RuPaul's Drag Race (season 8)
The eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on March 7, 2016. Returning judges include RuPaul and Michelle Visage, along with Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley, who shared judging responsibilities on an alternating basis. Twelve drag queens competed for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". The prizes for the winner are a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000. The full list of contestants was revealed during the NewNowNext Awards on February 1, 2016.[1] The song "U Wear It Well" from RuPaul's album Butch Queen was featured in promotion for the show. On March 31, 2016, it was announced LogoTV renewed the show for a ninth season.[2] It was the last season to solely be played on Logo, as the show moved to VH1 for its ninth season.[3]
| RuPaul's Drag Race | |
|---|---|
| Season 8 | |
 Promotional poster for season eight | |
| Hosted by | RuPaul |
| Judges | |
| No. of contestants | 12 |
| Winner | Bob the Drag Queen |
| Runner-up | |
| Miss Congeniality | Cynthia Lee Fontaine |
| Companion show | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked! |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Logo TV |
| Original release | March 7 – May 16, 2016 |
| Season chronology | |
The theme song played during the runway segment every episode was "The Realness", and the song played during the closing credits was "Die Tomorrow", both songs from the album Realness.
The winner of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race was Bob the Drag Queen, with Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls being the runners-up, and Cynthia Lee Fontaine being crowned season 8's Miss Congeniality.
On August 20, 2020, Chi Chi DeVayne, who placed fourth in the competition, died after battling scleroderma and pneumonia.[4]
Contestants
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bob the Drag Queen | 29 | New York City, New York | Winner |
| Kim Chi | 27 | Chicago, Illinois | Runners-up |
| Naomi Smalls | 21 | Redlands, California | |
| Chi Chi DeVayne[lower-alpha 1] | 29 | Shreveport, Louisiana | 4th Place |
| Derrick Barry | 32 | Las Vegas, Nevada | 5th Place |
| Thorgy Thor | 31 | Brooklyn, New York | 6th Place |
| Robbie Turner | 33 | Seattle, Washington | 7th Place |
| Acid Betty | 37 | Brooklyn, New York | 8th Place |
| Naysha Lopez | 31 | Chicago, Illinois | 9th Place[lower-alpha 2] |
| Cynthia Lee Fontaine | 34 | Austin, Texas | 10th Place[lower-alpha 3] |
| Dax ExclamationPoint | 31 | Savannah, Georgia | 11th/12th Place[lower-alpha 4] |
| Laila McQueen | 22 | Gloucester, Massachusetts |
- Chi Chi Kat DeVayne is simply known as Chi Chi DeVayne on the show.
- Naysha Lopez originally placed 12th before returning to the competition.
- Cynthia Lee Fontaine was voted Miss Congeniality.
- In episode 2 both queens were eliminated from the competition.
Contestant progress
| Contestant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob The Drag Queen | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | BTM2 | SAFE | Winner |
| Kim Chi | WIN | LOW | SAFE | HIGH | SAFE | HIGH | LOW | WIN | SAFE | Runner-up |
| Naomi Smalls | LOW | SAFE | SAFE | HIGH | BTM2 | WIN | HIGH | LOW | SAFE | Runner-up |
| Chi Chi DeVayne | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | BTM2 | SAFE | LOW | BTM2 | HIGH | ELIM | Guest |
| Derrick Barry | HIGH | SAFE | LOW | LOW | HIGH | BTM2 | WIN | ELIM | Guest | |
| Thorgy Thor | SAFE | HIGH | HIGH | SAFE | HIGH | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||
| Robbie Turner | LOW | SAFE | BTM2 | WIN | LOW | ELIM | Guest | |||
| Acid Betty | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||||
| Naysha Lopez | ELIM | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | ||||||
| Cynthia Lee Fontaine | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | Miss C | ||||||
| Dax ExclamationPoint | SAFE | ELIM | Guest | |||||||
| Laila McQueen | BTM2 | ELIM | Guest | |||||||
- The contestant won RuPaul's Drag Race.
- The contestant was the runner-up.
- The contestant was voted Miss Congeniality by viewers.
- The contestant won the challenge.
- The contestant received positive critiques and was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant received critiques but was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant received negative critiques but was ultimately declared safe.
- The contestant was in the bottom two.
- The contestant was eliminated.
- The contestant returned as a guest for this episode.
Lip syncs
| Episode | Contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laila McQueen | vs. | Naysha Lopez | "Applause" (Lady Gaga) |
Naysha Lopez |
| 2 | Dax ExclamationPoint | vs. | Laila McQueen | "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor) |
Dax ExclamationPoint |
| Laila McQueen | |||||
| 3 | Cynthia Lee Fontaine | vs. | Robbie Turner | "Mesmerized" (Freemasons radio edit) (Faith Evans) |
Cynthia Lee Fontaine |
| 4 | Chi Chi DeVayne | vs. | Naysha Lopez | "Call Me" (Blondie) |
Naysha Lopez |
| 5 | Acid Betty | vs. | Naomi Smalls | "Causing a Commotion" (Madonna) |
Acid Betty |
| 6 | Derrick Barry | vs. | Robbie Turner | "I Love It" (Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX) |
Robbie Turner |
| 7 | Chi Chi DeVayne | vs. | Thorgy Thor | "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Jennifer Holliday) |
Thorgy Thor |
| 8 | Bob The Drag Queen | vs. | Derrick Barry | "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" (Sylvester) |
Derrick Barry |
| 9 | Bob the Drag Queen vs. Chi Chi DeVayne vs. Kim Chi vs. Naomi Smalls | "The Realness" (RuPaul) |
Chi Chi DeVayne | ||
- 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 the lip-sync to qualify into the finale.
Guest judges
Listed in chronological order:[5]
- Nicole Richie, television personality
- Ester Dean, singer/songwriter
- Jamal Sims, choreographer
- Lucian Piane, music producer
- Faith Evans, singer
- Tasha Smith, actress and comedian
- Chris Stein, musician
- Debbie Harry, singer
- Chanel Iman, model
- Gigi Hadid, model
- Marc Jacobs, fashion designer
- Todrick Hall, singer and internet personality
- Thomas Roberts, journalist
- Vivica A. Fox, actress
- Amy Sedaris, comedian and actress
- David Sedaris, writer
Special guests
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1:
- BeBe Zahara Benet, winner of season 1
- Tyra Sanchez, winner of season 2
- Raja, winner of season 3
- Sharon Needles, winner of season 4
- Chad Michaels, runner-up of season 4 and winner of All Stars season 1
- Jinkx Monsoon, winner of Season 5
- Violet Chachki, winner of Season 7
- Shannel, contestant on season 1 and All Stars season 1
- Latrice Royale, contestant and Miss Congeniality of season 4 and contestant on All Stars season 1
- Raven, runner-up of season 2 and All Stars season 1
- Morgan McMichaels, contestant on season 2 and All Stars season 3
Episode 2:
- AB Soto, musician
Episode 5:
- Charo, musician and comedian
Episode 6:
- Marc Snetiker, Entertainment Weekly journalist
- Cast of Little Women L.A.
Episode 7:
- Andrew Christian, fashion designer
Episode 9:
- Jayson Whitmore, director
- Bianca Del Rio, winner of season 6
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94 | 1 | "Keeping it 100!" | March 7, 2016 | |
|
The 12 queens enter the work room of RuPaul's Drag Race, where they are met by RuPaul himself. The queens were asked by RuPaul to compete in two maxi-challenges; feature in a photo shoot alongside each winner of the competition from season one to then-current season 7 (alongside All Stars winner Chad Michaels and excluding Bianca Del Rio), and re-create specific looks taken from previous seasons; these two challenges were to coincide with the series' 100th episode.[6] During the judges critiques, Acid Betty, Derrick Berry, and Kim Chi were deemed the best for their runway looks, with the latter contestant winning the challenge, whilst Naomi Smalls, Laila McQueen, Naysha Lopez and Robbie Turner were criticized for their runway looks, though Turner and Smalls received positive remarks for their photoshoots. Turner and Smalls were declared safe from the bottom two, whilst Lopez and McQueen lip-synced against each other to Lady Gaga's "Applause"; McQueen won the lip-sync, while Lopez was sashayed away by RuPaul.[6]
| ||||
| 95 | 2 | "Bitch Perfect" | March 14, 2016 | |
|
The 11 remaining queens were challenged by RuPaul to perform in a collegiate, all-queen drag-appella sing-off, in the "Bitch Perfect" show, loosely based from the film Pitch Perfect; contestant Chi Chi DeVayne lead the team Shady Bitches, and Cynthia Lee Fontaine was the leader to Lady Bitches. The runway theme for the week was "Red Carpet Realness".[7] During the judges critiques, Acid Betty, Chi Chi DeVayne and Thorgy Thor were complimented for their performances and runway looks, with DeVayne winning the challenge overall. Dax ExclaimationPoint, Kim Chi and Laila McQueen were all criticized for their performances, though Chi received positive remarks on the runway. Kim Chi was declared safe from the bottom two, whilst ExclaimationPoint and McQueen lip-synced against each other to Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive". For the second time on RuPaul's Drag Race, RuPaul eliminated both contestants due to their poor performance, and announced that a previous drag queen would return to the show.[7]
| ||||
| 96 | 3 | "RuCo's Empire" | March 21, 2016 | |
|
The queens perform in a mini challenge where they must turn a judge's robe into a fashionable look. Naomi Smalls wins the mini challenge and becomes a team captain. Naysha Lopez returns after the double elimination and becomes the second team captain. The queens must act in two "episodes" of RuCo's Empire. The Runway theme of the week was "Roller Girl Realness". Naomi, Chi Chi, Kim, and Naysha are called safe. After the judge's critiques Bob wins the challenge despite negative reviews on her runway look. Thorgy, Acid Betty and Derrick are called safe. Robbie receives positive reviews for her runway but winds up in the bottom 2 with Cynthia, who was criticized for both her runway and performance in the challenge. Robbie lip syncs in roller skates while Cynthia lip syncs in heels. Robbie wins the lip sync and Cynthia is sent home.[8]
| ||||
| 97 | 4 | "New Wave Queens" | March 28, 2016 | |
|
The queens have to sing live in ‘80s style New Wave girl bands.
| ||||
| 98 | 5 | "Supermodel Snatch Game" | April 4, 2016 | |
|
The queens impersonate celebrities in a quick-witted TV game show, and dress in iconic Madonna looks for the runway. Bob wins as his portrayal of Carol Channing and Uzo Aduba. While the queens walked the runway, Derrick, Kim Chi, Naomi, and Thorgy all wore kimono, causing the judges to criticize the look.
| ||||
| 99 | 6 | "Wizards of Drag" | April 11, 2016 | |
|
The queens give cast members of Little Women: LA drag makeovers in the style of The Wizard of Oz.
| ||||
| 100 | 7 | "Shady Politics" | April 18, 2016 | |
|
The queens shoot shady presidential campaign ads, throwing their wigs in the ring to become the first drag president of the USA.
| ||||
| 101 | 8 | "RuPaul Book Ball" | April 25, 2016 | |
|
The queens compete in a pageant of book inspired couture, and perform a musical tribute to Jerri Blank from Strangers With Candy.
| ||||
| 102 | 9 | "The Realness" | May 2, 2016 | |
|
The queens compete in their final challenge - starring in the music video for RuPaul's hit "The Realness."
| ||||
| 103 | 10 | "Grand Finale" | May 16, 2016 | |
|
Wigs fly as the queens discuss the drama of the season. Plus, both "America's Next Drag Superstar" and "Miss Congeniality" are crowned.
| ||||
Future appearances
Cynthia Lee Fontaine returned on the ninth season as a surprise contestant to compete with the other 13 contestants. She placed 10th overall.[9]
Chi Chi DeVayne and Thorgy Thor competed on the third season of All Stars. Thorgy placed 10th and Chi Chi placed 8th overall.[10]
Kim Chi competed on RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular on December 7, 2018. She was crowned the Christmas Queen along with the other competing contestants.[11]
Naomi Smalls competed on the fourth season of All Stars. She placed 3rd/4th overall with season 10 contestant Monique Heart.[12]
Derrick Barry competed on the fifth season of All Stars, placing 10th.[13]
RuPaul's Drag Race
| Contestant | Year | Season | Role | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob the Drag Queen | 2020 | Celebrity Drag Race | Mentor | N/A | 2 episodes |
| Chi Chi DeVayne | 2018 | All Stars 3 | Contestant | 8th place | |
| Cynthia Lee Fontaine | 2017 | Season 9 | Contestant | 10th place | |
| Derrick Barry | 2020 | All Stars 5 | Contestant | 10th place | |
| 2020 | Vegas Revue | Main cast | N/A | 6 episodes | |
| Kim Chi | 2018 | Holi-slay Spectacular | Contestant | Winner | 1 episode |
| 2020 | Celebrity Drag Race | Mentor | N/A | 1 episode | |
| Naomi Smalls | 2018-19 | All Stars 4 | Contestant | 3rd/4th place | |
| 2020 | Vegas Revue | Main cast | N/A | 6 episodes | |
| Thorgy Thor | 2018 | All Stars 3 | Contestant | 10th place | |
See also
References
- Avery, Dan (January 31, 2016). "The Cast Of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8 Will Be Announced At New Now Next Honors". New Now Next. United States: Viacom International Inc. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
- "RuPaul's Drag Race Renewed for Season 9 and CastWorld of Wonder]]".
- "Fridays Just Got Fiercer: "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9" Premieres On VH1 March 24th". World of Wonder (production company). March 1, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
- "'Drag Race's Chi Chi DeVayne Has Reportedly Died". OUT.com. Out Magazine. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- "Amy Sedaris, Marc Jacobs, Debbie Harry Tapped As Judges For "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 8".
- Sava, Oliver (March 7, 2016). "RuPaul's Drag Race celebrates its mythology with a stellar 100th episode". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- Lee, Stephan (March 14, 2016). "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: Bitch Perfect". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- Lee, Stephan (March 22, 2016). "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: RuCo's Empire". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- "RuPaul's Drag Race Cast Members". Logo TV. February 2, 2017.
- "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' season 3 queens announced: See an exclusive cast photo". Entertainment Weekly. 2017-10-21. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
- Framke, Caroline (7 December 2018). "TV Review: 'RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular'". Variety. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- "Exclusive: Meet the 'RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars 4' cast". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
- Nolfi, Joey (May 8, 2020). "RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars 5 cast announced, series moves back to VH1". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
