Arriving with a strong pedigree and staunch Southern roots, Sam Star rose to the Top Four on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17. A combination of raw talent and stunning and classic runway looks made Sam Starr a true competitor this season. Star and I caught up recently to chat about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17, the characters she got to inhabit during the season and the what it’s like suddenly being a “Star” in every sense of the word!
Michael Cook: You were a breath of fresh air on RuPaul’s Drag Race this year, and delivered the quintessential pageant girl consistently, but also learned so much about yourself in the process it seems. With the season in the rearview mirror, how do you look at your Drag Race experience now?
Sam Star: It’s incredible. I guess I still kind of feel like it was all a dream to be honest. I mean, I know it’s real at this point, but I can’t believe that I had the opportunity. And I don’t think that I’ve been able to wrap my head around the fact that I did it, but that I did it so well and I am proud of what I was able to do. I know that Drag Race is something that none of us have ever experienced before, so you could be the fiercest drag queen out there, but Drag Race might not be something that you could succeed. The fact that I was able to make it to the end and be proud of what I did is incredible.
MC: What do you think your rose and thorn are of your entire RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 experience?
SS: My favorite part was getting to do it, getting to meet these people that I have looked up to for so long, getting to have RuPaul & Michelle (Visage) and these people that I have loved forever say that I am a star and I chose the right path for my life. I think as queer people we’re not sure if we made the right choices for ourselves and pursued the right things, so that was my favorite part probably. My least favorite thing is probably …it is very hard to wrap your head around the fact that everyone in the world has an opinion about you. That has been a little strange, of course it’s been amazing to get all of the love. For people across the country to say anything about you and not know anything about you has been a little strange. I have taken it in stride and it has just been incredible over all.
MC: Someone very wise and famous once told me that you don’t believe the best that you hear about yourself and you don’t believe the worst.
SS: Yes, exactly. I’m definitely taking it in that aspect for sure.
MC: One very charming aspect about your Drag Race journey is that you truly surprised yourself a few times with what you were able to accomplish, including the discovery of how funny you were!
SS: Yes, honestly! I mean, I guess I always felt that I was funny to myself, but the fact that everyone else thought I was funny has been amazing.
MC: It was stunning for so many of us to hear that your first exposure to Cher was Burlesque, but you truly made your interpretation of Cher your own and wonderful!
SS: Thank you! I’m just a victim of being young, that truly was my first introduction to her. Of course, through time I went back and watched everything that Cher has ever done; her show was so incredible! We need a show like Cher used to have, just for the costumes! I want Bob Mackie to dress somebody honey!
MC: Impersonating someone like Cher is scary enough, but then taking on Kim Gravel for Snatch Game, was that equally as intimidating?
SS: Honestly, no. When we did our walk throughs with RuPaul & Alyssa Edwards, they both were so excited to see that I had brought Kim Gravell. They both were fans of hers so as soon as I heart that from them, i was like “Honey, I am doing this”! Kim is someone that I’ve always loved and she makes me laugh. She’ll just say anything and I’ll be dying laughing. So I thought she was just the perfect Snatch Game character. Especially for me, she’s just from Georgia, that’s just one state over!
MC: Speaking of, how do your Southern roots inform and influence your performances as a whole?
SS: I am inspired by the fabulous Southern women that I’ve been around, like Dolly Parton and Shania Twain, they always inspired me so much growing up. Besides that, I think drag is my art and the fact that its all just dress up and its all fun and its all character work in a way, as a theater kid, I always just loved to become someone else. I think drag is the perfect way to put on a fantasy. I don’t always have to be southern inspired, I think drag allows you to be anything which is amazing.
MC: Who also could predict that you would become the sudden thirst trap of the season also?!
SS: Isn’t; that crazy?! It’s so wild, I’m grateful! I have been a victim of being a little bit boy crazy in my life, so watch out; Sam is on the prowl! Sam is coming to a city near you (laughs)!
MC: You are also a diverse and talented live singer, especially with your single “I Got It From Her” which features a couple really special guest stars. Is music something you always saw in your future?
SS: Definitely. I’ve always loved to sing, i think that’s what drew me to musical theater when I was a kid. So I definitely have always loved to sing and I think the fact that people are appreciating my singing is amazing and I hope that it will continue. I want to release more things and i would love to do Broadway one day. Any way that I can show off my talent that am given, I am grateful for.
MC: Well now, the question truly is, in the spirit of the song, what did you get from your Mom, the dynamic Sassy Star and what did you get from Trinity The Tuck?
SS: I would say that from my Mom, she has taught me a lot of humility. She always reminded me to stay grounded and don’t get too big of a head, even with all of my success. Remind myself where you come from and all the hard work that I’ve had to put into this. Trinity I would say, she has given me something similar but she has also given me so much confidence. I think that the minute that she approached me to adopt me, it was like the clouds opened up and the birds started singing. It appeared that I had made all of the right decisions in my life to have someone who I looked up to for so long see something in me. It just gave me such a newfound confidence.
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