Here at Female First, we've got a lot of love for RuPaul's Drag Race, despite our recent musings on how the series could do with taking a couple of years out for a refresh. One of the biggest parts of the show is of course the lip sync battles which determine which competitors are sent packing, and who's allowed to remain in the competition and keep fighting for the crown.
Looking back over the years, there have been some brilliant queens going toe-to-toe, so we've dug through the archives and picked out our favourites! Here are the seven most memorable lip syncs in RuPaul's Drag Race herstory!
7. Jinkx Monsoon versus Detox, Malambo No. 1 (RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5)
Nobody expected Jinkx to give as good as she gave during our first (but certainly not last) entry from Season 5. Detox's friends expected her to sweep the floor with the competition, but the eventual winner of the season was absolutely incredible in bringing comedy and performance to a song which would have stumped many other queens.
6. Raven versus Jujubee, Dancing on My Own (RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Season 1)
The most emotional lip sync of all time came from iconic competitors Raven and Jujubee, as the best friends went up against one another in one of the only great moments to come out of All Stars Season 1. One of the best parts of Drag Race is seeing real connections and relationships be made, and this sums that up entirely.
5. Alyssa Edwards versus Coco Montrese, Cold Hearted (RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5)
In one of the closest-fought lip syncs in Drag Race herstory, long-time rivals Alyssa and Coco went head-to-head in a fight to stay in the competition, after both landing in the bottom two a total of three times. In the end, it would be Coco who emerged victorious, but Alyssa left leaving a legacy that many feel has been untouched to this very day.
4. Alyssa Edwards versus Roxxy Andrews, Whip My Hair (RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5)
She may not have been the most likeable contestant in Season 5, but Roxxy certainly gave us one of the season's biggest moments when she became the first queen in the series' past to remove her wig to reveal yet another wig laying underneath! Then came the emotional breakdown and ruveal that Roxxy had been left as a child by her mother at a bus stop, allowing the queen to work her way into the hearts of viewers.
3. Tatianna versus Alyssa Edwards, Shut Up and Drive (RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Season 2)
Thankfully, following the controversial rules that were put into play in the first All Stars run, things were changed so that contestants could compete individually in the All Stars seasons from then on. Alyssa and Tati gave us one of the best moments in a lip sync that would make Rihanna proud, plus that shady editing zoom straight in on Phi Phi's shocked face is one of the funniest things to happen at the end of a double Shante, you stay.
2. Sasha Velour versus Shea Coulee, So Emotional (RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9)
Without a doubt THE moment that won Sasha the crown, the Season 9 winner's performance of So Emotional set a higher bar than ever before, for the lip sync finale tournaments of the future. Shea was a frontrunner right up until this point, where her lack of ingenuity during the battle saw her sent packing in a move that sent ripples right through the fandom! Let's hope she can come back for an All Stars season in the future, and absolutely kill it!
1. Yvie Oddly versus Brooke Lynn Hytes, Sorry Not Sorry (RuPaul's Drag Race Season 11)
"Come on Cirque du Soleil!" There were props, stunts, tricks, poses - this lip sync had EVERYTHING. It says something that you can have 11 seasons of a reality show and STILL see something fresh, unique and exciting. Ru was so excited by the performance, that both Yvie and Brooke were kept in the competition, and would end up finishing as the top two of the entire season! Lip sync assassins of the past, move aside; there are two new ladies to compete alongside.
(Dis)Honourable mention: India Ferrah versus Mimi Imfurst, Don't Leave Me This Way (RuPaul's Drag Race Season 3)
Memorable, but for all the wrong reasons. "Drag is NOT a contact sport!" So echoed Ru's words across the globe when Mimi decided the best way to get attention from the judges was to literally lift up her competitor India from the ground, before the latter screamed to production, "Get her off of me!" From that moment on, Mimi's fate was sealed.
Tagged in RuPaul's Drag Race