RuPaul's Drag Race | |
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Season 8 | |
Hosted by | RuPaul |
Judges | |
No. of contestants | 12 |
Winner | Bob the Drag Queen |
Runners-up | |
Miss Congeniality | Cynthia Lee Fontaine |
Companion show | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked! |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Release | |
Original network | Logo TV |
Original release | March 7 – May 16, 2016 |
Season chronology | |
The eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on March 7, 2016. Returning judges include RuPaul and Michelle Visage, along with Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley, who shared judging responsibilities on an alternating basis. Twelve drag queens competed for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". The prizes for the winner are a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000. The full list of contestants was revealed during the NewNowNext Awards on February 1, 2016. [1] The song "U Wear It Well" from RuPaul's album Butch Queen was featured in promotion for the show. On March 31, 2016, it was announced LogoTV renewed the show for a ninth season. [2] It was the last season to solely be played on Logo, as the show moved to VH1 for its ninth season. [3]
The theme song played during the runway segment every episode was "The Realness", and the song played during the closing credits was "Die Tomorrow", both songs from the album Realness .
The winner of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race was Bob the Drag Queen, with Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls being the runners-up, and Cynthia Lee Fontaine being crowned season 8's Miss Congeniality.
On August 20, 2020, Chi Chi DeVayne died after battling scleroderma and pneumonia. [4]
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
Contestant | Age | Hometown | Outcome |
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Bob the Drag Queen | 29 | New York City, New York | Winner |
Kim Chi | 27 | Chicago, Illinois | Runners-up |
Naomi Smalls | 23 | Redlands, California | |
Chi Chi DeVayne [a] | 29 | Shreveport, Louisiana | 4th place |
Derrick Barry | 32 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 5th place |
Thorgy Thor | 31 | New York City, New York | 6th place |
Robbie Turner | 33 | Seattle, Washington | 7th place |
Acid Betty | 37 | New York City, New York | 8th place |
Naysha Lopez | 31 | Chicago, Illinois | 9th place [b] |
Cynthia Lee Fontaine | 34 | Austin, Texas | 10th place [c] |
Dax ExclamationPoint | 31 | Savannah, Georgia | 11th place |
Laila McQueen | 22 | Gloucester, Massachusetts | |
Notes:
Legend:
Contestant | Episode | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 [5] | 2 [6] | 3 [7] | 4 [8] | 5 [9] | 6 [10] | 7 [11] | 8 [12] | 9 [13] | 10 [14] | |
Bob the Drag Queen | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | BTM | SAFE | Winner |
Kim Chi | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | Runner-up |
Naomi Smalls | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | Runner-up |
Chi Chi DeVayne | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | BTM | SAFE | SAFE | BTM | SAFE | ELIM | Guest |
Derrick Barry | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM | WIN | ELIM | Guest | |
Thorgy Thor | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||
Robbie Turner | SAFE | SAFE | BTM | WIN | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | |||
Acid Betty | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||||
Naysha Lopez | ELIM | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||||||
Cynthia Lee Fontaine | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Miss C | ||||||
Dax ExclamationPoint | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | |||||||
Laila McQueen | BTM | ELIM | Guest |
Legend:
Episode | Contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 [5] | Laila McQueen | vs. | Naysha Lopez | "Applause" (Lady Gaga) | Naysha Lopez |
2 [6] | Dax ExclamationPoint | vs. | Laila McQueen | "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor) | Dax ExclamationPoint |
Laila McQueen | |||||
3 [7] | Cynthia Lee Fontaine | vs. | Robbie Turner | "Mesmerized (Freemasons Radio Edit)" (Faith Evans) | Cynthia Lee Fontaine |
4 [8] | Chi Chi DeVayne | vs. | Naysha Lopez | "Call Me" (Blondie) | Naysha Lopez |
5 [9] | Acid Betty | vs. | Naomi Smalls | "Causing a Commotion" (Madonna) | Acid Betty |
6 [10] | Derrick Barry | vs. | Robbie Turner | "I Love It" (Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX) | Robbie Turner |
7 [11] | Chi Chi DeVayne | vs. | Thorgy Thor | "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Jennifer Holliday) | Thorgy Thor |
8 [12] | Bob the Drag Queen | vs. | Derrick Barry | "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" (Sylvester) | Derrick Barry |
9 [13] | Bob the Drag Queen vs. Chi Chi DeVayne vs. Kim Chi vs. Naomi Smalls | "The Realness" (RuPaul) | Chi Chi DeVayne | ||
Listed in chronological order: [15]
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1:
Episode 2:
Episode 4:
Episode 5:
Episode 6:
Episode 7:
Episode 9:
Episode 10:
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
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94 | 1 | "Keeping It 100!" | March 7, 2016 | |
Twelve new queens enter the workroom. For the first mini-challenge, the queens do a photoshoot with past winners. Robbie Turner wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens create an outfit based on a design challenge from a past season.
On the runway, Acid Betty, Derrick Barry and Kim Chi receive positive critiques, with Kim Chi winning the challenge. Laila McQueen, Naomi Smalls, Naysha Lopez and Robbie Turner receive negative critiques, with Naomi Smalls and Robbie Turner being safe. Laila McQueen and Naysha Lopez lip-sync to "Applause" by Lady Gaga. Laila McQueen wins the lip-sync and Naysha Lopez is the first queen to sashay away.
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95 | 2 | "Bitch Perfect" | March 14, 2016 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens have a Latin dance-off to "Cha Cha Bitch". Chi Chi DeVayne and Cynthia Lee Fontaine win the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens team up and perform in a collegiate a capella sing-off called "Bitch Perfect".
On the runway, category is Movie Premiere Realness. Acid Betty, Chi Chi DeVayne and Thorgy Thor receive positive critiques, with Chi Chi DeVayne winning the challenge. Dax ExclamationPoint, Kim Chi and Laila McQueen receive negative critiques, with Kim Chi being safe. Dax ExclamationPoint and Laila McQueen lip-sync to "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. After the lip-sync, RuPaul decides to eliminate both Dax ExclamationPoint and Laila McQueen from the competition. At the end of the episode, RuPaul calls a queen to join the competition.
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96 | 3 | "RuCo's Empire" | March 21, 2016 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens drag up a supreme court judge robe. Naomi Smalls wins the mini-challenge. RuPaul then announces that Naysha Lopez will be returning to the competition. For the main challenge, the queens team up and star in two Empire -inspired acting scenes.
On the runway, category is Roller Girl Realness. Acid Betty, Bob the Drag Queen and Thorgy Thor receive positive critiques, with Bob the Drag Queen winning the challenge. Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Derrick Barry and Robbie Turner receive negative critiques, with Derrick Barry being safe. Cynthia Lee Fontaine and Robbie Turner lip-sync to "Mesmerized (Freemasons Radio Edit)" by Faith Evans. Robbie Turner wins the lip-sync and Cynthia Lee Fontaine sashays away.
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97 | 4 | "New Wave Queens" | March 28, 2016 | |
For this week's main challenge, the queens write, record, and perform verses in ‘80s style New Wave girl bands.
On the runway, category is Neon Queen Realness. Team Les Chicken Wings is the winning team, with Robbie Turner winning the challenge. Team Dragometry and Team Street Meatz are the losing teams. Chi Chi DeVayne, Derrick Barry and Naysha Lopez receive negative critiques, with Derrick Barry being safe. Chi Chi DeVayne and Naysha Lopez lip-sync to "Call Me" by Blondie. Chi Chi DeVayne wins the lip-sync and Naysha Lopez sashays away.
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98 | 5 | "Supermodel Snatch Game" | April 4, 2016 | |
For this week's main challenge, the queens play the Snatch Game. Gigi Hadid and Chanel Iman star as the celebrity contestants. The cast consisted of:
On the runway, category is Night of a Thousand Madonna's. Bob the Drag Queen, Derrick Barry and Thorgy Thor receive positive critiques, with Bob the Drag Queen winning the challenge. Acid Betty, Naomi Smalls and Robbie Turner receive negative critiques, with Robbie Turner being safe. Acid Betty and Naomi Smalls lip-sync to "Causing a Commotion" by Madonna. Naomi Smalls wins the lip-sync and Acid Betty sashays away.
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99 | 6 | "Wizards of Drag" | April 11, 2016 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens read each other to filth. Bob the Drag Queen wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens give Wizard of Oz themed makeovers to cast members of Little Women L.A. .
On the runway, Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls receive positive critiques, with Naomi Smalls winning the challenge. Chi Chi DeVayne, Derrick Barry and Robbie Turner receive negative critiques, with Chi Chi DeVayne being safe. Derrick Barry and Robbie Turner lip-sync to "I Love It" by Icona Pop. Derrick Barry wins the lip-sync and Robbie Turner sashays away.
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100 | 7 | "Shady Politics" | April 18, 2016 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens play a true or false guessing game with the pit crew. Derrick Barry wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens pair up to shoot presidential campaign ads to smear their partner and stake their claim to be the first drag President of the U.S.A.
On the runway, category is Black and White Realness. Bob the Drag Queen and Derrick Barry both win the challenge. Chi Chi DeVayne and Thorgy Thor receive negative critiques, are announced as the bottom two. They lip-sync to "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Jennifer Holliday. Chi Chi DeVayne wins the lip-sync and Thorgy Thor sashays away.
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101 | 8 | "RuPaul Book Ball" | April 25, 2016 | |
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens have a bitchfest with puppets. Chi Chi DeVayne wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens create three looks for the Book Ball: Baby Drag Realness, That's My Mama Realness and Book Couture. On the runway, Chi Chi DeVayne, Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls receive positive critiques, with Kim Chi winning the challenge. Bob the Drag Queen and Derrick Barry receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom two. They lip-sync to "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" by Sylvester. Bob the Drag Queen wins the lip-sync and Derrick Barry sashays away.
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102 | 9 | "The Realness" | May 2, 2016 | |
For the final challenge of the season, the queens star in RuPaul's music video "The Realness". On the runway, category is Best Drag. The four remaining queens lip-sync to "The Realness" by RuPaul. Chi Chi DeVayne is then eliminated, with Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls being the finalists of the season.
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103 | 10 | "Grand Finale" | May 16, 2016 | |
All the queens return for the live grand finale. The final three queens then perform to a song that was written specifically for them. Bob the Drag Queen lip-syncs to "I Don't Like to Show Off", Kim Chi lip-syncs to "Fat Fem and Asian" and Naomi Smalls lip-syncs to "Legs". It is announced that Cynthia Lee Fontaine is this season's Miss Congeniality. It is the announced that Bob the Drag Queen is the winner, leaving Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls as the runners-up.
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In August 2022, Time listed season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race as among the Top 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons. [17]
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV, WOW Presents Plus, VH1 and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. Contestants are judged by a panel that includes RuPaul, Michelle Visage, one of three rotating judges, as well as one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.
The first season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered in the United States on February 2, 2009, on Logo, and ended on March 23 of the same year. Nine contestants were selected to compete in the running of becoming "America's Next Drag Superstar." The first season was filmed during the summer of 2008. The winner of the first season won a cash prize of $20,000, $5,000 worth of MAC Cosmetics, was featured in an LA Eyeworks campaign, and joined the Logo Drag Race tour. One of the nine contestants to compete on RuPaul's Drag Race, Nina Flowers was determined by an audience vote via the show's official website to be the season's Miss Congeniality. The results were announced in early September 2009.
The second season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on February 1, 2010, and aired its final episode on April 26 of the same year. On May 1, 2009, the casting website for the series opened, allowing prospective contestants to create user profiles and upload videos of themselves to be voted on by viewers; the applicant collecting the most votes being invited to become a contestant of the second season. At the end of the online casting period, Jessica Wild had collected the most votes and was announced as being a season two contestant. Filming took place during the summer of 2009.
The third season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on January 24, 2011, and ended its run on May 2 of the same year. Thirteen drag queens competed for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar", a headlining spot on the Absolut Tour, a lifetime supply of Kryolan makeup, and a cash prize of $75,000.
The fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race is the fourth series, began airing on January 30, 2012, and aired its final episode on April 30 of the same year. The cast members were announced November 13, 2011. The winner of season four headlined Logo's Drag Race Tour featuring Absolut Vodka, and also won a one-of-a-kind trip, a lifetime supply of NYX Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $100,000.
The first season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars premiered on the Logo network on October 22, 2012. Contestants from the original RuPaul's Drag Race show returned to compete again. Cast members were announced on August 6.
The fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on January 28, 2013, with a 90-minute premiere episode, and ended on May 6 of the same year. The winner of season five headlined Logo's Drag Race Tour featuring Absolut Vodka, won a one-of-a-kind trip, a lifetime supply of Colorevolution Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $100,000. Santino Rice and Michelle Visage returned as judges at the panel.
Michael W. Feliciano, known by their stage name Roxxxy Andrews, is an American drag performer who came to international attention for being a contestant on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the second and ninth seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.
The sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing February 24, 2014. Like the fifth season, the season featured 14 contestants competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". For the first time in the show's history, the season premiere was split into two episodes; the fourteen queens were split into two groups and the seven queens in each group competed against each other before being united as one group for the third episode.
The seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on March 2, 2015. RuPaul and Michelle Visage returned as judges, while the space previously occupied by Santino Rice was filled by new additions Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley. Matthews and Kressley were only both present for the season premiere and took turns sharing judging responsibilities. Shawn Morales, a member of the Pit Crew since the third season and Simon Sherry-Wood, a member in the sixth season, did not appear this season and were replaced by Bryce Eilenberg. Like the previous two seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race, the season featured 14 contestants competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar", a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of 100,000 dollars. The season premiere debuted with a live and same-day viewership of 350,000, a 20% increase from the previous season. On March 20, 2015, it was announced that LogoTV had given the series an early renewal for an eighth season.
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars is an American reality competition spin off edition of the original RuPaul's Drag Race, which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012, on Logo TV, before relocating to VH1. However, it was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account that the fifth season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime. Following the cast announcement on May 8, 2020, producers announced that the show would remain airing on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments". On February 24, 2021, Paramount+ announced via Twitter that the streaming service would be the new home to the series for the sixth season.
The second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars premiered on the Logo network on a new night; Thursday, August 25, 2016. Returning judges included RuPaul, Michelle Visage, with Carson Kressley joining the panel, while the space previously occupied by Ross Mathews was filled by Todrick Hall. Cast members were announced on June 17, 2016. This season featured ten All-Star contestants, selected from the show's second season through to its seventh season, who competed to be inducted into the "Drag Race Hall of Fame".
Zavion Michael Davenport, better known by the stage name Chi Chi DeVayne, was an American drag queen and reality television personality who came to international attention on the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. DeVayne began her drag career in her native Shreveport, Louisiana, where she was known locally prior to her 2016 debut on Drag Race. Following her time on the show, DeVayne embarked on a number of domestic and international tours, and she was featured on several web series about drag.
The third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars premiered on January 25, 2018. The season was announced in August 2017, with 9/10 of the cast revealed during a VH1 "Exclusive Queen Ruveal" special, airing on October 20, 2017. This season of All Stars featured ten "all-star" contestants, selected from the show's first season through to its then-current ninth season, competing again to be inducted into the "Drag Race Hall of Fame".
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