Mother Ru perches behind the judge’s table, hair as high as her spirits, eyes shifting between two drag queens who have “f****** it up,” as the iconic drag legend also says. It’s the bottom two portion of Rupaul’s Drag Race, and Ru’s voice softly says, “The time has come….for you to lip sync…for..you…life.” The drama! The smudged eyeliner! The wigs bound to fly off!
At the end of every episode of Rupaul’s Drag Race, two queens duke it out with only their lips and killer dance moves to show they deserve to stay and win the gayest crown of all.
Of course, some lip syncs prove to be forgettable as queens sashayed away, but there are ten that bring the house down and leave Ru either showing off her pearly whites or crying the tears of an emotional drag queen. So start your engines because the countdown starts…now!
10. “Shake Your Love” performed by Jujubee and Pandora Boxx
Two comedy queens Jujubee and Pandora Boxx competing offers some hilarity as Jujubee spastically plays an imaginary synthesizer to the beat of Debbie Gibson’s “Shake Your Love” that has Ru cackling.
9. “Cold Hearted” performed by Alyssa Edwards and CoCo Montrese
This was it. The lip sync everyone had been waiting for. The dueling queens, after too many catfights to count, stood on stage, ready to fight for their spot. Although Alyssa released a spinning jump split onto the world, it was CoCo’s ultra-precise mouth movements that sent Alyssa home.
8. “My Lovin’” performed by Raven and Nicole Paige Brooks
Nicole Paige Brooks from Atlanta, Georgia never stood a chance against the sultry darkness of Raven who fights to stay by pointing out all the other queens, lip syncing “never gonna get it.”
7. “Whip My Hair” performed by Roxxxy Andrews and Alyssa Edwards
It’s obvious why this was the first time in Drag Race history that Ru kept two queens: Roxxxy’s tear-away wig and Alyssa’s neck-breaking hair whippin’.
6. “Straight Up” by Raja and Carmen Carerra
As Alexis Mateo says, “This is just soft porn…it’s kinda hot.” The two sexiest queens from Season 3 strip away nearly everything to “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul and roll around as LGBTQ American’s sexualities were confused.
5. “Dancing On My Own” by Raven and Jujubee
In one of the most emotional lip syncs ever, this performance had best friends Raven and Jujubee misty-eyed and holding on to each other. I’ll dance with you girls.
4. “Natural Woman” by Latrice Royale and Kenya Michaels
Who better to lip sync to the great queen of soul, Aretha Franklin, than Latrice Royale? Kenya should just have hid in fear.
3. “MacArthur’s Park” by Manila Luzon and Delta Work
View the lip sync here.
Two words: eye boggling. Manila Luzon used every part of her body to slay Delta Work in their performance of “MacArthur’s Park” by Donna Summer.
2. “Malambo No. 1” by Jinx Monsoon and Detox
Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-a-whoa! In an operatic song unlikely on Drag Race, Jinx Monsoon faced Detox, who is known for her tight lip syncing skills; however, Jink, with some grinding hips and loose jaws, sent Detox home.
1. “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” by Dida Ritz and The Princess
This, wigs down, deserves the top spot as Dida Ritz lights up the stage with the performance of a lifetime. Set to “This Will Be” by Natalie Cole, who is a guest judge on the episode, Dida lip syncs, and she lip syncs for her life using every inch of her body to feel up the song. You know it’s phenomenal when Rupaul gives you a handkerchief shake. I get chills every time.