Those who have been keeping up to date with our posts will know that two weeks ago we were invited to be a co-head judge at the latest iteration of Jolene’s drag race taking place at the Kings in Cardiff. While we have been doing reviews for just over five years, there is a massive difference between writing blog posts and giving feedback live especially when the people I am critiquing are very close friends of mine! Between myself and Nicki Knockers (who we interviewed on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/RUVe76BgBwA?si=xY2GNqOqKTCOIZ31), we alternate as the head judge of the week, think of us as Shirley Ballas of the drag scene! Joining me on the panel this week were the incredible Rachel Bowen who is an insanely talented makeup artist and drag icon/fashion designer Marmalade. This duo were the perfect people to be on the panel this week as the queens had to not only create an outfit out of recycled materials but incorporate their makeup into the look. The team were able to provide detailed and constructive feedback on the queen’s looks which is fundamentally the purpose of judges in these types of competitions. Before the contestants could take to the stage Jolene Dover opened the show with a wonderful rendition of the iconic “Good Luck Babe” by Chapel Roan (which we recently saw performed as a duet at Pluck which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/07/03/pluck-performance-review/#:~:text=I%20personally%20thought%20that%20how,wait%20for%20the%20next%20one!) and as always Jolene showcase her incredible vocals and set the standard of what the audience should expect from the actual competitions!
Opening up the roast section of the evening was the amazing Bella Stronza who interestingly chose to go first this week as they were granted the power of choosing the lineup after winning last week’s girl group challenge. I have to be honest that going into this challenge I was worried that this would not be a challenge that Bella would Excel at due to being a naturally kind and quiet person which was only amplified when I realised she had made the extremely bold choice of putting themselves down to open the show as the pressure to set the standard is immensely highly, however, Bella did not seem fazed in the slightest as she got the show off to a fantastic start. She was the only performer to not bring queue cards onto the stage and so had clearly rehearsed this performance multiple as all of the jokes were committed to memory but delivered in a way that seemed natural and in the moment. In my opinion this deserves some extra bonus points as she was the only person to do so which really helped her to stand out amongst the rest of the performers! Some of my favourite jokes from Bella’s set included one directed at My Liege where she said that they have had Gonorrhea so many times at this point they shouldn’t call it the clap but instead the applause. My other favourite joke was her joke directed at the host Jolene Dover where she said “Jolene is so old that her first drag surname was Osauraus” which the audience found absolutely hilarious! For her runway presentation, Bella decided to create a wonderful outfit out of shopping bags which looked absolutely wonderful on her! She clearly had thought about every detail of the outfit as she had matched the colour motifs throughout the whole of the costume which the judges thought was a fantastic inclusion!
Next up was the wonderful Vanity Act (who we recently interviewed on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/QBtsisDtCH0?si=hXXF-xbu3u-rKViE) who is probably the queen in this competition with the most experience in hosting and using a microphone and so the expectation was set very high from the moment they stepped onto the stage. Vanity did not seem fazed at all but the added pressure as they started their routine with a brilliant joke about being similar to the recently cancelled Lea Michelle as neither of them can read. This was then followed by Vanity pulling out a key for My Liege as it might help find the key while singing which was a wonderful bit of prop comedy which we didn’t see from anyone else on the lineup. One of my favourite jokes from Vanity in this challenge however was directed towards Jolene Dover where they talked about the Grindr line “can you host” and based on the past couple of weeks Jolene cannot which was very clever! Vanity was the only queen in the lineup to also have a roast for DJ Dabes where she joked about how far good looks can get without the need for any talent. This again helped Vanity stand out from everyone else which also deserves bonus points! For their recycled runway presentation, they decided to channel a Greek/Cupid-inspired look and brought a wonderful headpiece and bow/arrow which was fired during the runway. Vanity had created the most spectacular top made entirely of gold can tabs which looked incredible and worked perfectly with the rest of the look.
The third performer to take to the stage was the brilliant Matt Hazard (who we also recently interviewed on our YouTube channel at – https://youtu.be/QgFBcnjApoU?si=1wc42EWtaDcx2UhN) who was someone I was also a little worried about for the roast challenge as I was not sure of their comedic talents prior to this event. I have to be honest, I think that Matt delivered two of the best jokes of the night when they turned to the host Jolene to ask what got into her head to name the runway theme last week after her most recent song and also the simple but insanely funny “glas I wish you were transparent” which had every single person in hysterics! Despite doing very well in the roast section of the evening it was the runway presentation where Matt really pulled out all the stops! Matt decided to use a series of black bags to create an absolutely show-stopping dress that not only showed off their figure but also had wonderful arm pieces and a trash king sash! My favourite thing about this outfit however was the fact that Matt had clearly carefully picked out which bags to use as the green/black and purple colour scheme matched their drag persona perfectly with a fantastic green Mohawk which really completed the look perfectly! I had to stop and remember that the outfit was actually made by Matt out of bin bags rather than being ordered from a professional costume designer! I have to admit that this was my favourite look of the week and is something I will be thinking about for a very long time!
While Bella Stronza was tasked with opening the roast she did have Jolene Dover opening the actual event so it was easier to step into her pre-prepared jokes however My Liege did not have that luxury after being the first queen to step on the stage after the short comfort break. This was an extremely difficult position to be in as not only were they tasked with getting the audience back on board but they also had to launch straight into their set which must have been extremely overwhelming. I do have to say that during the opening moments of their routine, My Liege looked nervous as they were visibly shaking on the stage but this was due to a combination of the difficult spot and stress the competition brings regardless. However, once they got over these nerves they quickly delivered a series of hilarious jokes and channelled them through their unique persona on stage! One of my favourite jokes saw My Liege (who is a fluent Welsh speaker) that Glas is actually the Welsh word for blue and she is named that not because it’s her favourite colour but because it’s the colour she turns when vanity gets on top during sexual encounters. Sticking with the theme of multilingualism, My Liege went on to explain that Bella Stronza is German for beautiful b*tch but based on her track record so far she should change her name to Bella Ciao which was an equally clever and hilarious joke! My favourite roast from this performer however was when they turned to special guest judge Marmalade and addressed the rumours that she had recently been on a mysterious “Holliday” but it clearly wasn’t to Turkey as her teeth and still messed up. For the runway section of the evening, My Liege also decided to use plastic bags but they opted for a more feminine and soft look which I personally really enjoyed seeing from this eccentric queen!
Following my My Liege was the amazing Glas (who we also interviewed on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/P0NNhFxySD4?si=RWxwsk9da96cqP_L) who, I have to be honest, was another queen I was worried as they are known for being very quiet but they really excelled this week! They got off to a fantastic start as they turned to their partner Vanity and said “Having seen you in and out of drag many, many times …. What exactly do you have to be vain about” which had the audience (and the contestants) in hysterics! Another highlight of their routine was when they turned to week one eliminee Sar Chasm (who we saw at the Sly event which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/05/01/sly-production-review/) and said “I finally understand your name … it’s what the person who said you should start drag was using” and they also delivered a brilliant joke about Rachel Bowen (who did make up for Jolene Dover in their music video) and compared that job to be a painter/decorator which was hilarious! For their runway presentation, Glas had created a wonderful punk-infused outfit out of denim. She had clearly put in a lot of effort and time into this look, creating a cropped jacket and a wonderful skirt with a denim waistband that looked beautiful! What I really enjoyed about this look however was the fact that they clearly had a specific character in mind when designing and showcasing this outfit as not only did they channel a punk character when walking but every single detail (including a wonderful wig) fitted the character flawlessly!
Following Glas was her drag sister Diva Divine (who we recently saw at Draglins which you can read at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/03/27/draglins-production-review/) who is one of the newer performers in the competition and therefore no one really knows what they are going to be like with a mic in their hand. Diva did have a couple of hilarious jokes such as saying Matt Hazard is so radioactive just seeing them gives Diva a headache and a series of new names for the host Jolene Dover however it seems like the transition between jokes is something that this queen will need to work on going forward. One particularly clunky moment in the set saw Diva turn to Carrie and just give them the microphone marking the end of their routine. Everyone was visibly confused as they didn’t really have an official end of their routine. For their runway presentation, Diva decided to create a gown out of toilet paper. I really enjoyed the top half of this outfit as Diva had created a wonderful spiked top that fitted her perfectly however the bottom part of the outfit was fairly bare. Diva did explain that the bottom part of the outfit had literally fallen off when getting ready and so I appreciate the fact that Diva was still able to sell the outfit even though they knew it was falling apart!
Closing the roast was none other than the incredible Carrie Sauce (who we recently interviewed on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/Fc83Ti_ifmY?si=qO4nLTENVKxhMsWa) and having known this performer for a little while I instantly knew that they would excel in this challenge. Carrie was able to easily deal with the awkward handover of the mic from the aforementioned Diva and then launched into a series of insanely clever and hilarious jokes. At one point in the routine she referred to My Liege as a “clam-idiot” which I found brilliant and then when she went on to talk about My Liege makes her think of BDSM (your bipolar disorder scares me.) Now I don’t know if it was because it was a joke about me, but one of my favourite jokes from Carrie talked about my terrible spelling and said that it is the worst thing to happen to literature since JK Rowling but at least she’s good with spells! If there was one area of improvement for this performance, I would have to say that dropping the flashcards was very distracting. Initially, it was very difficult to figure out if she was doing this on purpose or on accident and this in turn made the audience nervous that Carrie had dropped some of her material. For her runway presentation, Carrie decided to create a spectacular steampunk Angel outfit made entirely of ice cream boxes. The highlight of this look however was the incredible wings that Carrie showcased which made total sense with her presentation and the rest of the look!
In a shocking twist, it was announced that for this week only there will be a top two lip-sync and the winner of that would select who they would like to send home this week. Jolene revealed that Vanity Act and Matt Hazard are at the top and would battle it out with the song Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter. Having known these two performers for a little while, I know they are both very talented lipsyncers so I knew we were in for a treat and they put on an absolute show! Both performers channelled a more sensual version of the song and used every inch of the stage and audience area to deliver a highly entertaining and exacting performance. Vanity decided to pull out a selection of tricks including an insane forward role through the audience which was absolutely amazing! Vanity was declared as the overall winner of this week which means that she not only won a free bottle of Smirnoff but also was given the power to decide who would be going home this week and she opted to eliminate the amazing Bella Stronza which did come as somewhat as a shock as she has been on a run of great performances the last two weeks.
Overall, week three of Jolene’s drag race really tested two totally contrasting skills which must be incredibly intense for the performers involved. The roast allowed the contestants to showcase their comedic talents with every single performer doing extremely well with a scattering of good jokes scattered throughout everyone’s sets. The runway category allowed the queens to showcase their innovation and creativity with each person bringing a different perspective to the challenge which makes a very exciting challenge. The shocking twist injected an immense amount of drama into the competition with people still talking about it weeks after it had happened! I would rate this event 4.5 stars out of 5!
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