Bonjour, Hi

This post contains spoilers for the first episode of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs. The World episode one.

Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs. The World premiered on WOW Presents Plus on Nov. 19 featuring nine queens from across the globe competing for the title of Queen of the Mothertuckin’ World and a cash prize of $100,000. All queens have appeared on previous seasons of drag race in their respective countries and are returning to fight for the crown once again. The show is hosted by ​​Brooke Lynn Hytes.

Competitors include Anita Wigl’it (Down Under Season 1), Icesis Couture (Canada Season 2), Ra’Jah O’Hara (US Season 11, All Stars Season 6), Rita Baga (Canada Season 1), Silky Nutmeg Ganache (US Season 11, All Stars Season 6), Stephanie Prince (Canada Season 2), Vanity Milan (UK Season 3), Victoria Scone (UK Season 3), and Kendall Gender (Canada Season 2).

In their original seasons, the queens landed anywhere from 11th place to winners. Icesis Couture won her season of Canada’s Drag Race, placing a large target on her back.

Victoria Scone was the first assigned female at birth (AFAB) queen to compete on any season of Drag Race. Her run on UK’s Drag Race was strong but sadly cut short after a knee injury in the first lip-sync battle. As an AFAB queen, she’s received lots of love on the internet, but in the first episode, she shared the struggles of not being accepted in the UK drag community.

In a conversation with her fellow UK queen, Vanity Milan, Victoria says, “In UK, it’s majority white cis men on every line-up. And I can only speak from my experience but as a lesbian, that even in the queer community, lesbians are almost forgotten about or not seen as part of it. I've noticed it more now that I've done Drag Race. I maybe won't be let into a venue straight away, and, I can see the change when someone notices, or says to them, ‘Oh, that's Victoria Scone.’ Then they treat me with respect.”

Ra’Jah O’Hara, Vanity Milan, and Silky Nutmeg Ganache took the challenge of calling out diversity in the drag community right out of the gate. While all the queens were meeting, they pointed out the representation of Black queens. For the episode’s challenge, contestants formed girl groups and wrote their own lyrics for the song “Bonjour, Hi.” In her chorus, Vanity Milan says, “Black queens are not the same so remember my name.”

It’s ironic that this comes a few weeks after the BBC accidentally posted a picture where they mixed up two Black queens from UK Season 4.

For the episode's challenge, the queens performed original lyrics and choreography as a pop girl group. Anita Wigl’it, Rita Baga, and Victoria Scone competed on Team Touché and delivered a hilarious performance. This trio are known for their over-the-top campiness and caused a fair share of laughs. Victoria Scone sang beautiful pop vocals that perfectly fit the challenge.

Icesis Couture, Stephanie Prince, and Kendall Gender were in the group the Maple She-rups. They had the weakest performance of the three groups but did turn out some tween dream girl group looks. I particularly loved Stephanie’s pastel space girl outfit. The choreography felt out of sync and as the judges pointed out, it seemed like Kendall Gender was always one step behind, literally.

Ra’Jah O’Hara, Vanity Milan, and Silky Nutmeg Ganache performed as Team S-R-V. They gave a high-energy performance and looked gorgeous while doing it. Compared to her team, Silky came up short in the dance department. She seemed in her head and lacked the ease of her sisters. Still, it’s hard to critique such a charismatic group.

For the runway, the category was Queen of the World. Anita Wigl’it’s lackluster runway look was saved by her stellar performance. Icesis Couture put her season 2 cash prize to good use and showed up the picture of ice queen opulence. Kendall Gender also channeled ice queen in her look but took it edgier, like she was about to go into battle. Stephanie showed her Filipino culture by wearing a clay pot down the runway.

Photo Courtesy of Icesis Couture

Photo Courtesy of Kendall Gender

Photo Courtesy Stephanie Prince

In the end, Rita Baga and Vanity Milan placed top two and were given the task to lip-sync for the win and then eliminate one of the bottom queens, Stephanie Prince or Kendall Gender. Vanity Milan delivered a fun performance while Rita Baga was her odd self. While I’ve always been a fan of her humor, when going against an amazing lip-sync queen like Vanity, Rita just looked awkward and out of place. Vanity won and eliminated Kendall Gender.

All queens wowed with either their performances or their runway looks. This is destined to be a strong season with a wonderful mix of comedy, fashion, and shadiness.