"Let's Change The Motherfucking World": Drag Divas Sasha Velour & Shangela On Global Stardom

"Let's change the motherfucking world!"

This was the rallying cry of RuPaul's Drag Race season 9 winner Sasha Velour as she accepted her crown after one of the most thrilling finales in the juggernaut show's herstory. And without question, the motherfucking world has most definitely been changed by drag. The hit reality show's influence has reached the highest heights of the pop culture zeitgeist. From the ever-growing list of catchphrases - "Halleloo!" "Miss Vannnnjie," and "Back Rolls?" to name only a few - to the veritable dictionary of drag-speak that has entered common parlance – YASSS KWEEN, you can tell the children, this is how it is done hunties, because the library is open, ockurrrrrr? *Tongue Pop* – the global popularity of the multi-Golden Globe-winning show has made international megastars of its alumni. And fortunately for Drag Race fans (and let's face it, who isn't?), the show's stars are more than happy to bring their talents to the people, no matter how far away they are. We caught up with two of Drag Race's most idolised divas ahead of their upcoming solo sojourns Down Under.

Maxim Boon: Thank you for coming to Australia, I know Aussie Drag Race fans feel very lucky to have you here. Of course, you're both hugely successful in the States, you're TV personalities, so you could probably get away with not coming out to countries as far-flung as Australia. So, why is it that you still choose to tour your live performances so widely around the world?

Shangela: Well firstly, we are just so thankful to have fans around the world and the best way to connect with them is to come to where they are. The other part’s a little selfish. I grew up in a little town called Paris, Texas. And when I was a kid I would see planes flying over my house and I’d look up and think, ‘One day that’s going to be me on there.’ So now, to be able to travel the world, it’s an amazing feeling to know that those dreams I had as a kid have come true. I mean, it’s a real hustle, I'm not gonna lie. Right now, I’m on a 170-city tour – this is city 107. But we just do our work and have the energy to keep going because we are getting to live a dream, you know. It’s what we love to do and we’re so thankful for that.

Sasha: And as much as we love being on TV, looking fabulous and doing fabulous photoshoots where we’re perfectly styled, drag is at its best when it’s live, when it’s happening in real time. And it’s not just about performing. It’s also about meeting people, getting to swap stories and learn about people and laugh with them, in person, face to face… even as terrifying as we look up close!

Before you were Shangela and Sasha, you were DJ and Alexander. Now, of course, the world knows you almost exclusively by your drag alteregos. Do you still feel a separation between your two identities, in and out of drag?

Shasha: I honestly don’t think of myself as divided entities anymore. It all feels like a fluid spectrum depending on how corseted or covered in sequins and makeup I am. The truth is, that always in my life I was trying to create an existence where I would get to express this Velourian side of myself. I just never imagined that doing it on this scale would ever be possible. Many of us who grew up in the ‘90s, no one was telling us that we could be successful as cross-dressers. So I tried to be an actor and act in boy roles, I tried to be a graphic designer and get my artistic juices satisfied that way. But this way – being Sasha – feels like the ultimate culmination of my whole life, of all my passions, as a performer, as an artist, as a person.

Shangela: And because we are in and out of drag on RuPaul’s Drag Race, as much as it would be nice to think we have this Superhero persona where no one’s gonna clock us if we’re Clark Kent, if you see what I’m saying. Oh honey, no! They clock us no matter what we’re wearing, no matter how big my shades are. The fans will still find you! But that’s also amazing, to be honest. I think Sasha and I have very similar experiences while we’ve been on this journey to discover who we are as performers and as people, and right now I think I’m living my most valid truth, which is being in drag. And being Shangela has really helped me conquer this barrier of fear I always had as a boy, going into auditions, to read for roles. When you’re a drag queen, honey, you can’t have a lot of fear. You get so accustomed to people whispering or turning or whatever, so you lose a lot of that self-consciousness and learn how to live your most authentic truth. Which for me is in a pair of heels and wig.

Shasha: In fact, I think we construct personas for ourselves that can live fearlessly. Our drag is our armour, it’s our protection.

Shangela: Halleloo!

Shangela, your ascent as a drag star is unique in that you went on Drag Race just a few months after getting into drag. You had to learn a lot of your craft in the public gaze, already a celeb. How has that influenced you as an artist as your career has gone from strength to strength?

Shangela: It put a greater responsibility on me. And to be honest, I put that on myself. Because I was so new when I walked onto the set of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 2, I was new, but I didn’t feel it. The thing is, if you look at me on season 2, what I saw was, ‘Oh honey, she came to win! I am a professional! There is no way I ain’t taking that $20,000 home!’ But then seeing the show when it aired, I was like, ‘Oh, honey. Oh no.’ And even being there, on that first challenge, I suddenly realised there was a lot I had to learn! But I knew I could work hard, and I knew that I could chase something if I wanted to badly enough. So I made it my mission to catch up, and catch up fast. Because being the girl who failed twice on Drag Race, I didn’t want that to be my legacy. So I got it together, I asked a lot of questions, I watch a lot of videos. I became, truly, a professional!

Sasha, since winning the show, you've delivered some truly stunning looks through collaborations with incredible independent designers, especially from your native New York. Why have you made collaboration such a visible part of your reign as a winning Drag Race queen?

Sasha: Drag is a collaborative art form. It has to be a reflection of a whole community. For most of my drag career before Drag Race, I was mostly solitary in all my efforts. And drag has also been, at times, a way for me to process and deal with very personal sadness and trauma. There were times in my early drag career when it was the only thing that gave me any optimism. It’s always been something that has given me hope and joy, but since winning the show, I’ve been able to share that joy through collaborations. So, I wanted to make my reign a celebration of the Brooklyn drag scene and all the amazing designers and artists who are part of that. And the way in which I collaborate with people, it’s a true exchange. So everything I wear still feels very Sasha Velour. 

Your winning lip sync for the crown performance on the season 9 finale has become the stuff of Drag Race legend, especially the now iconic "rose petal ruveal." What is the secret of the perfect lip sync stunt?

Sasha: Practice, for a start! I practiced with the rose petals over and over in my hotel room. I only had a very small number of silk rose petals to work with, so I had to scrabble around on my hands and knees after every rehearsal and stuff them back into that wig! So practice, that’s important. But also, anything you do in a lipsync – as with any kind of performance – has to tell a story. What you’re wearing, how you move your face; everything, including the reveal moment, has to come from the emotions you’re trying to convey. That’s my idea of the perfect lip sync.