{"id":74337,"date":"2025-08-17T05:19:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T05:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/74337\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T05:19:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T05:19:08","slug":"rupauls-drag-race-onya-nurve-jewels-sparkles-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/74337\/","title":{"rendered":"‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Onya Nurve & Jewels Sparkles Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAfter 17 seasons, you would think a reality series would either lose some of their fanbase or settle into a formulaic structure\u2026 and the 10 Emmy nominations this year for\u00a0RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u00a0tells you that the MTV<\/a> series is not going to settle into anything. Season 17 winner Onya Nurve<\/a> and runner-up Jewels Sparkles<\/a> both started watching\u00a0Drag Race\u00a0at different points in their lives, though it served as an entry point into the world of drag for both queens. Their journeys may have started differently, but both queens rose to the challenges and gave it their all in every performance \u2013 whether that be the Snatch Game, a Lip Sync for Your Life, or an incredible finale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Jewels<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJewels Sparkles\u2019 Entrance Look<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMTV<\/p>\n

\n\tDEADLINE: What was your entry point into to\u00a0RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJEWELS SPARKLES: I remember I was in Puerto Rico at the time with my cousin \u2013 she\u2019s the cousin that you get down with. She let me play with her dolls and she let me play with her clothes and she was like that cousin for me. I think I was 16 and she was obsessed with\u00a0Drag Race\u00a0and she was telling me about it all week. She goes, \u201cfinale\u2019s this week, you need to watch it.\u201d And I was like, \u201cgirl, I\u2019m not into that. I have no interest in watching that.\u201d And she was like, \u201cno, no, no, no, you need to watch.\u201d She was trying to tell me something telepathically and I was not into it. I was like, \u201cgirl, I\u2019m not watching this gay stuff. I\u2019m not into it.\u201d And she was like, \u201cokay, well I\u2019m going to put it on and you\u2019re just going to have to sit there because it\u2019s coming on at eight o\u2019clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"RuPaul's<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tQueens in the Werk Room<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMTV<\/p>\n

\n\tI remember she put it on and I felt like this anxiety. She just clocked my shit. That\u2019s me. Everything just made sense. I remember feeling this feeling inside where everything that I was insecure about, everything that I had hated about myself, these people on TV were being celebrated for and they were getting paid for it and they had careers out of it and they were all so beautiful. And I was like, everything just makes sense now. That\u2019s what I\u2019m supposed to do. And yeah, here I am a few years later.<\/p>\n

\n\tONYA NURVE: I\u2019m 32 now, I first started watching\u00a0RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u00a0when I was 27, so really late in life. I just really honestly started watching the show and was obsessed with everything about it. I ended up dating someone at the time who was doing drag, and I went to their first show and that\u2019s how I first started getting into it. And the rest is herstory girl. I just literally started doing it and I didn\u2019t stop. I got into a drag competition and it\u2019s just been a part of my life for the past four years now.<\/p>\n

\n\tDEADLINE: What are some of the inspirations for your drag? I know you\u2019ve talked about bringing cultural influences into drag, do you have any specific inspirations?<\/p>\n

\n\tNURVE: Well, definitely my culture. Our cultures are deeply embedded inside of drag and outside of drag, it\u2019s just who we are thoroughly. So, it\u2019s really refreshing to see us both bring our cultures to the table when it comes to our drag. For me, also, theater is a big aspect of my drag. When I perform, I think about performances that I\u2019ve seen on stages and I see myself in a theatrical element. I love to bring the drama and the theatrics and my black culture to my drag for sure.<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: I mean, going back to what I was just saying, as a kid, I was always so fascinated with feminine things and girl toys, dolls, dress up stuff\u2026 anything that was hyper-feminine, I just gravitated towards. When I\u2019m thinking of drag looks and stuff, my mind always tends to go to things that my younger self would love and appreciate. Anything pink, really hyper-feminine, but also a little bit more of a mature version of that. Also, bringing my Latina culture is really important for me too because when I was watching the show growing up, the Latina queens, the queens who were so unapologetically like, \u2018yes, I am Latina, it\u2019s just who I am.\u2019 They were so inspiring to me and I saw my look in them.<\/p>\n

\n\tDEADLINE: I definitely see the theater influence and your performative aspect as soon you get on that stage, even just on the runway. The first thing that comes to mind is that lip sync battle between the two of you where you punted that wig\u2026<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: We were fighting, were fighting for our lives.\u00a0Our lives.\u00a0Absolutely. What goes through your head when you\u2019re in that kind of scenario and the other person does something where you\u2019re like, \u2018oh shit, she has just revealed a new look.\u2019 Did you know I did that?<\/p>\n

\n\tNURVE: No, that\u2019s the thing though. I did not know she did that, and you cannot think about those things when you\u2019re lip syncing for your life. You have to first be proud of yourself. Regardless of if I\u2019m in the bottom, I did the best that I can. And since you\u2019re in the bottom, you have to be like, \u2018I\u2019m going to fight for my life, do the best that I can and not worry about what the other girl is doing.\u2019 Because if you\u2019re worrying about what the other girl is doing, you\u2019re not worrying about yourself. So, what\u2019s going through my head is, do the best you can and try to get them to pay attention to you. I never have tricks or gags, so punting the wig was the next best thing.<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: I didn\u2019t even know you did that until we finished. It was just one of those moments that was so out there. Just surprising.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"RuPaul's<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tOnya Nurve<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMTV<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s like a fight for their attention, but it\u2019s one of the scariest feelings when your dream is to be there close to the end and it could all be taken away from you depending on what happens in those three minutes. So, something that made me not freak out so much over it was thinking about the after effect of the lip sync. If this is my last chance to be on TV and I\u2019m going to perform, let me do something that people will want to see in person. Let me really give my last show bit all of Jewels Sparkles. This might be my last time, this might be my last opportunity to show what I can do on TV. And thank God it wasn\u2019t my last chance. I think that mentality makes you want to go further and push harder.<\/p>\n

\n\tDEADLINE: What were some of the challenges you found the most interesting?<\/p>\n

\n\tNURVE: I feel like the most fun one, and the one that everyone knows is going to happen, for me at least, is Snatch Game. I feel like that was the most fun day that I\u2019ve ever had on the show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: I agree, Snatch Game was so fun for me, I was having a ball. I think something really helpful that someone told me right before going on was no one\u2019s going to laugh. No one\u2019s going to laugh in that room, it\u2019s going to be dead silence. So, convince yourself you\u2019re doing a good job, that way you keep the ball rolling because if you start to think I\u2019m not getting any laughs, you\u2019re going to sink fast. So, I was convincing myself I was the funniest one in the room. I was like, I\u2019m the fiercest. I\u2019m the most hilarious bitch. But I had a good time. I mean, it was just so unserious.<\/p>\n

\n\tNURVE: I feel like Snatch Game for everyone is what we know is going to happen and is what we fear the most. But it honestly is really freaking fun if you can allow yourself to have fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tDEADLINE: Every year it seems like Snatch Game is the one that queens are either really exicted for or dreading.<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: Definitely separates the queens for sure. It\u2019s not just a celebrity impersonation challenge, it really is all about how fast you are, how funny you are, and it\u2019s like a dive into your brain. I feel like that\u2019s how Snatch Game is so much more than an impersonation challenge. I feel like RuPaul sees us as humans and as entertainers through that. He\u2019s like, \u2018how fast can you come up with a joke because you have no time.\u2019 He\u2019ll literally ask the question and then he\u2019ll let us have a few seconds to write something down and then he\u2019ll go down the line, pencils down, it\u2019s quick. So, it really is the battle.<\/p>\n

\n\tDEADLINE: Going into that finale, what was going through your heads before your performances?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: I think we both just wanted to have fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tNURVE: Yeah, I think that at the point of getting to the finale, you\u2019ve kind of already won in a sense. 14 other girls didn\u2019t make it, so you have to be proud of yourself and use the moment as much as you can to have fun because that\u2019s the last episode that they\u2019re going to see and remember you for. Regardless of what happens, you want to be remembered in a positive light. I feel like for me and for Jewels too, it was just to have fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: Not every queen gets the opportunity to have a 15-minute dedication on the show where you get to do your interview, you get to do your performance, you get to do a runway\u2026 The episode is very dedicated to equal time for all four of us, and I took that time to push my brand into people\u2019s brains. What I wanted people to remember, Jewels Sparkles, the vision, the identity of this character. I was like, this is it, who I am. This is it.<\/p>\n

\n\tDEADLINE: Coming off of\u00a0Drag Race, what has the experience been after the finale for both of you?<\/p>\n

\n\tNURVE: It\u2019s been nonstop. Just a lot of traveling, a lot of performing, and it\u2019s nothing like how my life was before this. Every day I\u2019m learning something new about myself, about the world and it\u2019s exciting.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"RuPaul's<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJewels Sparkles<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMTV<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: Yeah, it\u2019s super exciting. I mean, I\u2019ve been so blessed from the finale to have been receiving so many opportunities and experiences and getting to travel the world and meet queens from everywhere and see people who have been affected by my story and my journey on the show. It\u2019s just the coolest thing ever. We have this year to be like rock stars \u2013 we get to travel the world, see every city, and even countries being able to perform. It\u2019s just so surreal. If you would\u2019ve told me five years ago as a baby queen, just doing a talent night, that bitch one day you\u2019re going to be headlining a South American tour, you\u2019re going to headline a tour in Australia, you\u2019re going to headline a tour in\u2026 Oh my God, I would believe you, but I would be like, \u2018okay, this is fierce.\u2019 It\u2019s just crazy.<\/p>\n

\n\tDEADLINE: It sounds like it\u2019s just a roller coaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSPARKLES: It is. And it\u2019s fast. I\u2019m learning that taking it in and appreciating the moment comes with being present in the moment and that\u2019s something I\u2019m trying to remind myself to do every time. It can get easy to be like, \u2018oh girl, another show? I\u2019m tired girl.\u2019 But then I\u2019m like, you\u2019ve always wanted this. Bitch, get your shit together and go have fun and talk to the community and the queens and enjoy. Look at the audience in the eyes and remember why you\u2019re on stage and why they\u2019re here to support you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After 17 seasons, you would think a reality series would either lose some of their fanbase or settle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,57644,134,57645,39701,57646,18605,427],"class_list":{"0":"post-74337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-awardsdialogue","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-jewels-sparkles","13":"tag-mtv","14":"tag-onya-nurve","15":"tag-rupauls-drag-race","16":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}