draggz 
The beginning
It was February 24, 2014 when the sixth season of the hit TV Show RuPaul’s Drag Race began airing. Like the fifth season, the season featured 14 contestants competing for the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar“. Teasing the viewers was a promotional trailer which featured the new, exciting batch of contestants for season 6. The promo was stunning and featured RuPaul in catsuit look with a panther in the background. The “Meet the Queens” segment was also entertaining to watch and you could already feel these queens were something special.
For the first time in the show’s history, the season premiere was split into two episodes; the fourteen queens were split into two groups and the seven queens in each group competed against each other before being united as one group for the third episode. This was already a twist we didn’t anticipate and the Season was off to a great start.
Amazing contestants
The cast consisted of: Bianca Del Rio, Adore Delano, Courtney Act, Darienne Lake, BenDeLaCreme, Joslyn Fox, Trinity K. Bonet, Laganja Estranja, Milk, Gia Gunn, April Carrion, Vivacious, Magnolia Crawford and Kelly Mantle. Now, let’s talk about them for a second. By now you already know who the winner is, but if you don’t, than be warned of spoilers ahead.
The finalists
Bianca Del Rio was truly an amazing performer the show hadn’t seen before. Her sarcastic comedy took the term “reading someone” to a whole new level. She was a seasoned performer, creating costumes and performing around New York at the time. She was also good friends with Lady Bunny and they frequently performed together on tour. In season 6, Bianca stormed the competition, winning 3 challenges and ultimately winning the whole season. She had a particular humor and the producers gave her the “winners edit” by showcasing her “good side” with helping other contestants and “being nice”, although we know Bianca can be a cunt if she wants to (like every drag queen). Bianca at the time was exactly what the show needed – an amazing performer with a quick wit and cutting humor.
Adore Delano was a fan favorite. She was the typical young drag queen at the time, giving off very free-spirited vibes. Adore had a lot to offer and was working hard to be at the top of the game. She won 3 main challenges and was twice in the bottom, giving us iconic lip syncs. Adore is a great singer and she mesmerized us with her stage performances and presence. However, this was not her first time on a reality TV show, as she previously competed on America’s Idol. The production even shot a double winning scenario between her and Bianca, which proves she was a worthy contender for the crown (they didn’t shoot the double crowning scenario with Courtney Act).
Courtney Act was similarly to Adore an amazing singer and also competed on Australia’s Idol. On season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race she won two main challenges and was never in the bottom (whoa!). Cortney Act was a known drag name in Australia at the time and she was trying to establish her career in USA. With some of the most iconic looks in Drag Race herstory, she became a finalist on season 6 and has seen an amazing growth in her career afterwards. For instance, she won Celebrity Big Brother UK in 2018!
Other contestants
Now this is a big category to fill, with a lot of amazing drag performers. BenDeLaCreme was gorgeous in every single way, although in season six she got the “stiff/plastic personality edit”, but I still fell in love with her. After her gig on season 6, she appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race Allstars 3 and I’m not gonna talk about that here, but you already know she made herstory on that season.
Darienne Lake was truly something special. As Bianca called her “the shady elephant” she served us shady humor and great diva looks. I would really like to see her slay on a future Allstars season. Joslyn Fox was a sweetheart. She was kind, caring, and she had a gorgeous body. Her looks were sort of “meh”, but to me that didn’t matter, since she was so charismatic.
Trinity K. Bonet had a rough run on season 6, but she established herself as a lip sync assassin. Later, she appeared on Season 6 of Allstars, making it all the way to top 5.
Other iconic performers on season six were: Laganja Estranja – amazing queen, got the “fake personality” edit, but she SLAYED as a lip sync assassin in season 6 of Allstars. Milk – a lot of versatile and fresh drag looks on season 6, later got the “delusional” edit on Allstars 3. Gia Gunn did poorly in every challenge but was so entertaining and cunty. April Carrion was pretty, I wished we had seen more of her. Vivacious had a fierce “New York style” runway walk and she became iconic for her alien head, known as Ornacia. Magnolia Crawford quit drag since season six. She was painted as a villain, and we didn’t get to see much of her. Kelly Mantle was a sweetheart and I was truly shocked when she went home first, because of a “bacon” dress. Really bad she couldn’t shine in any acting challenges, which were her forte.
What is so special about this season?
Season 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race was fresh, fun and entertaining, because of the sheer magnitude of personalities present within the cast. That’s a fantastic recipe for a great TV show. The contestants were crazy talented and some of them had amazing careers after the show. Season 6 had everything you needed as a viewer and a drag fan. The looks, the challenges, the iconic moments and more. Even Untucked was stupidly entertaining. Good job casting directors, I’m waiting for similar energy on basically any future season of Drag Race.
Did you enjoy season 6 as much as I did? Leave a comment, let’s chat.
