Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Tuesday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. The LaLaPaRuZa revealed much about our Season 14 queens: who’s strategic, who’s good under pressure and who might actually have a chance in a Lip Sync for the Crown finale.
N/A. DeJa Skye (last week: 1)
Obviously, DeJa didn’t participate in this week’s LaLaPaRuZa Smackdown, and instead was our informal commentator and hostess of the watch party. We didn’t quite get the DeJa Cam that I asked for, but I still appreciated getting her reactions and predictions. I do wonder if not being featured in this episode isn’t ultimately bad for her trajectory, though. Whatever momentum she could’ve gotten from Snatch Game feels diminished in the wake of everyone else’s failure and subsequent Rudemption. We’ll see how the Rusical goes for her; she could use another high-scoring placement, at least.
7. Jasmine Kennedie (last week: 6) — ELIMINATED
Hard to believe we’ve lost Jasmine in a lip sync tournament, but she really did endure a series of misfortunes. She got chosen first, and picked Daya Betty as her opponent without realizing that Daya would get the advantage of picking from five different songs. Daya wisely chose a song that would not be in Jasmine’s wheelhouse, and it worked. Then Jasmine wound up against Angeria Paris VanMicheals performing to Jennifer Lopez’s “Love Don’t Cost a Thing,” which was probably the tightest matchup of the night. But in both that battle and her final one against Bosco (who was able to sex it up to Diana Ross’ “Swept Away”), I think Ru ultimately decided that as long as the other queen didn’t clearly lose to Jasmine, he’d keep the stronger competitor. And so Jasmine, at one point the season’s Lip Sync Assassin, went out doing the thing that kept her in the game for so long. It was the right decision, even if it’s a bummer to see her go.
6. Bosco (last week: 7)
Well, that was close! Uncomfortably so, I’d say! Bosco’s first two lip syncs were really disappointing, as her dancing totally mismatched the songs she picked. That was the worst part, too: Willow Pill and especially Lady Camden outperformed her on her own chosen songs. Blame it on her being in her head or whatever, but this was the first time we’ve seen Bosco off her game in this competition. Luckily, she brought the needed sex appeal to “Swept Away,” and delivered a strong enough performance to stick around. Granted, this may be Bosco’s low point—it could be all uphill from here. But unless Drag Race shifts away from a Lip Sync for the Crown finale format this season, I’m doubtful of Bosco’s chances to snatch the title.
5. Angeria Paris VanMicheals (last week: 3)
Angeria did a solid job with Beyoncé’s “Radio,” and were it just her and Camden lip-syncing, she’d have been fine. But there was no denying Jorgeous won that one, and so Angie had to go onto a pretty close battle against Jasmine. Again, Ru seemed to be keeping queens with more potential to win as long as they put up enough of a fight, but were Jasmine not on her fifth overall lip sync, I think Ru might’ve been more tempted to give Jasmine the win. If Angie finds herself in danger again (or makes it to a LSFTC finale), her success is going to be very conditional based on what song she gets. That’s surprising to me; I figured coming into this that of the queens who hadn’t lip-synced for their lives before, she’d be the strongest.
4. Lady Camden (last week: 2)
Camden’s “Radio” performance was underwhelming, but she was up against very stiff competition. She more than made up for it on En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go,” though. She was relatively still for much of the song, but her emotional interpretation was stunning. And when she did move, her dancing was beautiful. I have more faith in Camden’s ability in a LSFTC finale than Angie or Bosco largely thanks to that; between “Don’t Let Go” and her “One Way or Another” lip sync, Camden’s shown proficiency with both uptempo songs and ballads. That said, I’m a little unsure that Camden will get to the final four at this rate. She probably needs a win in the Rusical next week to turn her trajectory into that of a potential winner.
3. Daya Betty (last week: 5)
I will give Daya major credit for both the strategy of choosing Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” and how she actually played the lip sync. She knew she couldn’t out-dance Jasmine, so she commanded the stage by staying out in front. Jasmine looked a little desperate doing tricks in Daya’s shadow, especially to a song that didn’t particularly call for them. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually root for Daya; her confessionals are just unpleasant, and I found her incessant targeting of Jasmine got old fast. But her edit is clearly that of someone getting to the very end of this competition (fifth place, if not final four) and she is admittedly leaning into the role of villain more than before. I do respect that! But with Jasmine’s departure, she’ll be turning her focus elsewhere—who will she choose next?
2. Willow Pill (last week: 8)
Willow, to me, played the night the most effectively. She wisely picked a queen who was not only visibly shaken up by this twist, but who she knew would pick the song she wanted to perform. Her lip sync didn’t set the world on fire, but it was focused and specific enough to clearly win out over Bosco. I do wonder what all this talk of Willow being a strategist is going towards, though. Is it a narrative for her to win the season? (“She’s sweet, but also cunning!”) Or is it meant to cast a shadow on Willow’s performance so far? I think I’m leaning towards the former—Willow’s edit seems the strongest overall, so I think this is only boosting her argument for the crown.
1. Jorgeous (last week: 4)
This was a lot of fun to watch from Jorgeous. She knew she was going to slay anyone she went up against, and relished the chance to beat two queens at once. She even gagged the dolls in the workroom by picking Beyoncé’s “Radio” instead of a J.Lo song. And even in a competitive lip sync, her performance was head-and-shoulders above the rest. She pulled out all the stops without her performance feeling like too much, and her final step timed to the last beat was a triumphant ending. It’s actually my favourite lip sync of hers so far this season. “Are you surprised, America?” Jorgeous asked. Admittedly no—I knew she’d make it through. But I’m still pretty damn delighted.
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