RuPaul's Drag Race season 8
| RuPaul's Drag Race | |
|---|---|
| Season 8 | |
 Promotional poster for season eight | |
| Hosted by | RuPaul |
| Judges | |
| No. of contestants | 12 |
| Winner | Bob the Drag Queen |
| Runners-up | |
| Miss Congeniality | Cynthia Lee Fontaine |
| Companion show | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked! |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Logo TV |
| Original release | March 7 – May 16, 2016 |
| Season chronology | |
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]
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.
Contestants
(Ages and names stated are at time of contest)
| 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[a] | 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[b] |
| Cynthia Lee Fontaine | 34 | Austin, Texas | 10th Place |
| Dax ExclamationPoint | 31 | Savannah, Georgia | 11th/12th Place |
| Laila McQueen | 22 | Gloucester, Massachusetts |
Contestant progress
| Contestant | 1[4] | 2[5] | 3[6] | 4[7] | 5[8] | 6[9] | 7[10] | 8[11] | 9[12] | 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 | HIGH | 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 contestants were the runners-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 no critiques and was 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 that 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 final lipsync of the season.
Guest judges
Listed in chronological order:[13]
- 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
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 94 | 1 | "Keeping it 100!" | March 7, 2016 |
| 95 | 2 | "Bitch Perfect" | March 14, 2016 |
| 96 | 3 | "RuCo's Empire" | March 21, 2016 |
| 97 | 4 | "New Wave Queens" | March 28, 2016 |
| 98 | 5 | "Supermodel Snatch Game" | April 4, 2016 |
| 99 | 6 | "Wizards of Drag" | April 11, 2016 |
| 100 | 7 | "Shady Politics" | April 18, 2016 |
| 101 | 8 | "RuPaul Book Ball" | April 25, 2016 |
| 102 | 9 | "The Realness" | May 2, 2016 |
| 103 | 10 | "Grand Finale" | May 16, 2016 |
Future appearances
Cynthia Lee Fontaine returned on the ninth season as a surprise contestant to compete with the other 13 drag queens. She placed 10th overall.[14]
Chi Chi DeVayne and Thorgy Thor competed on the third season of All Stars. Thorgy placed 10th and Chi Chi placed 8th overall.[15]
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.[16]
Naomi Smalls competed on the fourth season of All Stars. She placed 3rd/4th overall with season 10 contestant Monique Heart.[17]
Derrick Barry competed on the fifth season of All Stars, placing 10th.[18]
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.
- ^ Lee, Stephan (March 8, 2016). "RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 premiere recap: Keeping It 100". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Lee, Stephan (March 15, 2016). "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: Bitch Perfect". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
episode3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Lee, Stephan (March 28, 2016). "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: New Wave Flashback". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race Episode recap: Season 8, Episode 5". Bland Canyon. April 4, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Sava, Oliver (April 11, 2016). "RuPaul's Drag Race journeys to Oz for a wonderful makeover challenge". Bland Canyon. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ "Shady Politics". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 8. Episode 7. April 15, 2016.
- ^ "RuPaul Book Ball". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 8. Episode 8. April 25, 2016.
- ^ "Grand Finale". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 8. Episode 9. May 9, 2016.
- ^ "Amy Sedaris, Marc Jacobs, Debbie Harry Tapped As Judges For "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 8".
- ^ "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.
