RuPaul’s Drag Race’s 18th season concluded with the crowning of Myki Meeks as America’s Next Drag Superstar after a whirlwind of a season. Unlike many recent seasons, the cast of season 18 was very evenly matched, and there wasn’t a solidified front-runner until further into the competition. Premiering on Jan. 2, this season brought 14 new queens together as they competed in musical, acting, design, and comedic challenges for a $200K cash prize and the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar. Hosts RuPaul and Michelle Visage judged alongside a rotating panel of judges, including style superstar Carson Kressley, the hilarious Ross Mathews, Ts Madison, Law Roach, and weekly celebrity guests. Season 18 was highly successful, becoming the highest-rated season of the entire show.
The first few challenges of the season established Nini Coco, Vita VonTesse Starr, Juicy Love Dion, and Jane Don’t as early front-runners. However, it soon became evident that Jane Don’t was more than just a front-runner; she was dominating the early and mid-season competitions. She broke the records for the longest streak and overall number of top challenge placements of any contestant in the show’s history. Her dominance continued until episode 13, in which her poor performance in the improv challenge landed her in the bottom for the first time all season. Delivering what will go down as one of the most shocking, controversial eliminations in Drag Race history, Coco sent Jane Don’t home after giving a high-energy lip sync performance to Lady Gaga’s “Garden of Eden.” Her exit marked a significant shift in the competition, as the queen everyone viewed as the biggest threat now left an opening for the top spot.
While Jane Don’t achieved instant success, Meeks was the season’s underdog until her performance in the political ad parody challenge in episode seven brought her first challenge win. In the episodes to follow, Meeks achieved top placements in all of the remaining challenges and secured three more wins before the finale. Before her pivotal turning point in episode seven, Meeks had a rocky start to her Drag Race journey. She was able to fly under the radar, earning safe placements for the first four challenges, until her fellow queens rated her original talent show performance in the bottom for the two-episode Rate-A-Queen challenge. Nearly escaping elimination fueled a mid-season surge in Meeks, and she quickly went from underdog to top contender.
The grand finale showcased the top three queens of the season, Meeks, Coco, and Darlene Mitchell. The three gave original musical numbers, and although Coco arguably gave the strongest performance, she placed as the runner-up, and Meeks was crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar. This season sparked an age-old Drag Race debate: should results be based on performance or overall track record? When she was eliminated, Jane Don’t was judged solely on the quality of her performance, and her consistent achievements throughout the season were disregarded. On the other hand, Meeks’ finale performance was widely considered weaker than Coco’s, but she was still crowned the winner. This debate began in season nine when Sasha Velour delivered an iconic lip sync to defeat Shea Couleé, who had won four challenges that season. In contrast, many felt that Sapphira Cristál was saved from a loss to Morphine Love Dion in season 16 because of her track record.
Overall, season 18 of RuPaul’s Drag Race was a success. Bringing many controversial moments and fan-favorites, it will undoubtedly go down as one of the show’s most memorable seasons.