How Does Drag Race Pick A Winner?

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We've had a crazy amount of drag queens enter the winner's circle of RuPaul's Drag Race, and there has not been any consistency in how they've been chosen. The fandom likes to think that track records matter, but from what we've seen, RuPaul and the producers take a lot of factors into consideration before picking who will take the crown.
In this video, we're going to look at every Ru-led season of Drag Race to determine what led to each queen winning their respective seasons. From Bebe Zahara Benet to Jinkx Monsoon (the second time). From some of the most obvious winner picks like Bianca Del Rio and Bob the Drag Queen to some of the most controversial like Monet X Change and Lawrence Chaney.
Let me know in the comments below who your favorite winner is!
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[@DiegoSinclair1820]

Jessica being the 2 best track record of the season is WILD! 👑

[@Octobris]

I see what you did there

[@dylannolastname730]

and for someone who was 6th place.. stan jessica

[@iandean1112]

@@dylannolastname730 Always stan Jessica Wild. The Golden Child.

[@mikhailpoplavskiy311]

LITERALLY.

[@ritasmith5898]

She's that girl. I knew she was.

[@OscarSotoJr]

My only gripe with Violet winning is, why have so many acting and comedy challenges, only to then give it to Violet? Why have Violet herself complaining about all the group challenges in the season due to them being acting, comedy, and girl-group challenges, only to have Violet win? All they needed to do was replace 1 performance challenge with a design or sewing or runway challenge, and then Violet's win would have made more sense. Unless the show is trying to say "fashion and style queens can win performance-heavy seasons", which, I guess is fine?

[@nicojimenez9614]

i agree with you + we had 2 comedy queens as title predecessors and the last fashion queen was 4 whole seasons ago, it would've had an awkward reception had Ginger won; the season as a whole was very poorly structured and thought out

[@Fuji_0]

I haven’t watched this video so idk if it was mentioned, but I feel that the challenges were built for Ginger to excel and win, but IDK why the last decision was Violet winning the crown.

[@khntou4178]

the overall goal of season 7 is so confusing to me but I do feel like it was contructed for Pearl to win cause her sort of deadpan, subtle humor would have made her stand out more in those challenges and would have been a different take for Drag winners. They weren't able to crown Adore cause Bianca was just so good, but they were willing to go all hands in rigging for Pearl this season. Unfortunately for production, Pearl wasn't gonna let her guard down and reveal her past trauma for a a TV show so they could form a storyline so theyd dropped her for her noncompliance. That's what my take on it is at least, cause I don't think they exoected Katya to become as popular as she did.

[@user-ml1kn9ml9e]

I agree. I would've probably moved shakesquueere to another season having seen its outcome. I also wouldn't of done glamazon as a rusical tho. However tor the acting challenges if I was the producer making it at the time I'd probably move ru Hollywood to another season. That was a good challenge but overkill. Same with divine but with that 1 acting removed for a fashion one I think the divine one could be appreciated more.

[@user-vc9cl7zz8x]

The challenges for the tv ratings! The show changed to treat the the whole season as separate. Then wow and ru crown the winer that has the most fans/or fan favorite out of who left from the pre recorded season.

[@Deshwi1]

Shea had the most wins but Sasha won the final lipsync. Jinkx had the most wins andMonét won the lipsync for the crown. It really just comes down to who they want to win. As RuPaul says, the final decision is hers to make

[@ecenbt]

My personal thought on this is that the regular season finale being in front of a live audience and jinkx and Monet lipsync being a final lipsync while sasha-shea one being an elimination round played a huge part in these results. If you have a live audience react so strongly to one of the lipsyncers, i.e. Sasha, you can't simply edit them out and eliminate them according to your agenda. But in the as7 lipsync, while i have no doubt Monet gave an amazing lipsync, in the end we don't know. We as the viewers were not shown the performance. So it is easier to edit things out and manipulate the end

[@peaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

@@ecenbt in the end we don’t know? girl it was an obvious slaughter no amount of editing could hide how good monet was in the final lip sync

[@grantmegan91]

@@ecenbt they certainly edited eureka and aquarias lip sync to where they literally had them re do it after the crowd was chanting for eureka. If they want to go by what ru or production want each time then they need to stop having a lipsync for the crown where their chosen winner gets eaten alive on stage!

[@tbbcch1039]

I think Sasha being crowned wasn't as much about her winning the lipsync in and of itself as it was about her creating an iconic moment with it. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time somoene who does better in a lipsync loses bc of track record. But Sasha did more than just doing better.

[@normalizenatalie]

@@peaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i just feel like it's almost pointless to give people points/stars for how well they succeed in challenges and then have the finale be something that the challenge winner gets beat at like...........it's just odd to me

[@teagan4143]

It’d be really interesting to see a video exploring what each of the winners did with their reign. How it’s evolved over time, who really took the most advantage of it, etc. Esp now with so many winners being crowned each year I almost wonder if winning is less of a big deal now? Just a thought ! Love your videos so much!

[@slenderhulk4044]

Too true. Ngl, I liked her. Others did too She had charisma

[@Dasnie88]

Yea it's so bad..I've been forgetting about the "winners" for some seasons now...

[@kennethbepps]

The "losers" seem to flourish more than the actual winners. For instance, ANTM is a perfect example of the runner-ups doing more than the winner's.

[@starsheen1]

I'd love that tbh. I don't really know what the winners do after they win, what is required of them, what is expected for them to do. I really have no idea.

[@2a2777f2g]

That would be a fantastic video to watch!

[@pralinemocha]

I forget where I heard/read it, but I was against her win until it was pointed out that Ginger stumbled in a season catered to her, whereas Violet never did, in a season where she should have flopped

[@collinkilloran5721]

Oh that’s such a good point

[@PTCshortvids]

you don't need to be a comedy queen to be funny Violet is funny and she has got the fashion too

[@badmanicpower]

Trixie had the fourth best track record, Kennedy had the sixth (after Aja). Trixie deserved to win more than Kennedy but Shangela & DeLa deserved it more than any of them.

[@davidkonevky7372]

Trixie deserved the crown but if there were no weird ass twists and self elimination she 100% would have lost

[@LanaDelFay]

I heard that Ru instantly picked Yuhua to win Season 10 when she came in with a Uhaul truck blasting Material Girl by Saucy Santana.

[@yorotheporo934]

I got no idea it is true what your saying but.... i would also pick that as a winner

[@ellenv]

*Uhaul Homosexual

[@TheCalebMoline]

@@ellenv who haul homosexual? You?

[@punkbaby9554]

It is true. The house of dry was so proud

[@quinzel3237]

During the earlier seasons, you have to be the main character of an overarching storyline for you to win. But this time, you just have to be a fan favorite.

[@miloslavmasar]

If it was like that, the UK winners would be Divina, Bimini and Ella

[@Eternaltorment]

@@miloslavmasar The uk picks the winners differently than the us.

[@Fuji_0]

I think the Producers already knew they’d get a lot of hate from fans when fan fave didn’t win. See how fans up until now would still mention fan fave Queens who didn’t win like Manila, Shangela, Gigi Goode, etc. Idk just my thoughts

[@user-ry1yf5sm8q]

@Miloslav Masár Ella was definitely not the main character of s3 I would say that was kitty. Also kitty had more of a storyline with the slow burn to a win

[@miloslavmasar]

@@user-ry1yf5sm8q they said the fan faves win nowadays however, I'm referring to the fact that Divina, Bimini and Ella were the fan faves of their seasons and were the pick to win for fans

[@ccdaly2561]

For what it's worth, Tartan Around with Lawrence Chaney is hysterical

[@ecenbt]

Sometimes the correct answer is the most obvious one. Symone, Willow, Lawrance and Krystal Versace all won because RuPaul basically said from day one "i will do everything I can for you to win". Of course it helped greatly that these queens were immensely talented and played the game really well, but it was kinda obvious from the day they appeared on the show that they were winning the season (almost) no matter what transpired over the course of the show

[@Hello-qv2fx]

I agree but not with Symone. Symone won pretty fairly imo

[@RNCHFND]

I don't think this applies to Lawrence, but it definitely does in case of Willow. I think Lawrence won because she was the best one "before COVID", because that's when Bimini had way more time to prepare, so maybe Ru thought it could be seen as an unfair advantage.

[@cuddly2003]

definitely agree with this for Lawrence

[@ecenbt]

@@RNCHFND i don't really understand this argument about Lawrence vs. Bimini and how she prepared during covid because; 1. Bimini was at the top of the competition starting from episode 3, not once the covid break was over. She could've even be at the top in episode 2 if her reveal runway hadn't failed. It's not like she was bottom or middle of the road and gained traction only after the covid break. 2. Everyone had the same time, same opportunities during the covid break. Everyone was trying to get unemployment, it's not like they had other jobs to rely on (except sister sister). Lawrence could've done exactly what Bimini did during the same time, it's not an "unfair competition" just because of the covid break. Only thing that was slightly different was that there were a couple of weeks where queens in England could work (including Bimini) whereas in Glasgow that wasn't possible. But there's no extra prep that Bimini did that couldn't have been done by Lawrence. While saying this, i feel i have to say that I'm a Lawrence Stan and I fully believe her win was deserved. There's just no need to underappreciate Bimini while standing Lawrence

[@Youokhun]

I was so shocked at Krystal Versace winning - the first win in a long time where I was like.. really? I just felt she needed more time to grow and the others were more rounded. But she is amazing and gorgeous, just expected to see her back on an all stars instead some day. Like I couldn’t imagine her on an all winners season?

[@adamolition8702]

I'm still sour over the fact that Dela decided to leave.. I would've loved to see a queen just win every challenge every week and then take the crown. She would've dominated more than Alaska

[@davidkonevky7372]

I find it hilarious how two times by now Monet has thrown a curveball at the producers by absolutely annihilating the frontrunners on the lipsync for the crown 😅

[@Mendejito]

Just started the video and will defend Jaida’s win till the day I die lol

[@dj_netwrk4901]

Thisss

[@LightestKing]

she was genuinely the only one I feel didn't receive heavy favouritism, the only instance I can think of is possibly her winning the makeover challenge over Crystal Methyd but I honestly think it should've been a double win. Crystal kinda and especially Gigi and Sherry were favoured all season long, Sherry was given 2 undeserved wins and Gigi was saved from the bottom or from negative critiques that have been given in past seasons (Ex. Shea Couleé was put in the bottom for her makeover being just the same outfit with switched colors, which Gigi also did but was quickly given a safe placement). So no matter which way you look at it Jaida was most consistently in the top without needing any help from producers. AND even when she did land in the bottom she ate up Heidi in that lip sync.

[@Mendejito]

@@LightestKing agree honestly. She never received favoritism imo. When she did bad she was in the bottom, when she did well she was in the top. Only things I would maybe change is give Crystal the makeover win but I’d also give Jaida the ball win so it evens out anyway

[@j.santino6202]

Let’s also be real jinkx doniniated all stars 7 monet as amazing as she really was helped by the twist. And yes she did better in the lipsync however nobody was touching jinkx during the series run.

[@qveenspring]

i genuinely hate the talk of the “political climate”. Jaida literally fucking did better. Fuck the PPE, Jaida is what i think of when i think of S12. She was consistently good, funny, good narration, good runways she MADE HERSELF, and she ATE every lipsync she was in. stop discrediting her with “well in the political climate at the time” FUCK THATTTT she ate Gigi in the final, fair and square. THATS why she won.

[@jameshuntington8644]

factsssss. Gigi was so overrated in the season when she's literally telling us episode one, more or less "mommy makes my drag still." Like, that's great- Jaida is working on her own merits already! She earned that crown 100% ❤️

[@jebooiii6462]

Tbh I found Gigi more memorable than Jaida, but Jaida won that finale by a mile. Her solo-act was in my eyes the clear best and she annihilated Gigi and Crystal in the final lip sync. So yeah, even if you think the PPE score of Gigi was better, Jaida was the obvious winner

[@scarynoise996]

@@jameshuntington8644 she made one outfit for her jaida deserved the win but there’s litterally no reason to be rude to be rude to Gigi to make a point

[@jameshuntington8644]

@@scarynoise996 the fragility to claim it's me being rude. Gigi has her own success and platform and my media consumption and an opinion comment on youtube regarding a past performance is far from bothering or hurting her feelings 🤣🤣🤣🤣 they both have gotten their flowers it just sticks out to me that episode one gigi branded herself by choosing to wear an entrance look her literal mom made and gush/brag about it.

[@hectae2485]

Jaida didn’t do better when Gigi had the best track records, feelings aren’t facts.

[@christywoods9180]

I Love Kim Chi but I reallyyy love Bob and He just wasn't leaving that competition without winning.he carried that season!

[@CodyJBriscoe]

I really wish for AS1 you had just said the "Chad about to die" quote

[@davidmorris8319]

This heavily depends on how the PPE score is calculated. It would have been nice to see how many points you get for a win, hig, safe, low, bottom placement. It seems bogus to me that Jinkx is only third in AS7 after having won FIVE challenges out of 11. That's almost half the season that she WON. Yes she wasn't high in any episode that she didn't win, but safe shouldn't be valued that low that it's enough to invalidate SO MANY WINS. In U's (Ukey's) way of calculating PPE score, Jinkx comes out on top and that makes more sense with the narrative of the season. His scale goes from 5 points for a win, to 4 for high, 3 for safe, 2 for low, 1 for bottom, 0 for elimination. It's a very linear scale that is more intuitive than having different different margins between placements, because at this point it becomes arbitrary what is worth what.

[@car_afs2672]

In U's video jinkx had the best track record cause he counts mini challenges i think if you dont count them monet and jinkx were tied

[@ecenbt]

@@car_afs2672 possible but even in that case it's impossible that Jinkx's score is 3rd best when she's the only person with 5 wins in a 11 competitive episode season

[@craigslist4428]

Its because they are taking averages and that’s not how math works. If one queen leaves in episode 3 and she ranks higher than someone who makes top 4, should be a red flag that the formula is bogus. In fact, this method makes it more difficult for queens who last more episodes to rank higher because they are gonna have more points to average

[@pavgarbis888]

@@craigslist4428 exactly why de la had a whopping 9.0 PPE- she was a winner every week and then went home. nothing sullied her average. i agree that this system isn't very good, it leaves way too much up to the minutia of when people get eliminated

[@SIM0N0WIS]

Who cares if Jinkx won half the challenges and was the clear favorite of Ru and the fans, what’s REALLY important is that she got 0.1 fewer points from an unevenly spaced scoring system invented by a random IG fan page. Any TRUE drag race fan would know that high placements are 8 points, mini challenges are 3 and a half, lip syncs are y=mx+b, carry the 4, and then it’s obvious that the true winner of AS7 is Mrs. Kasha Davis with a score of 74.96 BBL

[@cannotthinkofausername6379]

Can I just say thank you to Drag Detective for remaining so positive on a subject matter that makes a lot of fans turn defensive and hateful to the queens, every single one of the winners has a reason they won and I think it is great to celebrate and praise them whilst also acknowledging how well other contestants did on the show

[@SrJohnnyCat]

30:40 “The Red One” I CANT. 😭😂

[@darienoneal7475]

That and "The Spooky One" for season 4😂

[@allsugars]

please do the riggory of season 9/how season 9 should have went

[@cian9350]

we all know Nina would have won

[@Octobris]

As someone who believe Sasha is untouchable, I'd be interested in a video like that, even if Sasha's win would be questioned 😆

[@blackmanta9697]

@@cian9350 the first episode, yes. Not the entire season

[@axlpavon5810]

Respect all the queens guys please ❤️. Just be nice, winners are winners for a reason!

[@Boggzorz]

I remember hearing at the time for AS4 that they shot super queens AFTER they announced who the top 2 were going to be and that's why Mo and Naomi didn't put that much effort into the song. Not sure if that has been stated to be true or untrue though!

[@zeyta_org]

That CANNOT be true. And if it is, then the producers are dumb for doing that.

[@kobemartinez1082]

@@zeyta_org sadly it can, the S9 reunion was filmed after the finale aired so trinity taylor and shea coulee know they didn’t have a chance at winning, that’s why their attitude is so different! also most recently, monet actually said they told her she wasn’t going to win the season after a challenge she ate up at i forgot which one it was, so she knew all along after that she wasn’t going to win and was really upset after it

[@pastrychefalfred876]

I also have heard that Mo was just fed up with production and the antics and riggory. during her super queen verse you can kinda tell she is irritated and her energy wasnt as strong as she can show.

[@AngryCandy89]

I think Trinity said they did film the Crowning first and then the lipsync, but never heard about superqueen being filmed after. Edit: I don't think it's true, because Trinity's critiques about her performance were quite acurate

[@Boggzorz]

@@AngryCandy89 I can't remember the details (since it was years ago) but I think they did film it in order, but Mo and Naomi were aware they weren't top 2 before the entire day of filming, as it were

[@SSugarFishy]

I hope we get to see Ella Vaday on a future all stars season of sorts, I really loved her on uk3 and was heartbroken when she lost (which is understandable as to why she did)

[@DereBear]

Tbh though… I think Trixie won that lip sync. Kennedy put herself in the back of the stage while Trixie stood front and center and basically monologued

[@MrCyberGal]

I think also many times it's better for a winner to have peaks and valleys, good moments and bad moments, than to be consistently good all season. As for Lawrence and Krystal, it's quite simple, they were Ru's favourites, and they performed well enough that crowning them wouldn't have been super controversial. Like, you know that if Jorgeous had done better on Season 14 she'd have 100% won because Ru loved her.

[@zackidc]

tbh i don’t think rosé would have won because she didn’t really have a consistent or intriguing storyline besides wanting to win. she didn’t really have any ups and downs or have much vulnerability in terms of the competition. for me, personally, symone was just more interesting to watch throughout the season and it was satisfying to see her win.

[@SIM0N0WIS]

Yeah she was caught in the same trap as Miz Cracker. Although I think in Rose’s case it was also her runways and her lip syncs, which don’t always affect track record but definitely affect people’s perceptions of who has star power. She just didn’t really have any “wow” moments…

[@user-lw9ut2ms6m]

No secret. No mystery. RuPaul picks the top placements before the season is even filmed and him and producers hope that their picks make it to the top and if they don’t they’ll help push them through production value.

[@kev7600]

What’s the problem? That’s reality tv business.

[@luiselionmartinez1567]

@@kev7600 because is unfair? imagine Black peppa not winning uk4 because Ru and producers wanted Jonbers to be on top. its unfair

[@kaylafrost1304]

I hope you’re just using JB as a place holder lmao there’s no way ru will crown her with that name she hates so much 😅 I don’t think she’ll make top three

[@luiselionmartinez1567]

@@kaylafrost1304 don't worry, tbh i dont have high expectations for JB, trackrecord-wise i feel is going to be Dakota

[@kev7600]

@@luiselionmartinez1567 BP did well in one episode and was quite forgettable afterwards.

[@jackh7889]

I do think production wanted Lawrence to win, and then lockdown they probably didn't expect Bimini to slay the challenges so still gave it to Lawerence in the end.

[@tinkerella]

i mean, it made more sense for Lawrence to win for them. The prize was a WOW show and Bimini just didnt seem to represent the brand. Lately she even seems to be distancing from the brand and cancelled her spot on the across the pond tour here. Lawrence had more long term gain for them.

[@Larucos]

I'll never get over Krystal Versace doing the bare minimum and the judges like "omg i can't believe you actually tried, the stereotype of pretty queen is that they don't try at all but you kinda tried a little so you win the challenge" and everyone watching like 🤡 Idk, i had forgotten about that season and now I'm re-triggered

[@du3844-m4v]

She had raw talent and impeccable aesthetics. It was impressive she was able to keep up with Ella and Kitty who were trained actors. While excelling at performance and runway.

[@salvatore2004]

I think drag race picks their winners using 5 categories: 1. Longevity 2. Fan reception 3. Will it make good tv 4. Is it a satisfying ending to the seasons overarching storyline? 5. Can they lip sync? 1. Obviously longevity is important in a winner, this queen is ultimately going to represent the brand for the next year or until their rein (spelling?) ends. 2. This may be the most important one. If online fan votes are not you a queen's favour or the fandom doesn't like that Queen, they will most likely not win. An example of this could be Jeremy on s4, they were a top three finalist with 2 wins and 1 bottom, they could've won but because of fan reception they didn't (and the fact that sh@ron did better) 3. There's no way on s9 they were crowning peppermint, not after sashas iconic stunt, because it made good TV. 4. This last one is a bit niche so I'll give the example of yvie oddly, yvie winning was a satisfying ending to s11 because she was the underdog, and had slayed most of the season usually landing in the top 3 for most challanges, if someone like Brooke had won, it wouldn't have been a satisfying ending to the season as we never really got to know her, and she never had much storyline. 5. Self explanatory There is also C.U.N.T. but I believe overtime that's lost its meaning I belive if a queen can check at least 3 boxes, they have a good chance at winning. Thanks for coming to my Ted-talk (^o^)

[@colebeck6528]

Violet destroyed everyone on the runway most of the weeks as well while ginger struggled with the runways

[@davidkonevky7372]

Also ginger was super mean to the younger queens for no reason around the end which made her going to the top very bittersweet. It was giving roxxy andrews bullying jinkx

[@colebeck6528]

@@davidkonevky7372 yes and violet had a better track record. Lots of reasons she won that the fan base seemingly forgets a lot. I think part of why season 7 doesn’t work is a lot of the maxi challenges don’t lend themselves to violet with some exceptions and she still walked away with the best track record. If you were to place her on a more fashion challenge season like season 3 she likely annihilates. I have similar thoughts about them not featuring a stand up comedy challenge on season 8 which would’ve been an amazing opportunity to show off Bob as their winner even more.

[@Tracy_Motel]

Imagine if raja and manila on all stars 7 getting the twinners storyline and they're both good at the game.

[@OscarSotoJr]

The "versus" franchise is tainted for me. It feels like whoever is "hosting" that particular season will have a winner from that country, which makes all other queens from other countries set dressing. I say have queens from various countries EXCEPT the host country to ensure there is some illusion of fairness, at minimum.

[@gourl6575]

This comment would not aged well

[@OscarSotoJr]

@@gourl6575 I mean, I’ll eat my words if someone who isn’t Canadian wins Canada vs The World next year, but for now, that is what the Versus series is serving.

[@kiannutbrown]

@@OscarSotoJr i will say you’re saying this when only one vs the world season has been released, no hate tho

[@ItGirlCaliiopx]

"tainted" it has barely one season with 6 episodes 😭😭😭

[@iandean1112]

I'm super skeptical about any of them coming up. I want those seasons to be about celebrating what we DONT see in the US

[@j-_-1797]

just want to point out that talking about the fact that one of the reasons behind Kylie’s win probably was production trying to cover up Ru’s past transphobia is not transphobic Some people seem unable to tell the difference between these things It’s just the same as pointing out that one of the reasons behind Violet’s win was the show’s attempt at gearing itself towards younger audiences

[@kennethbepps]

agreed..I think Monique Heart showed the most growth out of all the other queens in the finale.

[@tyagirodriguez4947]

I honestly don't think Kennedy won the Wrecking Ball lipsync. She was doing plenty of beautiful stunts, but between being in all black, a big wig and dancing nonstop you couldn't see her face that much, and she wasnt giving the emotion of the song. Trixie didnt do amazing by any means, but sue completed the assignment which (IMHO) Kennedy did not

[@Octobris]

Agreed

[@danmilliken]

Yup. All black was an especially bad strategic choice because it just doesn’t pop on camera, at least on Drag Race’s stage. Trixie was right to pick a bright outfit and stay close to the front of the stage so it was easy to capture her moments in a song that’s all about emotion.

[@tyagirodriguez4947]

@@danmilliken My thoughts exactly

[@Mendejito]

She was wrecking ball….she won for me aha

[@leoleague6053]

Yes, 40 minutes of pure heaven to my ears. ❤

[@LightestKing]

In what world was Gigi Goode the fan favorite by the finale? At the beginning yes, but throughout the season people started hating Gigi for the amount of favouritism she was getting throughout the season. I think the moment I knew she probably wasn't going to win was the Madonna Rusical, people went insane when Jan wasn't given the win for that and it only got worse when two queens representing their minority groups with their Stars and Stripes runway Widow Von Du and Jackie Cox were placed in the bottom over Gigi in Choices 2020. If anything Jaida and Crystal were the only non hated queens by the time the finale came, but Crystal wasn't gonna win with one win and one bottom right after Yvie Oddly did the same the season before.

[@lip8781]

I would like to say one more thing about All Stars 7. Nobody in this fandom can deny Jinkx her win (and you, Drag Detective, clearly don’t, but some in the fandom do). Monét definitely had some unforgettable moments, first and foremost her opera performance and Designing Women lip-sync. But when it comes to Jinkx, you will NEVER, forget her Judy Garland. You will NEVER forget her Draguation Speech story. You will NEVER forget her roast. You will NEVER forget her ear falling off in the improv and you will never forget her screaming at her son to get a job. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but all together I think it’s right that Jinkx won this season. (I was rooting for Raja and Vivienne btw.)

[@Youokhun]

Yes, I love monet outside the franchise and follow everything but I feel on the show in each of the 3 seasons I didn’t expect her to win any of them. In all stars she picked up momentum at the end of both seasons plus the fact production love her as much as I do.. but still was shocked 😂

[@asaabrahamagulnik574]

During the UK2 Pandemic Season, I think part of the reason for choosing their winner was exploring whether Bimini would have done that well if not for the pandemic break.

[@kings4300]

They could easly switch a song for Jinkx but they probably chose her as a winner and the song was to keep people talking about the season. The track record in AS7 is pretty even for all the queens but Jinkx had more moments that made her stand out.

[@duckydae]

28:57 to be fair, lawrence was so loved in uk especially further up and a lot of welsh fans turned to lawrence when tayce was eliminated. i also think whas so interesting and yet to be recreated in another series was the sheer volume of regional queens. two scottish, a welsh queen, a’whora, cherry valentine and jinny lemon, sister sister, veronica green are all from in and around the north of england with only four queens being southerners (joe black, asttina, tia kofi and bimini) which is unheard of on most uk shows let alone drag race which is full of londoners and people from manc with the token, celtic queen. lawrence represents regional, working-class everyday day drag (that’s absolutely ridiculed and ignored by ru and michelle) that’s the reality for most brits on a night out going to a drag bingo / brunch.

[@snowpriors]

and i’ll say it again i LOVE Monét and it would be weird to not have her as a winner, but based on the final four Monique should’ve really been out here as the twinner also she showed so such growth imo. and with monique ppe being so close to MANILA (the robbed) i really feel a way now cause i knew she did better then monét at the time wowww. i will agree monet destroyed that last episode tho!

[@vitor8048]

Maybe an unpopular opinion about All Stars 7, but my main point for prefering Jinkx over Monet: Jinkx won in her original season, and, most important, she indisputably deserved the victory on the season she won. All Stars 4 should have been Trinity's alone so Monet shouldn't even be there. I think Monet did better than Jinkx and deserved more victories than she had, while Jinkx was kinda pushed sometimes, but I just couldn't get over this pre-conception I had when I started the season. Trinity did beat Monet in their lip sync though, so if we say Monet should have won for the lip sync, we need to acknowledge she shouldn't be in the final round either.

[@DavidPuckArtist]

IMO what determines the winners the most is “It factor”, uniqueness, and how much production/Ru likes them. Track record doesn’t really matter. Queens can have an amazing consistent track record but if the show doesn’t see them as special then they aren’t winning.

[@alihaydarcolak8534]

I know almost all of you gonna hate me but Lawrence FUCKING ATE EVERYONE UP! The best? Maybe not but fucking killed the season. The best accent, the best TV persona, the funniest bitch!

[@zoinomiko]

Hell yeah always team Lawrence!!

[@Jayjay_07]

She was also the second best to Tayce in the finale and all her wins were deserved

[@alihaydarcolak8534]

@@Jayjay_07 sorry, Tayce was good at lip sync in the finale.

[@starsheen1]

I've always been team Lawrence and the pushback from her win has ALWAYS baffled me!!

[@ciste1785]

i think bebe was stunning and very memorable on her season, but a big reason as to how she won in place of nina concearned nina’s fluency in english. i might be remembering incorrectly but i remember she struggled with english. also, i think bebe is an excellent pick for a winner because she just has such a presence, she exudes confidence and maturity

[@JetPackDino]

That's interesting about Season 8. I knew Kim Chi wasn't going to win when she shut down aaaaany possibility of telling her mom about her drag career--- but I didn't realize she technically outscored even Bob the Drag Queen.

[@du3844-m4v]

Kim Chi was not versatile and was protecting from lip syncing because she could not

[@jorgemorollondeandres2993]

Poor Ella, she admitted she had a back injured so she couldn't performed during the lipsync (I didn't fancy her dress buuuuuuut)

[@nokocchi1983]

queens I think still deserve a crown: Shangela Bendelacreme Gigi Goode Miz Cracker Monique Heart Ginger Minj

[@go0sejuice]

I can’t wrap my head around eureka having the highest score of all stars 6 that doesn’t seem right at all

[@Iam29941]

as for the non Ru hosted seasons id say : Holland S1 : Track record (like...envy have litteratly the best track record on drag race so even thoi though janey won that lip sync like it just woudnt be correct to not crown her ) Holland S2 : Lip sync ( I think Vannessa really got lucky with the rigged vivaldi thing cause she had the worst track out of final 3 but they had too cut vivaldi from the lip sync cause...i mean...She was my fav but she cheated. So Vannessa was able to lip sync for the crown and destroy puny ) Espana S1 : Lip sync and track ( i mean its carmen she slayed the season literatly killed everybody on the makover and then revealed a wet wig and an emotionnal song...soooo yeah ) Espana s2 : Lip sync and track ( just like carmen, Sharonne slayed her season, was the best on the best talent show on drag race ever and overall did the best on her final lip sync ) Canada 1 : Lip sync...? and maybe also bc they did not had other choices ( Pryanka slayed her lip syncs but i also think that they kinda had no other option out of the top 3. Rita was favoritised so bad And scarlet got her win in their last competitive episode and even tho she was the best on the final lip syncs she wasnt winnign this ) Canada 2 : Lip sync ( here i think its a case of the queen with the best track didnt do well at lip sync while the 2nd best track is a lip sync assasin ) Canada 3 : Favoritism of Jada And fierce getting her first win late ( Now here i think its a case of we want jada in the lip sync cause they knew that she would brought emotion and honestly it was between gisele and fierce but fierce got her win very late which rarely happen for a winner to have their first win after like episode 5 ) France 1 : track record ( Im gonna be short cause its my country and i love love LOVE this season but...Paloma is possibly the only potential contender to beat bianca del rio on a comedy challenge period) Italia 1 : They...felt bad too robbed her the whole season...? ( idk elektra bionic is like to me the biggest mystery when it comes too winning...did she deserved it ? yes. Did the season showed ? no. did she did the best in the lip sync ? I dont think...They edited Farida's reveal which i though could have gives her the crown so i really dont get that one im veyr confused- ) Aaaaand thats it i think i cant say about thailand bc i havent watch them ( and i really dont understand the format im sure its simple but i just dont get it- and no one has exaplained to me so i someone can it would be great )

[@Iam29941]

@Cali Yeah i dont know why they didnt do like lyric for the queens to make cause that just made this part very akward and it felt like they had to include ru somewhere or they would had get sued. But also i though she shoudnt have been in the bottom for the girl group even tho i still think soa and lolita where the best ( i could just say the nails but elips was my least favorite verse of the 6 ) i though paloma had the most catchy verse in a good way and i though she should have been high with bertha and elips in the bottom but that might be just me Also about overall the season ive notice some mirror moments with Nicky on S12 Like with kam the fashion queen whos leaving early and let LGD who was portrayed as the fashion queen who slayed snatch game ( even tho i personnaly though Paloma had better looks than LGD ) Be the fashion queen of the rest of the season kinda like when nicky left So Gigi could shine more in the runway Or also the Lolita banana storyline which is very controversal for xenophobic issue ( that ill blame on production and maybe some guest judges but not towards the queens or the Judges ) but to me it felt like just like nicky on S12 lolita was a very Fun queen but sometimes had that barriere language ( like snatch game ) that didnt help her but at least unlike ru nicky actually suported her a lot so i though that was really cute on nicky's side of the story ( but we could say alot of shit toward production like literatly edited 2 queens has almost racist even tho im pretty sure bertha and lolita were frienemies and Soa was litteratly a CF taken out of context ) and i also think that they kinda forced the judges to say thing that they didnt said on stage just to give reasons of why she is not winning like kiddy saying that she is relying to much on her heritage which felt very forced and unatural comming for the one who is the most positive judge out of the 3 but thet worst think and the thing that im sure was so forced that even nicky didnt wanted to do it is the who should go home. it was just sooo painful for us too see the queen picking lolita based on friendship and im sure it was also on nicky who got the exact same treatment on her season...

[@Iam29941]

@Cali I 100% Agree Nicky is such an icon in France And i remenber that in the begening people though that nicky would make the season flop that they wanted LGD to host thinking she would won the season anyway 💀 i dont think daphnée and kiddy should be replaced kiddy is really sweet and just giving positive energy while still giving harsh critique when it needs to be said ( well exept from that one scripted critique from the makover towards lolita...) As for daphnée she is a harsher critique but not in a way to make the queen feels like shit or anything and also its mostly constructive critiques. What i think should change for season 2 is that Production dont mess with the judges and that they dont do tv drama by making things out of context i just hate how they tried their hardest to make a regular drag race season with such a lovely cast so they had to make Kam a shady queen even tho she is such a sweetheart or making rivalries that make one person look like a racist and the other like she is victimising herself. As for the girl group i guess im delusionnal- Also Briocher is such an unpopular icon and my favorite singer simply for the fact that she did the french cover of "addict" and is litteratly the french dub of angel dfust from hazbin hotel. And her Drag style is Super fun and i love it and i want her on an all star for early boot cause she could slay this- ( ik im saying shit that has nothing to do with the previosu sentence help- 💀)

[@christywoods9180]

I couldnt figure out how Monet didn't at least get 50k also like Raja cuz they were the lower scored Queens and won more than the top Queens,but I'm a Raja Lover and Am so glad She won 50k and was happy and had Fun!!!

[@ordinaryorca9334]

I think that PPE scores don't make sense as a metric, from the start we've been reminded of the importance of wins and later on the amounts of bottoms/lip syncs. The show just uses different rules where a queen with 1 win and only safe placements is seen as more of a frontrunner than one who has consistently been high. Look at Miz Cracker, she had succesfully been high for the majority of season 10 and still she wasn't seen as winner material, or Sasha Velour, many people still discredit her win, not due to PPE but having half as many wins as Shea and both of those being shared with her, I think more people would have been fine with crowning Trinity than Sasha because she had more wins. Wins and bottoms would at least make it so more winners make sense, even though PPE is a fairer system...

[@crimsonite2044]

seasons 7, 11, 13, AS2 & AS3 are IMO the biggest examples of Riggory and Production Fuckery in US Drag Race especially AS2, Phi Phi Tati were mistreated and Alaska was unnecessarily favored, she could have won on her own

[@bnoah2000]

No matter how that final lipsync of AS4 went we were getting a double win no matter what. Monet winning the lipsync didn't determine her also winning, we were getting 2 winners no matter what. Production has to plan giving away $200,000 like that. My headcanon is they wanted to double crown Latrila but we saw how that turned out.

[@chrislate6228]

But they didn't plan it did they. Surely they would've had the foresight to actually film a double win if they knew there was going to be a double win no matter what? Nah, they only decided they were going to do a double win as the season was airing and they saw the fan's reactions to the show.

[@go0sejuice]

I’ve always wondered if they chose kylie over ra’jah because rupaul had recently gotten a lot of backlash when he made some transphobic comments like since kylie and ra’jah easily could’ve won but crowning kylie also benefits ru so he picked kylie

[@alihaydarcolak8534]

If Krystal Versace were funny throughout the whole season like she was in the roast and the end of the season, she'd have the best ppe for druk3

[@arenagrenade4485]

but.. she wasn't funny LMAO

[@alihaydarcolak8534]

@@arenagrenade4485 lol

[@owentravis8901]

I will never u derstand what this person had against Lawrence chaney 🤣🤣🤣 people were almost divided between bimini and Lawrence. Are we also forgetting how bimini should have been in the bottom against tayce for that lockdown design challenge 🤣

[@blump5080]

Here's a question: how often does the 1st episode winner win the whole season?

[@arininquotes8396]

Great analysis! And I appreciate you mentioning that you'll moderate comments at the end ❤️

[@rutgernewman828]

Katya Kennedy and Ginger should’ve been the top 3 JUST MY OPINION. You’ve got three extremely talented queens. Pearl obviously made Ru furious and so it was clear that she was never going to win, and violet’s drag is great but she’s not nearly as entertaining and her fashion sense is nowhere near as diverse as Kennedy Katya and Ginger’s. Again, that’s just my opinion.

[@raulportela5454]

Can we acknowledge one thing? NOBODY CARES ABOUT P.P.E. SCORE! People only care about win and bottom 2...

[@brownwynrodriguez8784]

Hi drag detective! We are actually looking forward for you to analyze the Drag Race Philippines As It was a really fun season, the cast were amazong, they are serving on challenges, runways and even drama, one of the best season!!!

[@RNCHFND]

"People would have been fine with either Rajah or Kylie winning." Well, isn't that Liza Minelli

[@oliversmithlawrence]

I will live with any winner but I will never understand how Ginger didn't win season 7. She was hilarious and her lipsyncs were iconic

[@kennethbepps]

Ginger/Kennedy/Jasmine came off the the mean girls when it came to Violet/Pearl. They were trying to use their longevity to discredit what the younger queens were doing.

[@davidkonevky7372]

Because the entire season was built for Ginger and she somehow fucked it up by literally making enemies of almost everyone. Meanwhile Violet who was a fashion queen did surprisingly great, didn't go to the bottom two, had a redemption arc in terms of personality into the latter half and absolutely killed the finale.

[@hectae2485]

It’s almost as if “ppe” scores are fan made and not real 😮

[@Jays6926]

☕️ ❤😂

[@jt4351]

I enjoy these drag race review type of channels. It's also wild to see how people experience the show differently. Some of your comments that no one was rooting for X or Z or that so and so annihilated the competition did not resonate with me. I still found entertaining to hear your reasoning, even if at times, I had extremely opposite opinions. Regardless, good for you for all the work and research that goes into making a 30+ min video.

[@jpmedina8328]

I dont wanna be the one, but i am gonna be the one, i would also like to give Uckey Lee (Or U.) a shoutout since they were the one who orginally created the PPE scoring method and not drag race statistics (whom only changed the numbers from 0-5 to 0-10, so they just doubled the values basically), and for also making a video on this exact subject one month ago.

[@jasmyneperryman9629]

I completely agree with u when it comes monet and trinity I still do not understand to this day why they didn't give monet x change the win, I shouldn't have been a double win, it should have been monet I stand on that to this day.

[@MichaelPascuaOnline]

I wish you could do this but ANTM.

[@iandean1112]

Points I disagree with (only one) Trinity had the BEST finale gown on AS4.

[@alwolfy1782]

This is a really interesting video. I am surprised that Bob The Drag queen wasn't higher. At the time it felt like they were annihilating the competition. It goes to show that your personal perspective isn't always the truth. This is one of my favourite videos I've seen on a while so thanks for that.

[@rjv8385]

I really think Bimini didn't win because their potential is far greater in endeavors that don't involve wow presents productions. Basically, she had more important sh!t to do.

[@KJ-qe4gq]

One thing I know is they don’t like trained dancer with the best track record and have a professional critic😂 etc Brooklyn rose Camden and Ella vaday from uk 3

[@pretty-bi5sr]

I still don't understand how the fans were acting like Ella completely FLOPPED the finale when most ppl agree that her verse was the best one and it's a really good verse. yea her runway was not it but I remember ppl being so dramatic about it, it wasn't THAT bad

[@niekklaver3030]

Her lipsync was also tragic

[@du3844-m4v]

She flopped her runway and the final lip sync was painful to watch

[@RyanPaquette-d8o]

35:46 Willow Pill and Sasha Colby. 2 trans winners in a row. 4 if we include all stars with Kylie and Jinkx

[@lisa._.the._.lovely]

37:43 😢😢 it's so sad you have to filter your comment sections with a "close eye"... why can't we all appreciate every queen (minus those who proved themselves otherwise and deserve criticism)? Thank you for upholding positivity✨️ 🙌💕

[@danw8373]

26:10 The overall message of we should consider young people as needing maturing and more opportunities when they make mistakes is loud and clear. But its such a priveleged thing to say: 21 year olds are all self centered and only care about themselves. Yes for the instagram millionaire upper middle class on an Abercrombie poster crowd sure but some of us were working and struggling and already feeling the cruelty of the world at that age and were already enagging in humanistic efforts to try and salvage this garbage dump we have turned the planet into. The DD is not the only person making these statements so my critiscism is not personally avainst them ive just frankly grown sick of that type of commentary

[@arininquotes8396]

This!! Couldn't have said it better.

[@donttalk8560]

james is bringing trya back but only on onlyfans

[@jn7876]

IM CRYING LMAO

[@ashfrompallet8741]

I don’t get the Sharon Needles erasure

[@mysticalkitty8844]

I mean some of the wins Alaska got were total bull so that's the one season I really don't agree with the points since the outfit changing one she should have been in the bottom. Plus with it was katya who was brought back not Trixie since she had a high point score but a girl can only imagine what that would be like.

[@ymireva3718]

Coming back after the (SPOILERS FOR UK4) UK4 winner has been announced, I think Krystal was also crowned to bring variety to the UK winners circle overall (instead of just in contrast to Lawrence), because both times before her, and immediatly after her win, a funny campy queen has won, they seem to be the favorites of the UK production, but they probably didn't want to crown the same type of queen EVERY single time

[@themosteliteyoutuberintheu3162]

Honestly I thought Jinkx winning AS7 was a little off, like she killed the competition but I just don’t understand why they made the finale a lip sync for the crown if they were going to crown her. There is no way Monet lost that lip sync

[@ecenbt]

Jinkx won as7 because aside from dominating the season, literally everybody wanted jinkx to win! I don't know why it's so weird to people now. Granted when the polls were running (literally on every platform), people haven't yet seen the final lipsync lalaparuza, but in all the polls of "who should win" Jinkx had about 70% of the votes. Followed by Monet but with a huge gap in their votes. It was literally what people wanted and now people are angry because what they want happened. And I understand the whole issue with the lipsync for the finale and the editing shenanigans, but in the end, it was what people wanted

[@philipphummel2872]

How dare you putting Blair in with Cracker and Asia with a 5.7 PPE ohhhhhh lmao

[@christywoods9180]

I was very surprised they did not pick Queen Kong today on Dragrace Down Under.All top 3 were deserving and Congrats to Spankie Jackson,but Queen Kong is a one of a Kind and I can see them actually flying her from Australia to be on US all stars,She's that good!

[@rikux27]

She did well in a few challenges but spankie didn't have a single bad week after the first and even deserved at least one more win in the branding challenge. Aside from being a clear fan fav, spankie dominated that season.

[@alihaydarcolak8534]

About S12, it was clear the winner was 🍒 🥧 but due to drama, the whole season was built around Gigi and Jaida. If the drama didn't happen, I believe it was between Jaida vs that predator with Gigi being 3rd

[@ItGirlCaliiopx]

Are u calling literal SA "drama"? 💀

[@Mendejito]

Girl he ignored her, we ignored her. Why even bring her up lmao. There’s always one 😂

[@alihaydarcolak8534]

@@ItGirlCaliiopx English ain't my first language so it was the first word I could think of

[@anufoalan]

I think what they do is they pick their winner before the show even starts frankly (we all know it we’ve seen the riggery!) and they also pick their second option, and then the two queens they think would give the best finale performances, and so then they just try to make sure they don’t lose any of those queens before the finale, or in the case of Kandi Muse just say I changed my mind after making the decision to sashay away. I can already tell you I’m fairly confident that while Jaida and Willow were supposed to make final four in season 12 and 14 respectively, I do not believe either were actually supposed to win, I am sure that Jaida was the alternate pick for season 12 and that SP was supposed to win, however, after everything came to light obviously she was disqualified so Jaida was crowned (this in no way diminishes Jaida’s actual talent I still think she was a better choice). And in season 14 I don’t think Daya Betty, was supposed to be top 4, I think the original lineup included Kornbread, who was supposed to win, but due to her injury causing her to pull out of the show they went with their backup winner Willow.

[@mistermooseyman]

Talking about season 9 saying “i dont think people were that mad Sasha won” is just so blantantly untrue like people were beyond pissed, everyone was so incredibly upset about how sasha had only 2 shared wins and how the whole format was awful. In hindsight yes correct that people dont care anymore since Shea won AS5. But as season 9 finished airing people were not happy with her win at all.

[@kecorpse]

Appreciate your message at the end lol

[@coconutshook]

we need to see Nina Flowers in All Stars again.

[@kristenbooks]

For all-stars 4, I'm kinda shocked you didn't talk about what I feel is the *real* reason for the double crown? At the time, the fanbase was absolutely outraged bc of Shangela not winning AS3 and another blonde white queen being inducted into the hall of fame instead. Trinity would have been yet another, and probably would have continued the fan outrage. Therefore, they crowned both her and Monet, to appease the fans. But the stunt was so obvious to all of us and it backfired on them. Maybe you've discussed this in another video and don't think production cared about this, but at least from the perspective of someone who was deep in the fandom at the time, that was definitely the sentiment at the time.

[@lolitaguevara86]

I don’t see how Lawrence and Kitty’s drag is similar at all. Kitty is all pop Princessy and very pretty while Lawrence brings the camp. The only thing they really have in common is the fact they’re both plus size 🤔

[@user-rz6kt3vg3b]

so excited about the new video!! :)))

[@vbittencourt]

This PPE model is rubish. Jinx was by far the best competitor in the season and dont have the best ppe? zzzz

[@arenagrenade4485]

the ppe model holds up consistency over winning and being safe the whole season lolz

[@MrRosscoe4]

Feel I’m the only person who wanted Lawrence to win 😂😅 Scottish Icon

[@christywoods9180]

I Love Giselle Lullaby winning Canada!She's a star!

[@unjaded2]

who did WIN the most on AS7 ? who was blocked the most on AS7 ? HUMM what's her name .. that's right THE CROWNED ED WINNER , THE QUEEN OF ALL QUEENS,JINKX ! Sad that Monet x won 3 challenges to Jinkx 5 challenges . i guess the most wins still DO COUNT !

[@edgarroadiaz6344]

I’ve always thought that the UK2’s finale just didn’t match the “energy” of the queens’ journeys throughout the season. Since production horribly mistreated Tayce and Ellie didn’t have the track record to support a win, it was obviously between Bimini and Lawrence. However, as a viewer, the result just felt strange. I feel like Bimini and Lawrence had opposite journeys. On one hand, Bimini built momentum; started on the bottom, had the runway malfunction on week 2, did decent in the next two challenges, and then just destroyed the season. On the other, Lawrence had amazing first four weeks, and then bombed snatch game, had a questionable attitude towards Ellie’s decisions on how to play the game, and struggled on the last acting challenge (I even think she should’ve lipsynced instead of Tayce). Don’t get me wrong, I was a huge Lawrence fan, but it felt confusing to have that ending after all it had been built in the those last four episodes. Not even their perfomances in the finale can make up an an argument since everyone was relatively equal. Being left with the argument that one queen is just better for a web show on the eyes of production feels kind of disappointing. For me, it is rather a matter of consistency with what they showed us than who is most deserving according to track records.

[@goodyougetastar]

Love your channel and your videos because I love a little shop-talk about Drag Race and you go over things very clearly. :) Gotta say though, my brain short-circuited when you said that Kitty and Lawrence are too similar, and I heavily disagree. Similar drag styles and personalities? Nothing alike whatsoever. They're just both big girls. You could make the argument they both skew campy but even then, their takes on camp are so vividly different. I do agree though that production definitely pigeon-holed Kitty into that "big girl" category and decided to not let her have the win because of that.