So, after the crazy and fan favourite season that is Drag Race Philippines, the world has been patiently waiting for season 3 to bring us a new cast of fun, entertaining, and confident queens who aren’t afraid to create drama while bringing the creme de la creme of runways. Angel, a delicate little sparkly queen from Manila, is out first, followed by Versex, an edgy IT girl who walked New York Fashion Week. John Feddallage is out next, following the American trend, as he’s from San Francisco, California, decked out as a gothic bride who’s famous for her social media content. Rolling out in blades of glory is the pink diva Myx Chanel, who describes her aesthetic as Hentai-adjaent fashion model. Age is just a number, and we have the fabulous Tita Baby, the group’s designated auntie, who doesn’t want to be boxed in as the comedy queen – but she’s already got everyone laughing, so hopefully she defies labels.
Kihanna, a walking piece of art, arrives next, emerging in blue, leaving a lasting impression and revealing she’s still relatively new to drag as she’s a pandemic queen. J Quinn is next out, declaring herself a K-pop fan and the A-pop idol of the Philippines, because she’s Filipino, part Japanese, and was raised in a Chinese-centric family. Yudipota is an alien high concept fashionista who has made quite the impression dividing the room on her outfit. Arriving next is Zymba Ding, the drag daughter of season 2’s Bridging, and I’m sure she’ll be carrying a bunch of expectations placed on her shoulders. Popster Bench is known as a Sarah Gerenomi impersonator, and whilst I’m not sure who she is, the queens are incredibly excited to see her. Another face some are excited to see is Maxi, who is Angel’s sister and a familiar face having been on Queens of the universe.
With what appears to be the last of cast out, a pink goddess emerges, appearing from behind a masquerade ball mask to reveal herself: its guest judge, Jolina Magdangal-Escueta, which makes the room erupt and toss, yes, toss her in the air. I have never seen a reaction like this to a guest judge on the show, and I’m here for it. Before the main judge and host Mama Pao appears, we get a message from Mother Ru encouraging them to stay strong and go viral.
As if making a first impression on each other isn’t daunting enough, the queens are challenged to perform in the Vogue ball and get their catwalk moment in front of the Season 1 and 2 queens. Back out are Bridging, Vinas Deluxe, Arizona Brandy, Bernie, Minty Fresh and M1ss Jade So to judge who is fierce or a flop. Everyone does a good job, but Angel really makes a great impression by chucking her body around like a rag doll. However, the winner of the challenge is Kihanna, who wins 20,000 pesos.
The queen’s first maxi challenge of the season is they must create a one-minute viral dance and song challenge. With the rise in TikTok and Instagram reels, it seems fitting to showcase their brand as their introduction to the fans. They have just five minutes to film their concept and idea. Having won the challenge, Kihanna gets an extra five minutes to work on her idea. It’s an interesting collection of ideas and approaches that it’s hard to see how they will look in post production.
As to be expected, there are many fantastic and bright personalities that are going to keep viewers entertained this season. Gathering in the werkroom, the conversation turns to who they think is the most extra, and Versex thinks Kihanna’s personality is cringeworthy and over the top, to which some agree. Versex saying all this whilst sprawled across the tables centre stage has somewhat of an irony. Later, she goes on to say once again that Kihanna’s sense of humour is also second hand cringe. Which leads to tears from Kihanna, and rightfully so, perhaps this is all a cultural thing, as to me, I see no difference in the noise to their western counterparts. But perhaps a future story arc is in the making.
Time for the mainstage, and Mama Pao’s outfit is sensational. One thing the Philippines queens know how to do besides bring the personality is the looks. This week’s guest judges include KaladKaren, the first trans news anchor in Philippines history, drag race alumni Jiggly Caliente, Jon Santos, and the pink princess from the beginning Jolina Magdangal-Escueta. As with most opening episodes for premiere seasons, the category is hometown realness, where we get a glimpse into the queen’s home city.
Some choose festivals, whilst others go for the famous historical route which is interesting. For me, John, Angel, and Kihanna sparkle and shine with various concepts that stuck out. It’s time to see how the viral reels play out, and the first watch is Popstar Bench, a blazing siren of sound and flashy colours that make zero sense. But as the time goes on, the other girls do a great job of showcasing their brand with some of the reels that could easily go viral. Six of the queens are told to step forward and are declared safe. With the remaining contestants on stage, it’s revealed they are all in fact the top six for this week.
We love a twist to kick off the season, don’t we? Critiques are positive and a little emotional with Zymba Bing talking about father’s death and her struggles thus far. Kianna and Zimba Bing are the top two queens, which means no elimination for the first episode. But to lip sync for the win, the duo are to perform to “Peude Ba?” by Maymay Entrata (feat Viktoria). It was hard to keep an eye on one specific queen, which is a sign of a great lip sync. Both started the season strong, and already brought an electrifying lip sync, which I hope the others can carry out throughout the season. There can only be one, and the winner is Kihanna, who has had a fantastic episode hot off her vogue win earning her 20,000 pesos and her second cash tip of 80,000 pesos – considering how belittled she was by the other, I believe karma is real.
So what did we think of the season’s premiere? Do you have a favourite? Drag Race Philippines airs Wednesdays at 4am PT // 7am ET, worldwide on WOWPresents Plus.
