Everyone has a favorite reality TV show, a guilty pleasure that they could binge for hours straight. For me, that show is RuPaul’s Drag Race. And with season ten just starting up, there are 14 new queens for fans of the show to get to know. For those of you who don’t know, RuPaul’s Drag Race is a reality TV show that follows RuPaul, an American drag queen, actor, model, singer, songwriter, TV personality and author for his search for America’s next drag superstar. The show has previously produced some of the forefront drag performers such as Alyssa Edwards, Bianca Del Rio and Trixie Mattel to name just a few. Drag is the art of dressing up as the opposite gender for entertainment. In this case, men dress as women and perform lip syncs, skits, songs and much, much more. And when I say dress up, I don’t mean like that time you grabbed your mom’s makeup kit for the first time. I mean snatched, beat and tucked goddesses who strut around in six-inch stilettos all while battling it out for the crown. This season, there are 14 queens ranging from age 21 to 35 and hailing from all around the country. Here’s a breakdown of all the new queens this season!
Aquaria aka Giovanni Palandrani, 21, from Brooklyn, New York
Twitter: @aquariaofficial
Instagram: @ageofaquaria
Blair St. Clare aka Andrew Bryson, 22, from Indianapolis, Indiana
Twitter: @ BlairStClair
Instagram: @ blairst.clair
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo aka Jose Cancel, 25, from Tampa, Florida
Twitter/Instagram: @VanessaVanjie
The Vixen aka Anthony Taylor, 26, from Chicago, Illinois
Twitter/Instagram: @TheVixensworld
Eureka O’Hara aka David Huggard, 27, from Johnson City, Tennessee
Twitter/Instagram: @eurekaohara
Monét X Change aka Kevin Bertin, 27, from The Bronx, New York
Twitter/Instagram: @monetxchange
Yuhua Hamasaki aka Yuhua Ou, 27, from New York, New York
Twitter: @YuhuaNYC
Instagram: @yuhuahamasaki
Kalorie Karbashian Williams aka Daniel Hernandez, 27, from Albuquerque, New Mexico
Twitter/Instagram: @kalkarbdashianw
Dusty Ray Bottoms aka Dustin Rayburn, 29, from New York, New York
Twitter: @DustyRayBottoms
Instagram: @dustyray
Kameron Michaels aka Dane Young, 31, from Nashville, Tennessee
Twitter: @KameronMichaels
Instagram: @kameronmichaels
Monique Heart aka Kevin Richardson, 31, from Kansas City, Missouri
Twitter: @IAmMoniqueHeart
Instagram: @kevinandmonique
Miz Cracker aka Maxwell Heller, 33, from New York, New York
Twitter/Instagram: @miz_cracker
Asia O’Hara aka Antwan Lee, 35, from Dallas, Texas
Twitter/Instagram: @AsiaOharaLand
Mayhem Miller aka Dequan Johnson, 35, from Riverside, California
Twitter/Instagram: @TheOnlyMayhem
For fans of the show, some of these names might look a little familiar. Eureka O’Hara was on season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race but had to leave the competition after injuring her leg in a cheerleading challenge. She is the only queen to ever leave the competition on medical grounds, but she was given an open invitation from RuPaul to return on season 10! Asia O’Hara is another familiar name to fans, she is the drag mother of season four contestant Phi Phi O’Hara and is also in the Haus of Taylor with season nine contestant Trinity Taylor. And while Kameron Michaels’ name may sound familiar, and she may bear a slight resemblance to Chad Michaels from season four, there is no connection between the two queens. Vanessa Mateo, however, is the drag daughter of season three constant Alexis Mateo. I could go on and on with all the connections that the season 10 queens have to their past RuPaul Drag Race competitors, but it all means the same thing. These queens came to slay, not play. Watch every Thursday night at 8/7 c on VH1!
All images courtesy of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Wiki.