Monét X Change

Kevin Bertin[1] (born February 19, 1990),[2] better known under the stage name Monét X Change, is an American drag queen, singer, and reality television personality. She is known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, on which she placed sixth and won Miss Congeniality, and for winning the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars along with Trinity the Tuck. Monét X Change released her debut EP, Unapologetically, in 2019. Later that year, she debuted her own web talk show The X Change Rate, on the BUILD Series. She is a staple for many Drag Race-related domestic and international tours, such as Werq the World, and Drive 'N Drag.

Monét X Change
Change in 2019
Born
Kevin Bertin

(1990-02-19) February 19, 1990
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Occupation
  • Drag queen
  • singer
  • television personality
Known forRuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) contestant and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 4) winner
TitleMiss Congeniality
PredecessorValentina
SuccessorNina West
Musical career
Instrumentsvocals
LabelsThe Randall House
Websitemonetxchange.com

Early life

Bertin was born in Brooklyn, New York City.[3] At six months old, she moved to Saint Lucia.[4] She later moved to The Bronx.[5] She trained in opera performance at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.[6]

The first drag pageant Monét X Change won was the sixth annual Gay Caribbean USA Pageant on September 27, 2014, representing Saint Lucia.[7] Her drag sister is RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 winner, Bob The Drag Queen,[8] and her drag mother is Honey Davenport, making her a member of the Davenport drag family.[9]

Career

Monét X Change was announced as one of fourteen contestants competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race on February 22, 2018.[10] She was eliminated in episode ten, placing sixth overall.[11][12][13] She was named Miss Congeniality during the season's finale, and is the first holder of the title to have been voted by her fellow contestants.[14] During episode one of Drag Race, Monét X Change made a dress decorated with kitchen sponges for the first runway challenge, which became a running joke throughout the rest of the series and inspired a number of Internet memes amongst fans online.[15] Fellow competitor Yuhua Hamasaki created her own sponge dress for sale, and donated the proceeds to Callen-Lorde.[16][17] A sponge themed pin was available for sale on her website after the episode.[18] The official Twitter of SpongeBob SquarePants also referenced Monét X Change in one of their tweets.[19]

Monét X Change is a co-host of the podcast Sibling Rivalry with her drag sister Bob the Drag Queen.[20] The first episode premiered on March 11, 2018.[21] In June 2018, Monét X Change called out rapper Azealia Banks on Twitter after she threatened to sue RuPaul for plagiarism over the song "Call Me Mother". Banks' account was later deactivated after responding to Monét X Change's tweet.[22] She appeared as a guest in an episode of What Would You Do on July 6, 2018.[23][24] Monét also toured across the United States and Europe with her one-woman show, "Call Me By Monét."[25]

Monét X Change during the Werq the World tour, 2019

Monét X Change is the host of the WOWPresents internet series "Monét's Herstory X Change", starting in November 2018.[26] She appeared in a Pepsi commercial with Cardi B in February 2019.[27][28] On February 15, 2019, she was inducted into the RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Hall of Fame alongside Trinity the Tuck.[29] Historically, she became the first black queen in the Hall of Fame.[30] Following her All Stars win, she and Trinity The Tuck were featured guests for the debut episode The Official RuPaul's Drag Race Podcast.[31] In May, Monet revealed that she would be hosting her own weekly talk show called "The X Change Rate".[32] She was interviewed with Nina West and Adore Delano for an episode of The View in June.[33] Monét X Change and West returned to The View for Meghan McCain's birthday episode.[34]

In June 2019, Monét X Change was one of 37 queens to be featured on the cover of New York magazine.[35]

Monét X Change was one of the Inspirations for Sina Grace's character of Shade, Marvel's first drag queen superhero.[36][37]

On October 22, 2019, X Change was announced as part of the cast for the first ever season of RuPaul's Celebrity Drag Race, a Drag Race spin-off where Drag Race alumni transform celebrities into Drag Queens, which will premiere in 2020.[38][39]

In March 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, X Change was announced as a featured cast member for the very first Digital Drag Fest!, an online drag festival for all ages, uniting many Drag artists in giving attendees opportunities to interact with the artists, tip them, and win prizes during the online broadcast.[40] In July, X Change was featured in Drive 'N Drag, a drive-in drag show.[41]

In Episode 3 of All Stars 5, she made a guest appearance as a "Lip Sync Assassin", where she lip-synced against Jujubee and won.[42]

In January 2021, she launched another podcast, Ebony and Irony, co-hosted by Lady Bunny.[43]

Music

Bertin is a classically trained opera singer with a bass voice. In school he played roles like Sarastro in The Magic Flute and Colline in La Bohème.[44]

On February 28, 2018, Monét X Change released a cover of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" and an accompanying video to YouTube.[45] She released her first original single, "Soak It Up", on May 25, 2018, the same day as her elimination episode on Drag Race.[46] The official music video features Bob the Drag Queen and fellow season ten and All Stars 4 contestant Monique Heart and has reached over one million views.[47][48] On February 14, 2019, she revealed a teaser for her debut EP, Unapologetically, as well as the pre-order and lead single "There for You". The full EP and accompanying visual album was released on February 22, 2019.[49]

Filmography

Movies
Year Title Role Notes
2018 A Queen for the People Herself Documentary by Bob the Drag Queen
2019 The World of Madame X[50] Drag Queen Short film by Madonna

Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref
2017 Dating My Mother Drag Queen Television Film
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Contestant [10]
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked
2018 What Would You Do? (season 14) Guest [23]
2018–19 RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 4) Contestant, Winner [29]
2019 The View Guest [34]
2019 Brunch with Tiffany Guest [51]
2020 RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race Mentor [38]
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 5) Guest (“Lipsync Assassin”) [42]
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked (season 2)
Lovecraft Country Drag Queen Episode: "Strange Case" [52]

Theatre
Year Title Role Theatre Ref(s)
2020 Death Drop Summer Raines Garrick Theatre [53]

Web series
Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
2017 Daniel's Desk Herself Episode 1 Guest [54]
2018 Monét's Herstory X Change Host [55]
Queen to Queen Guest, with Miz Cracker [56]
Countdown To The Crown Season 10 [57]
Cosmo Queens Season Three, episode Nine [58]
2018–2019 Fashion Photo Ruview Special guest, Two episodes [59][60]
2019 Review With a Jew Guest, All Stars 4 Episode 3 [61]
Monét XPosé Host [62]
Camp Confessions Guest, Episode 34 [63]
2019–present The X Change Rate Host, Executive Producer [64]
2019 Detailz Guest [65]
2020 The Pit Stop Guest; 2 episodes [66][67]
Bob Live! Guest [68]
Werq The World Featured queen [69]
Pepp Talks Guest [70]
2021 I Like to Watch UK Guest; 2 episodes [71] [72]

Discography

EPs
Title Details Peak chart positions
US Heat
[73]		 US Indie
[74]
Unapologetically 1825

As lead artist
Title Year Album
"Soak It Up"
(solo or with Bob the Drag Queen)		 2018 non-album single
"There for You" 2019 Unapologetically
"March" 2020 non-album single
Title Year Album
"Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical"[75]
(RuPaul featuring Aquaria, Eureka, Kameron Michaels, Miz Cracker, Monét X Change, and The Vixen)		 2018 non-album singles
"Errybody Say Love"[76]
(RuPaul featuring Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, Farrah Moan, and Monét X Change)
"Super Queen (Cast Version)"[77]
(RuPaul featuring Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, Monét X Change, and Trinity the Tuck)		 2019

Music videos
Year Title Artist Ref(s)
2016 "Fantasy" Acid Betty [78]
2018 "Strange Fruit" Herself [45]
"Soak It Up" Herself
2019 "Unapologetically: The Visual EP" Herself
"God Control" Madonna [79]
2020 "Mask, Glove, Soap, Scrubs" Todrick Hall [80]
"March" Herself [81]

See also

References
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  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EAoUQ3mva8
  3. "Brooklyn born Bronx drag queen sashays on TV". Retrieved 2018-06-18.
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  6. "BeavertonSymphony.org :: BSO Boheme soloists". beavertonsymphony.org.
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    Here's the link to subscribe to my YouTube, to be the FIRST to see! 👀🤪

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