if you will. The real test for any would be star is what comes after the initial breakthrough.
Adore Delano seems to get that. The young adorably trashy queen who can also actually sing, and isn't even terrible at acting judging on some of the individual challenges, was smart to capitalize on this very fleeting moment (you're probably already like "it's Wednesday. This was DAYS ago") just as it was ending. Sashay away? You mean, "encore," right? Though half the queens that have been on the show have tried their hand at releasing their own singles and videos -- even those that didn't ever mention an interest in music and have no aptitude for it -- the show has yet to break a real pop star. But that's where Adore's heart has been the whole time and there's something to be said for having a focus. She wants to be a pop star like Katy Perry or Gaga.
Will her "hoodrat anthem" called DTF break out? Judge for yourself. (Love that shot of her twirling her gum)
As for Bianca Del Rio... the talent is there but it's too bad there isn't an obvious place to put it. She'll have to make her own way but a Bianca Del Rio weekly sitcom would be orgasmic.