RuPaul's Drag Race (season 4)
The fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on January 30, 2012,[2] with cast members announced November 13, 2011.[3] The winner of season four headlined Logo's Drag Race Tour featuring Absolut Vodka, won a one-of-a-kind trip, a lifetime supply of NYX Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $100,000.[4]
| RuPaul's Drag Race | |
|---|---|
| Season 4 | |
 Promotional poster for season four | |
| Hosted by | RuPaul |
| Judges |
|
| No. of contestants | 13 |
| Winner | Sharon Needles |
| Runner-up | |
| Miss Congeniality | Latrice Royale |
| Companion show | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked! |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Logo TV |
| Original release | January 30 – April 30, 2012 |
| Season chronology | |
Like the last season, Santino Rice and Billy B (Billy Brasfield), celebrity makeup artist and star of the HGTV mini-series Hometown Renovation, shared the same seat at the judges table alternatively, Brasfield filling in for Rice when needed.[1] Both judges appeared side-by-side in the audience during the "Reunited" episode.
The theme song playing during the runway every episode was "Glamazon" and the song played during the credits was "The Beginning", both from RuPaul's album Glamazon.
This is the first season in which a contestant, Willam Belli, was disqualified from the competition for breaking the rules and the second season in a row in which a contestant, Kenya Michaels, was brought back into the competition after having been eliminated in a prior episode.
The winner of the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race was Sharon Needles, with Chad Michaels and Phi Phi O'Hara as runners-up, making it the first time in the show's history to have two runners-up. The final also featured the first three-way lip-sync battle, instead of the usual two competitors. It was the first season in which the winner was not crowned in the studio but during the "Reunited" episode, which was filmed in front of an audience. This was also the first time three versions of the finale were filmed with each Top 3 contestant being crowned to prevent spoilers, this came after Raja winning was leaked by Perez Hilton in Season 3. [5]
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Contestants
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Needles | 29 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Winner |
| Chad Michaels | 40 | San Diego, California | Runners-up |
| Phi Phi O'Hara[lower-alpha 1] | 25 | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Latrice Royale | 39 | South Beach, Florida | 4th Place[lower-alpha 2] |
| Kenya Michaels | 21 | Dorado, Puerto Rico | 5th Place[lower-alpha 3] |
| DiDa Ritz | 25 | Chicago, Illinois | 6th Place |
| Willam[lower-alpha 4] | 29 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 7th Place[lower-alpha 5] |
| Jiggly Caliente | 30 | Queens, New York | 8th Place |
| Milan | 36 | New York City, New York | 9th Place |
| Madame LaQueer | 29 | Carolina, Puerto Rico | 10th Place |
| The Princess | 31 | Chicago, Illinois | 11th Place |
| Lashauwn Beyond | 21 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 12th Place |
| Alisa Summers | 23 | Tampa, Florida | 13th Place |
- Phi Phi O'Hara was originally known as Phoenix O'Hara but changed it upon being casted.[6]
- Latrice Royale was voted Miss Congeniality.
- Kenya Michaels originally placed 9th before being asked back to the competition.
- Willam Belli is simply referred to as Willam during the season.
- It was revealed during episode 8 that Willam was disqualified from the competition for breaching the contract agreement.
Contestant progress
| Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Needles | WIN | HIGH | WIN | LOW | HIGH | SAFE | HIGH | BTM2 | WIN | LOW | WIN | SAFE | Winner |
| Chad Michaels | SAFE | WIN | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | SAFE | LOW | SAFE | HIGH | HIGH | BTM2 | SAFE | Runner-Up |
| Phi Phi O'Hara | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | HIGH | LOW | HIGH | WIN | BTM2 | LOW | WIN | HIGH | SAFE | Runner-Up |
| Latrice Royale | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | HIGH | SAFE | WIN | BTM2 | BTM2 | ELIM | Miss C | |
| Kenya Michaels | LOW | SAFE | HIGH | LOW | ELIM | ELIM | Guest | ||||||
| DiDa Ritz | SAFE | LOW | BTM2 | SAFE | SAFE | LOW | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | |||
| Willam | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | HIGH | HIGH | WIN | BTM2 | DISQ | Guest | ||||
| Jiggly Caliente | BTM2 | SAFE | SAFE | HIGH | SAFE | BTM2 | ELIM | Guest | |||||
| Milan | SAFE | HIGH | SAFE | BTM2 | BTM2 | ELIM | Guest | ||||||
| Madame LaQueer | SAFE | WIN | LOW | ELIM | Guest | ||||||||
| The Princess | HIGH | BTM2 | ELIM | Guest | |||||||||
| Lashauwn Beyond | HIGH | ELIM | Guest | ||||||||||
| Alisa Summers | ELIM | Guest | |||||||||||
- The contestant won RuPaul's Drag Race.
- The contestants were the runners-up.
- The contestant was voted Miss Congeniality by viewers.
- The contestant won a challenge.
- The contestant received positive critiques but was ultimately declared as "safe".
- The contestant received critiques but was ultimately declared as "safe".
- The contestant received no critiques and was safe.
- The contestant received negative critiques but was ultimately declared as "safe".
- The contestant was in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated.
- The contestant was chosen by the judges to return but was eliminated in the same episode.
- The contestant won the challenge but was disqualified from the competition due to breaking the show's rules.
- The contestant returned as a guest for the finale episode.
Lip syncs
| Episode | Contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alisa Summers | vs. | Jiggly Caliente | "Toxic" (Britney Spears) |
Alisa Summers |
| 2 | Lashauwn Beyond | vs. | The Princess | "Bad Girls" (Donna Summer) |
Lashauwn Beyond |
| 3 | DiDa Ritz | vs. | The Princess | "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" (Natalie Cole) |
The Princess |
| 4 | Madame LaQueer | vs. | Milan | "Trouble" (Pink) |
Madame LaQueer |
| 5 | Kenya Michaels | vs. | Milan | "Vogue" (Madonna) |
Kenya Michaels |
| 6 | Jiggly Caliente | vs. | Milan | "Born This Way" (Lady Gaga) |
Milan |
| 7 | Jiggly Caliente | vs. | Willam | "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)" (Pam Tillis) |
Jiggly Caliente |
| 8 | Phi Phi O'Hara | vs. | Sharon Needles | "It's Raining Men... The Sequel" (Martha Wash and RuPaul) |
Willam |
| 9 | DiDa Ritz | vs. | Latrice Royale | "I've Got to Use My Imagination" (Gladys Knight & The Pips) |
DiDa Ritz |
| 10 | Kenya Michaels | vs. | Latrice Royale | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin) |
Kenya Michaels |
| 11 | Chad Michaels | vs. | Latrice Royale | "No One Else on Earth" (Wynonna Judd) |
Latrice Royale |
| 13 | Chad Michaels vs. Phi Phi O'Hara vs. Sharon Needles | "Glamazon" (RuPaul) |
None | ||
- The contestant was eliminated after their first time in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated after their second time in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated after their third time in the bottom two.
- The contestant was disqualified from the competition.
Guest judges
Listed in chronological order:[4]
- Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, actress and television hostess
- Mike Ruiz, photographer
- Rick Fox, professional basketball player
- John Salley, professional basketball player
- Amber Riley, actress and singer
- Natalie Cole, actress, pianist, singer and songwriter
- Nicole Sullivan, actress, comedian, voice artist
- Max Mutchnick, television producer
- Loretta Devine, actress
- Ross Mathews, comedian and television personality
- Kelly Osbourne, television host and comedian
- Pauley Perrette, actress, singer, and writer
- Regina King, actress
- Pam Tillis, singer and songwriter
- Lucian Piane, composer and music producer
- Pamela Anderson, actress
- Jennifer Tilly, actress
- Dan Savage, author
- Jeffrey Moran, Absolut Vodka marketing/branding executive
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson, actor
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress and singer
- Rose McGowan, actress
- Wynonna Judd, actress and singer
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1 | "RuPocalypse Now!" | January 30, 2012 | |
|
The first episode of season 4 was released prior to its January 30 air date to fans of the RuPaul's Drag Race Facebook page. The sneak peek video was released on January 27, but its content was cut short before the runway walk and judging.[7] Thirteen new queens begin their quests for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar," but first must survive drag zombies and the end of the world. Shangela has a cameo in a spoof of her return to the competition the previous season. During the zombie challenge there are cameos by Raven, Shannel, Pandora Boxx, Morgan McMichaels, Delta Work and other former drag race contestants.
| ||||
| 39 | 2 | "WTF!: Wrestling's Trashiest Fighters" | February 6, 2012 | |
|
In this women's wrestling challenge, an homage to G.L.O.W., the queens are separated into three teams headed by the mini-challenge winners, and are asked to create a wrestling storyline and to choreograph a match, to be performed in front of the judges and a live audience. In addition, the teams have to split into binomials: the nice girls, or Faces, and the bad girls, or Heels. Following the wrestling matches, the girls are asked to walk the runway in their best "girly-girl" couture.
| ||||
| 40 | 3 | "Glamazons vs. Champions" | February 13, 2012 | |
|
The queens make commercials for RuPaul's albums Glamazon and Champion. The queens are separated into two teams, led by Phi Phi O'Hara (Team Champion) and Kenya Michaels (Team Glamazon).
| ||||
| 41 | 4 | "Queens Behind Bars" | February 20, 2012 | |
| ||||
| 42 | 5 | "Snatch Game" | February 27, 2012 | |
| ||||
| 43 | 6 | "Float Your Boat" | March 5, 2012 | |
|
The queens design ship-shaped floats for a Pride parade runway extravaganza. One color from the 8-stripe rainbow flag was randomly assigned to each contestant by Willam, who won the wet T-shirt contest mini-challenge.
| ||||
| 44 | 7 | "Dragazines" | March 12, 2012 | |
|
The contenders' challenge was to produce a magazine cover. The magazines were shared out among the queens by Latrice Royale, who won the mini-challenge.
| ||||
| 45 | 8 | "Frenemies" | March 19, 2012 | |
| ||||
| 46 | 9 | "Frock the Vote!" | March 26, 2012 | |
|
The top five girls return to the work room, and RuPaul brings them their next mini challenge: create fashionable footwear out of clear platform heels using an Absolut cocktail as inspiration. Phi Phi wins the mini challenge, and Ru then presents them with their main challenge. The girls will be campaigning for the Drag Queen Presidency, and must put together a presentation for a round table political debate. For their runway, the queens needed dress their best for the president's inaugural ball.
| ||||
| 47 | 10 | "DILFs: Dads I'd Like to Frock" | April 2, 2012 | |
|
It is revealed that Kenya has returned to the competition, and she wins the mini-challenge, which was to drag out a stuffed teddy bear. For their main challenge, the queens are paired up with dads for a maternity runway/makeover and striptease.
| ||||
| 48 | 11 | "The Fabulous Bitch Ball" | April 9, 2012 | |
|
For the mini challenge, the queens made a puppet of their own peers and made a bitch fest. Chad won the challenge and as a reward, she allowed to pair each queen with a dog to use as inspiration for the main challenge.
| ||||
| 49 | 12 | "RuPaul Rewind" | April 16, 2012 | |
| A look back on the highlights, low-lights, and previously unseen footage from the season as we race toward the climactic grand finale! RuPaul is joined by Shannel (season 1), Pandora Boxx (season 2) and Mariah (season 3) as they look back over the top 10 fits of fashion from the season so far. This episode also included a few clips of queens who didn't make it on the season, among them, Alaska, who later became a contestant on season 5. Magnolia Crawford and April Carrión, who later became contestants on season 6 and Mrs. Kasha Davis, who later became a contestant on season 7. | ||||
| 50 | 13 | "The Final Three" | April 23, 2012 | |
|
The queens compete in their final challenge: starring in RuPaul's music video for "Glamazon". In a twist, all three finalists had to perform the lip-sync song. Afterwards, RuPaul announced that the winner of the race will be revealed on "RuPaul's Drag Race: Reunited" the next week.
| ||||
| 51 | 14 | "Reunited" | April 30, 2012 | |
|
For the first time, a live audience of fans, mainly from the Los Angeles area sit in as RuPaul and the contestants return for the annual reunion, where RuPaul reveals the winner of the season. The finale episode was taped at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood on Wednesday April 25, 2012, where three different outcomes were filmed in an attempt to keep the winner from being revealed before the episode aired, as had happened in previous seasons.[8][9] We find out Latrice Royale is crowned "Miss Congeniality." We also learn that the reason Willam was disqualified was that he was caught having conjugal visits with his husband, who had tracked Willam to the hotel where the contestants were sequestered during production. This is in breach of the clause barring contestants engaging in unauthorized outside contact.
| ||||
Marketing
In January 2012, Logo released the second running of Fantasy Drag Race, an online fan contest inspired by fantasy football where viewers assemble a team of three season four Drag Race contestants. Players receive and lose points based on their team's performance on the show, and can earn additional points by redeeming codes and performing tasks given out when episodes of the show first air. The highest scoring players receive Drag Race and NYX Cosmetics products, and one player wins a trip for two to the first stop on Logo's Drag Race Tour.[10]
Already having a generous social media presence, Logo expanded its efforts across Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, GetGlue, and Foursquare in preparation for the premiere of season four. Both RuPaul and contestants tweet live while the show airs, and LogoTalk! chat parties (featuring judges, contestants from previous seasons, and contestants from season four) occur on the official Logo website while participants watch new episodes.[11] Season four specifically marks an increased interest from Logo in Tumblr, where the network publishes animated GIFs, contestant trading cards, and images that incorporate internet memes.[12] Dan Sacher, VP of digital for VH1 and Logo, has stated that their online marketing efforts are part of helping the small network expand their fan base across as many outlets as possible.[11]
Reception
The premiere episode of season four averaged a 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic, totaling 481,000 viewers, and ranked as the highest-rated premiere in Logo's network history. Untucked totalled 254,000 viewers, marking the companion show's most watched debut. During the evening of the premiere, the show registered eight US trending topics on Twitter (including Jiggly Caliente, Sharon Needles, Phi Phi O'Hara, and Latrice Royale) and reached a 7th place ranking on Trendrr. Leading up to the first episode, the show's Facebook page saw an 89% increase (earning over half a million fans).[13]
The season finale scored a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic and drew 601,000 viewers total, while the reunion episode became the highest rated episode of the season. Season four's "RuPaul's Drag Race: Reunited" was also the highest-rated reunion in the franchise's history, seeing a 33% increase in the 18-49 demographic compared to season three. The reunion registered five trending topics on Twitter (including Sharon Needles, Phi Phi, Willam, and a new portmanteau Willam introduced to the show: "RuPaulogize"), and ranked 4th among non-sports cable programs for the night on Trendrr.[14]
During season 4, the show's Twitter following increased by 77%, and the Facebook page accrued a 36% increase in likes.[14] TV.com also declared it was the best reality show on television.[15]
Future appearances
Chad Michaels and Latrice Royale competed on the first season of All Stars. Latrice placed 7th/8th overall with season 3 contestant Manila Luzon. Chad won the competition.[16]
Phi Phi O'Hara competed on the second season of All Stars. She placed 7th overall.[17]
Latrice Royale later returned to compete on the fourth season of All Stars, making her one of the first contestants to return, alongside Manila Luzon, after already competing in a previous All Stars season.[18] Latrice initially placed 7th, but she returned to the competition after winning her lip sync in the LaLaPaRuza and placed 5th overall.[19]
RuPaul's Drag Race
| Contestant | Year | Season | Role | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chad Michaels | 2012 | Drag U | Mentor | N/A | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | All Stars 1 | Contestant | Winner | ||
| Latrice Royale | 2012 | Drag U | Mentor | N/A | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | All Stars 1 | Contestant | 7th/8th place | ||
| 2015 | Green Screen Christmas | Self | N/A | 1 episode | |
| 2018 | Holi-slay Spectacular | Contestant | Winner | 1 episode | |
| 2018-19 | All Stars 4 | Contestant | 5th place | ||
| Phi Phi O'Hara | 2016 | All Stars 2 | Contestant | 7th place | |
| Sharon Needles | 2012 | Drag U | Mentor | N/A | 1 episode |
| Willam | 2012 | Drag U | Mentor | N/A | 1 episode |
References
- Peterson, Brian. "Legendary Makeup Artist and RuPaul Drag Race Judge Billy B. Eats Boys for Breakfast, Specifically "New Queer on the Block"". Seattle GAY Scene. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16.
- Polly, John (October 10, 2011). "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 4 Judges: Think Glee, Modern Family!". NewNowNext. Logo. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
- "Rupaul's Drag Race Season 4". Logo. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
- Shumaker, Jason (December 12, 2011). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Fourth Season Premiere Sashays onto Logo, Monday, January 30th" (Press release). Logo. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/rupauls-drag-race-producers-prevent-spoilers.html/
- "HEY QWEEN! HIGHLIGHT: PHI PHI O'HARA ON CHANGING HER NAME FOR DRAG RACE". Hey Qween. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- Smothers, Thairin (January 27, 2012). "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 4 Full Trailer". The WOW Report. World of Wonder. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
- Tanner Stransky (April 26, 2012). "On the Scene at 'RuPaul's Drag Race: Reunited'". Entertainment Weekly.
- Maria Sciullo (April 30, 2012). "Sharon Needles Crowned 'Drag Race' Queen". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- "RuPaul's Fantasy Drag Race". Logo online. Logo. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- Winslow, George (January 30, 2012). "Logo Expands Social Media Efforts". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- Edelsburg, Natan (February 3, 2012). "Inside look at how Logo's "RuPaul's Drag Race" is using Tumblr". Lost Remote. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- Shumaker, Jason (February 1, 2012). "LOGO'S SEASON DEBUT OF "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE" ON MONDAY NIGHT SCORES AS THE HIGHEST-RATED PREMIERE IN NETWORK HISTORY". Logo Press Room. Logo. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- Slane, Jake (May 2, 2012). "LOGO'S "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE' SEASON FOUR REUNION WINS THE CROWN AS HIGHEST-RATED EPISODE THIS SEASON". Logo Press Room. Logo. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
- Navarro, Alex (April 23, 2012). "Why RuPaul's Drag Race Is the Best Reality Show on TV Right Now". TV.com. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
- RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race: Meet the Queens from www.newnownext.com 6 August 2012
- "Logo Announces Contestants For "RuPaul's All Star Drag Race" Season 2". LOGO News. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
- Nolfi, Joey (2018-11-09). "Exclusive: Meet the 'RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars 4' cast". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
- Nolfi, Joey (November 9, 2018). "Exclusive: Meet the 'RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars 4' cast". EW.com. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
External links
- Official website (U.S.)
- Official website (Canada)
- Official Facebook page
