RuPaul's Drag Race: Ranking Our Fierce Asian Queens

Over the course of eight seasons, two seasons of All Stars, and an upcoming ninth season, RuPaul’s Drag Race has been a platform for nine incredibly fierce queens of Asian descent to grace the stage. This is the ultimate list, ranking these incredible queens.

9. VIVIENNE PINAY (Season 5)

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Vivienne is definitley one of the prettiest queens the show has ever had, but that’s pretty much all there was to her. In a season full of large personalities she really fell in the background. She was only on four episodes and half of her entire run of the show was full of lackluster performances. This eventually led her to the iconic double elimination that was the first in Drag Race herstory. She’s one of the more forgettable queens and doesn’t shine as bright as our other queens. This is why she is last on the list.

8. KIMORA BLAC (SEASON 9)

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Now I know this isn’t really that fair, Season 9 hasn’t even started yet. However already based on what we know of Kimora, I don’t know how she’ll be able to surprass the other queens on this list. She is pure sex and a bombshell without a doubt. She’s an attractive queen and an attractive man, and don’t get me wrong she actually seems like a sweetheart, but her sex appeal might be pretty much all she has going for her. I don’t see her necessarily being strong in acting challenges or challenges that require quick wit. When it comes to lip syncing, which I something I thought she’d be strong at, her performance videos online don’t quite live up the expectation of what you’d assume she’d deliver when you look at her. I also don't know if she'll give us iconic catchphrases, but I could just be highly underestimating her. I am excited to see more from her, and she may jump a spot or two, but for now I stand firm in my decision to keep her in this position.

7. JIGGLY CALIENTE (Season 4)

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Jiggly was such a fun part of Season 4. She brought all the drama to the main episodes and Untucked. Her inner saboteur was alive and kicking during her time on the show which made for an interesting storyline. As well as her relationships with the other queens was always entertaining to watch. Jiggly is a queen that the fandom loves, however the problem with Jiggly is that during her time on the show, she was really rough around the edges. She lacked the polishment and confidence that always makes a queen a great contender on the race. She also seemed somewhat clueless at times, which are all reasons why we love her. But even her personality couldn’t save her from her inevitable elimination. She was never really a contender, however we’ll always remember her for her iconic RuPocalyptic couture, and how when asked if we can call her Jiggly, the answer is always yes.

6. GIA GUNN (Season 6)

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Gia Gunn is STUN. Gia was one of those queens who didn’t necessarily slay the competition aspect of the show. She was constantly safe which eventually caught up to her the Snatch Game episode where she screwed up, landed in the bottom, and got sent home. However what Gia was impeccably strong at, and what makes Gia an icon in the franchise still to this day, is everything that came out of her mouth. In only the four episodes she was on, she gave us enough material to be constantly quoting her today, and inspiring other queens like Alaska to make music videos containing all of her memorable moments. She brought all the life you needed to the first half of that season, and is ultimately a tremendously fierce queen. From every iconic moment she delivered, it makes you wonder how much more she would’ve given had she been on the show longer. Let this fresh tilapia feel her oats for godssake.

5. ONGINA (Season 1)

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Ongina is one of the queens who is unamoyously respected by the Drag Race community. She is extremely talented, creative, and has an incredibly lovable personality. She’s most known for her heart wrenching moment on the show sharing her status of being HIV positive. She was actually a huge contender on the first season, only to have one slip up in an episode where most everybody else did well, leaving RuPaul no choice but to eliminate her. A decision Ru had a hard time making. She falls directly in the middle of the list because of her talent and legacy, but falls short of the top four due to their popularity amongst the community today.

4. KIM CHI (Season 8)

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Kim Chi was an absoulte gem on Season 8. Her artistry is undeniable, always turning look after look. And what she lacked in dancing and lip syncing skills, she made up for with her personality. A perfect example was in Bitch Perfect how she impeccably disguised her lack of dance ability with her quirky character choices. Every single week on the runway, Kim Chi delivered a different creation. A look that was perfectly thought out and executed from head to toe. On top of that, she has a remarkable quick witted personality and a heart of gold. It’s no wonder she was a runner up on Season 8, a season that was almost hers to win. With her social media prescence, and the work she continues to do today, Kim Chi is one of those queens that Drag Race was lucky to have on their show. She falls just short of the top three, because they’re ultimatley Drag Race legends that surpass her.

3. MANILA LUZON (Season 3 + All Stars 1)

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Manila Luzon is what you call a TP, a total package. When it came to the runway, she delivered impeccable creativity and beautiful looks that were always well executed. She was also able to perform in the various performance challenges her season had, including acting etc. And when she fell into the bottom, she was able to deliver a flawless lip sync to the iconic MacArthur’s Park. She is truly an impressive queen making it all the way to the final two, and to this day people say that she deserved to win Season 3. She was also robbed in All Stars, but so were the majority of those queens. However, I almost understand what made Manila Luzon just short of winning the crown, and what makes her just short of the top two spots on this list despite all of her talents. The only problem is, I can’t quite put it into words. I think it might be a certain edge, or a particular type of charm that she lacks, but that’s not even exactly the way I’d like to describe it. Other than that, Manila is truly a walk of art and a flawless drag queen that the viewers of the show all love and respect.

2. JUJUBEE (Season 2 + All Stars 1)

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Here’s the thing with Jujubee. She never won any challenges in Season 2, and only one challenge on her season of All Stars. She lip synced three times in Season 2, and her team had to lip sync an additional three times in All Stars. Her performance level in the race was not really up to par. However, she still made it to third place in both seasons though. Why is that? Jujubee is a queen who proves that sometimes, personality can be absoultley everything you need to take you incredibly far. All I can say is that there’s just something about Jujubee. Despite lack of challenge wins, and number of times she fiercely lip synced, no one can deny that she is an absolute goddamn superstar. It’s just a sparkle that lives inside of her. A sparkle that we all love to see over and over. She's also one half of one of the most iconic Drag Race dynamic duos with Raven. The effortless sparkle she has is what makes Jujubee one of the most lovable queens and one the most famous and popular queens in the Drag Race world. No other reason for being the number two spot, other than Juju just being Juju, and I’m confident that we'd almost all agree. BONUS: Still my favourite Drag Race related clip.

1. RAJA (Season 3)

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So this might be a controversial decision, but I believe Raja is the number one Asian queen to be on Drag Race. First and foremost, she is the first and only Asian queen to ever win the show. Why? Because Raja is a mother f*cking superstar. Her creativity is impeccable. When it came to the runway, she was able to create an incredibly well thought out look every single time, even if she used tulle or not. It wasn’t always about the design, but the amazing creative force behind the creation. To add to that, she is also incredibly intelligent and well spoken. She knew how to interact with the judges and the other queens to take her all the way to the crown. She never took herself too seriously, and always stayed true to what she believes in. She’s also just a natural born leader which is a common trait I found amongst most of the winners. Bebe, Sharon, Bianca and Bob particulary shared that same element with Raja, in being that they were the queen bees of their season. Raja is a legend and one of the queens closest enough to being up to par with RuPaul. She’s the winner on my list. Although, a huge honourable mention goes out to the secret Asian queen of Season 7.