Sure, they can lip-sync the house down boots, Mama. But have you heard them sing? With a penchant for music, see your favorite Filipino drag queens live out their best pop girl fantasy.
These days, it is no longer unusual to hear a song that unapologetically and without filter talks about the queer experience. Sure, it may still be far and in between, or at times, shrouded in ambiguity, but when that beat drops and the chorus digs in, it is pandemonium on the dance floor. And at a time where truths are tirelessly threatened by tradition, it is both a thrill of triumph and an act of defiance to sing these anthems at the top of our lungs. Inherently anti-establishment, this infectious mix of passion and protest are definitive of queer culture, just ask mother herself, RuPaul.
Before she could work through her woos and “shante, shante, shante,” the mainstream consciousness of pop culture was disrupted by the pioneering efforts of Divine and La Cage Aux Folles, collectively flipping the bird and encouraging people to say, “I am what I am.” With RuPaul kicking her heels through the door with Supermodel (You Better Work), the world was since treated to the inching of diversity through the music of drag queens in the mainstream. From then on, she has helped carve out a space for queer artists like her to express themselves. And then take into account the platform she has built with the phenomenon that is RuPaul’s Drag Race, drag queens finally had more chances to leverage their dreams of becoming a full-fledged pop star. Needless to say, fantasy fulfilled.
With girl group challenges, Rusicals, and spitting bars in an iconic RuPaul track, music is deeply coded in the RuPaul’s Drag Race universe. In fact, it has become part and parcel of the Ru Girl package to come out with a single shortly after their time in the dominating force that is the search for the next drag superstar. From Manila Luzon’s Hot Couture, Bob the Drag Queen’s Purse First, and Alaska Thunderfuck’s Hieeee, and so much more, our playlists have quite frankly, never been the same.
Filipino Drag Queens In Music
While the likes of Courtney Act, Adore Delano, and Trixie Mattel have all enjoyed success in pop music, it certainly is not exclusive to the more liberal side of the world. With a thumping creative scene in the film that has run parallel to that of the rise of drag in the Philippines, several Filipino queens have made music as well. Even pre-Drag Race Philippines, Poison Wednesday’s Drag Cartel winners Minty Fresh (Fresh) and Marina Summers (I Have Arrived) have released singles in their efforts to expand their scope of entertainment.
The response was very much welcome, but without the machinery and lens of Drag Race, it was an affirmation limited only to the clubs and social media. Now, things would make a sharp turn for the best when in season one, episode three of the inaugural foray of the international franchise in the Philippines, the world was flung to its gratifying extremes with the release of Pop Off Ate. Coded as one of the best in Drag Race Multiverse, the definitive track gave the queens license to dabble in music.
After all, what is more Filipino than making music? If you think our queens can decimate a lip-sync, you have to hear them drop the mic with their live vocals. (For your reference, you can search for the performances of Viñas Deluxe and Maxie Andreson.)
Press Play, Ate
Beyond the small screens and streams, Pop Off Ate has become a runaway hit for both Pink Pussy Energy and Flexbomb Girls. It is de rigeuer at this point that when the presence of a Drag Race Philippines queen is spotted in a bar or at any gratifying moment, really, everyone literally pops off, ate. Now, this is not just limited to the lexicon of RuPaul’s Drag Race, because aside from the ear worm that is the self-titled soundtrack by Manila Luzon, the queens of Drag Den has produced a uniquely Filipino spin in the poetic, jeep-ready dragdagulan ditty, May Kapa.
Ask anyone hustling through the queer experience, and they will say, most likely in an exasperated tone that there is still a long way to go before we enjoy to live out our fundamental truths without judgment. However, if what we hear is any indication, there is still a lot to celebrate. No longer just relegated to pre-show warm-ups, concert front acts, or bar headliners, it is a joy to live at a time where Filipino drag queens are taking up space in music and stages here and all over the world. And it isn’t just for fodder, too, because these songs, despite being mostly produced to be played in the clubs, are heartfelt echoes of what it means to be queer. Pushing purpose to forefront of rhythm and lyrics, some have even taken to lending their voices to advocacies, such as in the EDSA 37 tribute that included Precious Paula Nicole, Brigiding, and Tita Baby.
While the list may be limited for now, as mounting such endeavors doesn’t come easy and cheap, it won’t be too long before more drag queens and queer artists flourish and be inspired to make music that will imprint itself in the uniquely Filipino identity. Whenever and whatever it may be, we will be here, listening and singing our hearts out, too.
