Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Friday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. Two new episodes means we’ve got a bit more meat to chew on than usual, and two eliminated queens to send off.
13. Serena ChaCha — ELIMINATED
This was sad, but probably inevitable. Serena ChaCha’s casting was the kind of news that makes your ears perk up, but only out of a kind of fascination: “Really? Her?” The idea that Serena, a queen who was in the bottom of her first episode and eliminated on her second in Season 5, was more worthy of an All Stars casting than Jessica Wild, Jade Jolie, Joslyn Fox, Acid Betty or countless others is silly. But she was cast because of that momentary fascination, the wonder that maybe, maybe Serena might be able to do something really surprising this time. After all, who would have expected India Ferrah to win the first challenge last season?
Unfortunately, after a wig-based lip-syncing act that showed a lack of polish, there really wasn’t a more reasonable result than sending Serena home first. I admire Yara Sofia for having the guts to try and make a big move, but it would’ve been unfair to Trinity K. Bonet—a seventh-place queen who showed a ton of potential—to eliminate her over Serena. Farewell, Mother Hair.
12. Jiggly Caliente — ELIMINATED
This one is tough. Of anyone, I think Jiggly excited me most in her Meet the Queens and entrance videos because she seemed to bring such a new energy into the competition. She spoke so openly about not feeling resolved in her own journey, and needing to take the time to really embrace herself before being able to compete at this level. I was really rooting for her. But her first episode performance was pretty basic, and I’d have swapped her out for Silky Nutmeg Ganache in the bottom three.
Then, in the Blue Ball, while some of the other queens wanted to give Jiggly credit for her first two looks, I’d argue her presentation was the weakest across the board. Her sanitation worker look had some cute touches, but the overall silhouette felt unresolved. Her pants and styling were killer on her second look, but the top was a throwaway. And her final look was the weakest of the lot—there was just no design to her designed garment. I adore Jiggly, and I would actually love to see her make a comeback via whatever mechanism Ru has cooked up for the dolls this year, but I can’t argue that her elimination wasn’t entirely fair.
11. Silky Nutmeg Ganache
Colour me genuinely shocked that Silky landed in the bottom during the first episode. Amid a raft of queens lip-syncing and dancing to pre-produced tracks, she tried something different with a gospel performance of “This Little Light of Mine.” She’d have been a clear safe pick for me. Her looks in the Blue Ball, on the other hand, I really can’t defend—the milk deliverer outfit was sloppy, and while I liked how the fringe on her denim look moved, it was way more interesting than the denim itself. Her final look was a mess that probably should’ve gotten some kind of critique from the judges.
I really liked Silky’s entrance, both her look and her cookie-and-milk reveal, and I appreciated hearing her say she both loved everything about herself on Season 11 but also recognized her sloppier moments. But I’m missing some of that season’s fire. She could stand to show some spark, and soon.
10. A’keria C. Davenport
A’keria’s entrance look was gorgeous, and she remains as entertaining as ever in confessionals, though I do miss her previous Confessional Hat. Her variety show performance was high-energy, but it largely blended into the crowd and earned the safe placement she got. Worryingly, after looks were such a strength in Season 11—she placed high in the very first design challenge—she landed in the bottom three of this ball. The judges seemed to not get her welder look (I laughed!), nor did they like her out-at-the-club denim look (it was super cute!). They were actually more complimentary of her final look, which I liked the least of the three. It was a disappointing final note in the ball.
Time will tell if this is just a temporary blip, or if A’keria is on a downswing. But compared to others ahead of her on this list, she’s also not really showing up in the edit yet—and that’s not a good sign for her moving forward in this competition.
9. Jan
Oh, Drag Race editors, do not fret. I have clocked you including Jan saying “Welcome to another episode of Jan-Tucked” in both episodes of Untucked so far, with her sounding much more irritable the second time around. I know the score on this one. This is absolutely playing into Jan’s perfectionist side that made her face crack upon not winning the Rusical challenge in Season 12. She’s either not getting into the high-scorers until she wins, or until she’s up for elimination.
But honestly, her safe placements were fair here. She sounded great on her song, but it wasn’t quite enough to make it into the top three. And while I liked a lot of her looks in the ball, I’ll admit that the first one didn’t really make sense as a blue collar look (she… was a car?), and I’m still struggling to understand exactly what her personal style is as a queen. Regardless, I have to imagine those who argued passionately that the judges were sleeping on Jan will have no reason not to do the same this time around.
8. Trinity K. Bonet
I’m torn when it comes to Trinity. In theory, her track record is the worst of anyone other than the eliminated queens at this point. But on the other hand, she is getting so much screen time, both in the workroom and as a narrator. She dominated the second episode of Untucked, and is clearly really giving a ton of thought to what she needs to do to win this competition. I am inclined to think that Trinity is going to stick around for a while, because the edit is investing in her.
Still, her comedy set was by far the worst performance in the variety show, and she was just a Yara lip sync win away from going home. And while I loved her Blue Ball Bonanza look—the touch with leaving the slipper à la Cinderella was nothing short of perfect—her first look in particular left a lot to be desired. So take this high of a ranking placement as a vote of confidence in her, but not a pure evaluation of her stats so far.
7. Scarlet Envy
I am really torn on what to do with Scarlet. She has mostly faded into the background these first two episodes, and was safe on both. But her looks in the Blue Ball were uniformly great—I might’ve put her in the top over Eureka!—and her bubble burlesque performance was a ton of fun. I think a middle spot is exactly right considering her performance in the first two episodes. There’s potential, for sure, but I don’t know if I can fully count out that she might be headed for an early boot based on her lack of profile so far.
6. Pandora Boxx
Pandora avoided the curse of going home first on All Stars twice, and more than that, she placed in the top in the first challenge. Not a bad start for her. She also survived the ball, a challenge I think might’ve been her downfall earlier in her Drag Race career. While I didn’t love any of her looks individually, I appreciated that she really crafted characters for all of them. It’s that kind of work that has benefitted other campy queens who struggle on the runway in the past. She’s not really getting featured in the edit much, but that was true of her performance in Season 2, and look how that turned out. She’s just got to keep focused on the work, and hopefully actually get a challenge win this time around.
5. Eureka!
Eureka!’s whole introduction felt like that of a final boss in a video game. They cackled as they entered, which was heard before they were seen. The music was climactic. They were the last one in. It all gave a feeling that this is the queen to beat. And in a lot of ways, that’s true. Eureka! nearly won Season 10, and has gone on to great success with We’re Here. They’re exactly the kind of queen who often gets crowned on All Stars (think Trixie Mattel). I think there’s absolutely a way they dominate this season.
However, I don’t think we’re quite seeing that from them yet. Their variety show performance, a tribute to their mother, was beautiful, and I’ll give them major props for thinking about a ballad visually in terms of the projections on their dress. But it wasn’t the type of performance that wins the variety show. And while their looks were okay in the ball, I don’t think they should’ve been in the top. I’m intrigued to see how they do moving forward, but this is a less impactful note to start on than I’d have assumed.
4. Yara Sofia
Were I power-ranking just based on the first episode, Yara would be #1 with a bullet. Unfortunately, her high after winning the variety show was quickly dulled by being in the bottom two the very next week. She also didn’t help herself by being pretty cocky in the workroom about her design ability. While I don’t agree with her bottom placement, I feel like she set herself up for a fall. She actually really boosted herself, however, by being vulnerable with the other queens. If there was any feeling among them that they should take her out for being a gameplayer, it didn’t stick thanks to her sharing what she was going through. I hope she can pick things up from here, because I really think she has a shot at winning this whole thing if she does.
3. Ginger Minj
Ginger’s win in the reading challenge gives her a big boost despite just scoring safe in the two other challenges. Like with Alaska way back in All Stars 2, the reading challenge win can be a solid way to put yourself on the map that doesn’t immediately make you a threat. With some of these queens sounding ready to eliminate big threats early on, Ginger could stand to lay a little low at first.
Her variety show performance was much more of a show than what she did in All Stars 2, a sign that she really listened to the judges when they said that song was too low-key. Still, I hope Ginger doesn’t totally change what makes her special in order to better respond to critiques. Her looks in the ball felt very conscious of looking fashionable, a strong contrast to her purposefully ugly frog entrance look. If she can find a way to balance the fashion and the camp, I think she could really hit the judges’ sweet spot this season.
2. Kylie Sonique Love
As always, I believe in full disclosure and being open about one’s favourites, and I am walking into this season a full Kylie stan. Season 2 remains one of my all-time favourite seasons, and like Tatianna before her in All Stars 2, I find myself rooting for the underdog from that classic edition of the show. She’s reintroducing herself this season, and so far, I’d say she’s doing one hell of a job.
Her variety show performance stood apart from the rest of the lip syncs by being slower and sultry, though it was nonetheless definitely safe. Her ball looks, on the other hand, were 10s across the board. I can’t stop thinking about her denim tribute to Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, and her Bonanza look was so damn cute. Most impressively, all three looks demonstrated an understanding of her personal brand and aesthetic, which came through crystal clear. I cannot wait to watch Kylie for the rest of this season, and I’m so eager to see all the ways she’ll surprise us.
1. Ra’Jah O’Hara
Speaking of surprises: holy hell, Ra’Jah! This was an absolute smash of a two-part premiere for her, and I honestly would have given her the win in both episodes. Her variety show trick of making a dress and putting it on in just 60 seconds was a genuine gag, and showed off a talent so much more unique than the majority of the queens’. And she wasn’t done stunning us, turning out three excellent looks for the Blue Ball.
Her blue collar look was fab and showed a true sense of realness, a balance which I’m not sure anyone struck quite as effectively. Her denim look was remarkably constructed, particularly in the bodice, and the same goes for her final Bonanza eleganza. The fact that that look was constructed on the spot is all the more impressive. Ra’Jah is the immediate frontrunner for this season, and coming off the last All Stars run in which there was an obvious (deserved!) frontrunner throughout, a surprise new favourite is incredibly welcome.
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The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 6 is currently available for streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada.
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