Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical
| "Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical" | |
|---|---|
| RuPaul's Drag Race episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 12 Episode 7 |
| Original air date | April 10, 2020 |
"Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical" is the seventh episode of the twelfth season of the American reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race, which aired on VH1 on April 10, 2020. The episode has contestants perform a musical about Madonna for the main challenge. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Winnie Harlow serve as guest judges, alongside regular panelists RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and Carson Kressley.
During the challenge, contestants are required to record their own vocals to Madonna-inspired songs, then dance and lip-sync on the main stage as they embody Madonna at different points in her career. Visage assisted with the vocal recording process alongside producers Erik Paparozzi and David Benjamin Steinberg; choreography was provided by Jamal Sims.[1]
The runway theme was "Night of 1,000 Michelle Visages".[2] RuPaul named Gigi Goode the winner. Brita and Heidi N Closet placed in the bottom two. After lip-syncing to Madonna's "Burning Up", Brita was eliminated from the competition.
Production
[edit]The episode originally aired on April 10, 2020.
Sims has appeared on the show several times. He was a guest judge and choreographer on the eighth season's "Bitch Perfect" (2016), the twelfth season's "Viva Drag Vegas" (2020), and the thirteenth season's "Condragulations" and "Social Media: The Unverified Rusical" (2021). Additionally, he was solely guest choreographer on the seventh season's "Glamazonian Airways" (2015) and the thirteenth season's "Gettin' Lucky" (2021). On the sixth season (2021) of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, Sims was a guest judge and choreographer on "Halftime Headliners" and solely a guest choreographer on the finale "This Is Our Country".
Results
[edit]| Queen | Madonna Era | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Gigi Goode | Unapologetic Madonna | WIN |
| Crystal Methyd | Enlightened Madonna | SAFE |
| Jan | Early Madonna | SAFE |
| Jaida Essence Hall | Sexy Madonna | SAFE |
| Sherry Pie | Movie Star Madonna | SAFE |
| Widow Von Du | Femmepire Madonna | SAFE |
| Jackie Cox | Boy Toy Madonna | SAFE |
| Heidi N Closet | Madonna Forever | BTM |
| Brita | Cone Bra Madonna | ELIM |
Lip sync
[edit]| Episode | Contestants | Song | Eliminated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Brita | vs. | Heidi N Closet | "Burning Up" (Madonna) |
Brita |
- The contestant was eliminated after their third time in the bottom.
Reception
[edit]Paul McCallion of Vulture.com rated the episode 4 out of 5 stars.[2] Bustle's Kayla Blanton wrote, "If next season gets a Rusical, this one will be hard to top."[3] Out's Mikelle Street published a review of the episode called "Drag Race's Madonna Rusical Was One of the Best in Herstory".[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "The rigga morris is real as RuPaul's Drag Race takes on "Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical"". TV Club. 11 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
- ^ a b McCallion, Paul (2020-04-11). "RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: Get Into the GRuve". Vulture.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
- ^ "A Breakdown Of All The ICONIC Madonna Looks In The 'Drag Race' Season 12 Musical". Bustle. 11 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
- ^ "'Drag Race's Madonna Rusical Was One of the Best in Herstory". Out. 2020-04-11. Archived from the original on 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-04-11.
