10 Things RuPaul’s Drag Race Used To Do That It Should Bring Back

10 Things RuPaul’s Drag Race Used To Do That It Should Bring Back

RuPaul’s Drag Race has seen a fair share of changes over its 12-year run, but there are some things the show lost that it can and should bring back.

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Since its inception in 2009, RuPaul’s Drag Race has made many changes and adjustments. From losing the infamous “Vaseline filter” in season 1 to implementing the All Stars lipstick eliminations, the show has never stopped iterating on its tried-and-true format. It must be doing something right, because what was once a little show on a mostly unknown cable network has exploded into an international reality TV empire with a firm grasp on mainstream pop culture.

With 24 Emmy wins, there’s no doubt that Drag Race’s creative challenges and fierce queens have made for its fantastic success. Newer seasons bring more elaborate sets, fresh challenges, and surprising rule changes, and most of them have paid dividends. Yet sometimes it can be beneficial to go back to the basics. There are more than a few elements Drag Race has abandoned but that fans would like to see return.

Lifetime Makeup Supply

In seasons 2 through 4, the winners earned a lifetime supply of cosmetics, among other prizes. The sponsoring brand did change from NYX Cosmetics in season 2 to Kryolan Makeup in season 3, then back to NYX in season 4. After this future winners were awarded only a “collection” (a rather ambiguous term) or a year’s supply of makeup, which doesn’t sound quite as grand as a lifetime stupply. It is assumed that the change was due to the monetary prize upgrade from the $25,000 to $75,000 range to the current amount of $100,000. Regardless, seeing as makeup is such a crucial factor of success in Rupaul’s Drag Race, it would be nice to bring back the full lifetime supply incentive.

Photo Spread and Advertising Appearances

Another part of the grand prize used to be a photo spread or advertising opportunity for one of the sponsors of the show. The first and second seasons crowned Bebe Zahara Benet and Tyra Sanchez respectively, winning them photo spreads for Paper magazine and an eyewear advertising campaign among other things.

RELATED: The 10 Best RuPaul’s Drag Race Minichallenges

These prizes allowed for the crowned queens to gain wider exposure as America’s Next Drag Superstar. It’s true that, these days, the show itself gets a lot more attention, so the winners may not need these prizes to jump-start their careers. However, it was a great way to formally announce the newest winner, give them an influential position, and provide fans with another way to get to know them and their style.

Only The Top Two Lip-Sync For The Crown

Starting in season 10, the structure of the final lip-sync changed from just the top two queens to the top three. Including more than two performers at a time to sing the same song makes it harder for viewers to watch all nuances. Even a regular elimination lip-sync can be a lot to keep up with. Another example is the season 13 finale where the top four did a tournament-style lip-sync to see who came out on top. Even though this format had the queens lip-syncing two at a time, it was a lot going on in such a short amount of time. With the show’s popularity rising, it has become more intricate than needed. It’s rare in drag that less is more, but this is one of those cases.

Holi-Slay Television Special

A holiday special was a great way to highlight fan-favorite queens from the show in a cheerful and comedic way. Airing in 2018, the Holi-Slay Spectacular incorporated the fundamental structure of the show, but without the cutthroat energy.

All eight queens that appeared participated in a minichallenge and a “lip-sync off” in pairs. Like most holiday specials, it was made for the viewer’s pure enjoyment and ended with Michelle Visage and RuPaul lip-syncing for their own lives.

The Viva Mac Glam Challenge

RuPaul’s Drag Race has a plethora of wacky, creative, and theatrical challenges that the queens must master. One of the most iconic challenges from the show’s early days is the Viva Mac Glam Challenge, which put meaning behind a Mac Cosmetics campaign. The challenge appeared only in season 1, and it required the queens to make a campaign ad demonstrating in a heartfelt way why they are a Viva Glam Woman. This challenge represents one of the first times when RuPaul’s Drag Race addressed important issues, as it led to Ongina revealing her HIV-positive status. Challenges such as these allow viewers to know their favorite queens on a deeper level, and connect with them.

Challenge Winners Get Immunity

Immunity was a popular device in many reality TV competitions, and RuPaul’s Drag Race used until the middle of season 5. Challenge winners of the previous maxichallenge would be safe from eliminations no matter their performance in the current challenge. It was a great way to keep the excitement going, and even create drama between the other queens that were at a disadvantage. It all ended when the usually highly quotable RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Alyssa Edwards completely bombed her performance as Katy Perry in the “Snatch Game” episode after winning the previous week. After this, producers deemed it too unfair to grant immunity if it made more deserving queens sashay away.

Challenges Outside The Studio

Earlier seasons were less afraid of staging challenges outside the studio. In seasons 4, for example, the premiere episode had the queens venturing out in Hollywood to collect garment materials from back-alley trash cans. The only other season to feature the streets of Hollywood is season 2, in which the queens had to work for a crowd and become “starbootylicious” burlesque dancers. It forced the contestants operate in a public environment, which challenged them in unique ways that are lacking from the show nowadays.

Drag On A Dime Challenge

Introduced in season 1, the drag on a dime is a crucial RuPaul’s Drag Race challenge for demonstrating creativity and uniqueness. The conceit of the challenge is that the queens used cheap, found materials to construct runways looks. The challenge format used to be more of a staple on the show, with many different variations and themes. It allowed queens to put their skills to the test and show the judges to show their fashion skills without relying on designer outfits purchased outside of the show. In the most recent seasons of the American version (both seasons 12 and 13), there has not been a challenge similar to this. Rather, the infamous ball challenge has taken over as the most difficult to succeed in.

Split Season Premieres

There have only been two seasons during the Drag Race’s tenure that have done two separate season premiere episodes. Season 6 is the first season fans saw this happen, where seven of the 14 queens are featured in the first episode and the remaining seven debut in the second episode. The idea was reintroduced in season 13 with the same double premiere. There have been hundreds of queens throughout the years, so giving viewers a better chance to familiarize themselves with new queens is a great idea. It also gives exciting opportunities for the drama to rise and add some extra entertainment value.

Countdown To The Crown

“Countdown to the Crown” episodes were used as a buffer between the last challenge episode and the finale. They looked back at a season’s highs and lows and offered more details about the top queens up for the crown. Unfortunately, the countdown episodes have not been produced since season 7. World of Wonder now features some of the same content on its website in a small compilation of videos, but it is not the same. The countdown episodes were more than just filler. They were a great way for viewers to remember iconic moments from the season and reinforce their support of the top queens.

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