With the ball challenge, a design challenge, an acting challenge and the Rusical under his belt, RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16 had one more staple to offer fans – the Snatch Game.
On Friday's episode (which aired on February 23), the nine remaining queens went through the classic Drag Race gauntlet, as Roo charges them to do their best celebrity impressions in one Race game-inspiring show with a very simple rule at its center: “Make me laugh”.
Taking to the Snatch Game stage, Sapphira Cristál wowed Ru with their incredible take on Godfather of Soul James Brown, while Plane Jane took their second challenge win for a raucous impersonation of Serbian pop phenomenon Jelena Karleuša. Meanwhile, Morphine Love Dion couldn't steal the laughs as con artist Anna Delvey, while original character Xunami Muse, the gold tooth fairy, found nothing but crickets under Ru's pillow.
Lip-synching to Whitney Houston's perennial classic 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody', Morphine and Xunami teamed up to create an unforgettable reality TV moment. Dancing with (rather than against) each other, the pair lived up to the promise of Houston's hit song. But when the song ended, only one could remain – Ru eased Morphine's pain by holding her for one more week while the Xunami wave crashed to the shore for the last time.
Below, Advertising sign chats with Xunami about her performance in the Snatch Game, her cooperative lip sync and why she refused to be bothered with constant “safe” placements.
What has been your experience watching yourself on TV in recent weeks?
It's kind of an out-of-body experience, to be honest – I've only watched each episode once because I can't deal with it any other way. It's interesting to see myself in this world, and living here now with all the opportunities and all the things I have to do now, and seeing the fans in all their different states. It's really cool!
During this season, you have become his unofficial hostess Unstucknow and forever known to us all as The Afters of Xunami.
[Laughs.] Girl, that was my favorite thing on the show, no lie. It felt iconic.
I like what you got your safe placements and let yourself have fun when the time comes Unstuck — why do you think you reacted like that, where others arrived very stress about it?
It's definitely a combination of things. Even though it didn't look like it, deep down I was giving it Arthur fist meme, you know what I mean? You always want to excel, and if it was up to any of the girls, they'd win every episode, obviously. But, I couldn't be bothered to be safe every time for a few reasons. it didn't mean I did any harm, and it meant I lived another week to show another glimpse. No matter the situation, I will always focus on the positive side of it. It came out of that, and I'm just really happy to be there.
Was there a challenge in particular where you felt you should have been placed higher?
Oh, girl. I felt I could have been high for the ball and it can for SNL challenge. But really, it was the girl group challenge. I had a really great week that week, and if it had been criticized individually instead of groups, I feel like I could have been up there. So that's part of it – going through this experience, being safe doesn't mean you did anything wrong. It's a big cast, and a lot of these girls are insanely talented. As long as I felt like I was showing my attraction to the best of my ability and enjoying it, then it was a success. Getting to watch it now, I'm happy with what I gave, completely.
Fans know you are the adopted drag daughter of season 13 and All stars 8 contestant Kandy Muse. Did Kandy give you any advice before you left for filming?
The main thing he told me was to have fun and make it my own. Obviously, in your mind, you're going to win that crown and $200,000. But he really said, “Remember to have fun and make your mark.” And you know what, I had so much fun on this show. There was a lot that wasn't shown, but looking at what was shown, you could tell I was having a ball the whole time. Every moment, you couldn't tell me I wasn't the on Drag Race.
In this episode, we also get to the much anticipated – and for some queens, dreaded – Snatch Game. You chose to play an original character, the gold tooth fairy. What made you decide to go for something original rather than classic?
Let's get into it. The Snatch Game is my least favorite challenge on the show because it is so difficult. I can't stress enough how hard it is to play the Snatch Game — being fast and in the moment as a completely different character is a difficult skill, and that's why those who do well in the game continue to be so successful. But, I wanted to approach it as best I could. For years, I auditioned for this show and cast Naomi Campbell and Cardi B and people like that, and I never felt like it worked!
So when I was cast, I said, “What if I do an original character? That's how I'll stand out.” I was thinking how Trinity [the Tuck] and Yvi [Oddly] they did their versions of fictional characters like the Boogeyman or the Devil [on All Stars 7] and made them completely their own. But it turns out I bit off way more than I could chew, girl!
Did you have backup characters ready in case the Gold Tooth Fairy didn't work out?
i would have done Celia Cruz — and you know what, me must they've done Celia Cruz. For me it would be all about the “azúcar”, girl! Screaming “azúcar” alone would keep me safe this week!
You and Morphine ending at the bottom led to one of the best lip syncs of the season. When I finished I was shocked by this Drag Race I never had “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” as a lip sync song, I couldn't stop watching the two of you turn the show into a group dance. What was going through your mind when you decided to dance with Morphine instead of against her?
I think it was the familiarity, being in that moment with someone who is actually my friend. We did shows together, we were friends, and there's something about playing with your girl where you just want to bounce off each other. There was this really natural thing between us, and I felt it right then and there. Like, I didn't want to lip-sync with my girl — I didn't want to lip-sync period! But, once I was at the bottom with her, it was like, “Oh, okay. We'll do that in a moment.”
One last thing before you go — what music have you been listening to lately?
To be honest, the song I had on repeat is my new track with Kandy Muse, which I will be premiering live at the Love Ball with Shea Couleé, Luxx Noir London, Tayce, Monét X Change and LaLa Ri, hello ! It's called “It's Giving C–t” and I think it should be ready to stream by March 1st and we'll do it live first. I'm so excited about it, I've just been glued to it all day.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/drag-race-star-xunami-muse-snatch-game-interview-1235616105/
