\u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d season 18 contestant Discord Addams. (Photo courtesy World of Wonder)<\/p>\n
\u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d<\/a> didn\u2019t just sashay onto MTV for its 18th season this month. It proved the global competition is here to slay.<\/p>\n Deadline reported Jan. 7 that this year\u2019s premiere was a franchise best<\/a>, delivering double-digit growth over last year\u2019s debut. That\u2019s thanks in no small part to Florida, which over a third of this year\u2019s contestants call home.<\/p>\n \u201cThis season, 14 sickening new queens enter the Werk Room to compete for the title of \u2018America\u2019s Next Drag Superstar,\u2019 an official makeup collaboration \u2026 and a cash prize of $200,000,\u201d World of Wonder announced in December. The competition for the crown officially started Jan. 2.<\/p>\n Three of this season\u2019s queens are from South Florida, including the first mother-daughter duo to compete against one another, Miami\u2019s Athena and Juicy Love Dion. Also in their drag family is Mia Starr of West Palm Beach.<\/p>\n Two entertainers from Central Florida and Tampa Bay join them, locales which are no stranger to the \u201cDrag Race\u201d spotlight. Joining their sisterhood from St. Petersburg is Discord Addams.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s ready for a little chaos?\u201d World of Wonder teased her debut, calling her \u201ca high-fashion punk rock maximalist, serving looks packed with safety pins, studs and unapologetic attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKnown for playing guitar in a punk rock band, Discord brings a dark, raw energy to the stage,\u201d they continued. \u201cHer ultimate goal: to trade the mosh pit for the runway and become a bona fide drag rock star.\u201d<\/p>\n Myki Meeks rounds out Florida\u2019s fantastic five<\/a>. World of Wonder called her \u201cOrlando\u2019s dynamic theatrical powerhouse.<\/p>\n \u201cA self-described \u2018recovering theater kid,\u2019 Myki blends glamour with camp, lights up the room as a host, and is known back home for her quick wit and ease with a microphone,\u201d they noted. \u201cA talented actress and consummate performer, Myki brings a stage presence that will keep the competition on its toes.\u201d<\/p>\n Both queens advanced after the season premiere, which they celebrated with fans in their hometowns.<\/p>\n Addams welcomed St. Petersburg supporters to Cocktail<\/a>, her home bar where she\u2019ll appear at watch parties. Among other surprises, the night featured an engagement when she asked her partner Gidget Von Addams to marry her. She said yes.<\/p>\n Meeks simultaneously hosted a watch party<\/a> at the temporary home of Renaissance Theatre Company<\/a>, long her homebase. The entertainer was joined by Sparkles to provide commentary, which she\u2019ll do throughout the season.<\/p>\n Watermark Out News caught up with each queen afterwards to discuss life before, during and after \u201cDrag Race.\u201d Read our interview with Meeks here<\/a> and Addams below.<\/p>\n WATERMARK OUT NEWS: What drew you to drag?<\/p>\n Discord Addams: I started drag probably 12, 13 years ago, right when I turned 21. I never really had a full concept of what drag queens were until I saw [\u201cDrag Race\u201d season 3 winner] Raja walking down the runway.<\/p>\n I was like, \u201cOh, this is what drag can be. It can be fashion, it can be rock star.\u201d I was like, \u201cI want to do that\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m gonna fucking do it.\u201d Right after seeing her, I started watching YouTube videos and painting my face every single day until I got halfway to what I wanted to look like.<\/p>\n How did you conceptualize Discord Addams?<\/p>\n I have a lot of really intense, hyper interests, so kind of by combining everything I\u2019ve ever been inspired by. At the time it was a lot of 80s rock. It was a lot of powerful women in media. So Xena, Buffy, mixed with Steven Tyler and Brett Michaels.<\/p>\n And I was like, \u201cI\u2019m gonna be this, like, hot fashion rock star bitch.\u201d It has kind of evolved since then \u2014 I always say that I started out by looking like a groupie, now I\u2019ve evolved into being the rock star.<\/p>\n Why do you think drag and punk rock fit together?<\/p>\n Because they\u2019re all just drag queens, right? It\u2019s all about the fashion, the political statements. You know, drag queens are at the forefront of change \u2014 in my opinion, we have done a lot. Trans people have done a lot to change the trajectory of the rights that we have as queer people, and that is punk rock.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to wear safety pins and fish nets to be punk rock. It\u2019s all about what you\u2019re doing in the community, what you\u2019re doing to give back and what you\u2019re doing to push back against these forces that are trying to silence us. That\u2019s what punk rock is \u2014 so to me, anytime a drag queen puts on makeup, anytime a drag queen puts on their outfit, I don\u2019t care if it is rainbows, that\u2019s still punk as fuck.<\/p>\n You started in Akron, Ohio, moved to Chicago and eventually landed in St. Pete. How did each these scenes influence your drag?<\/p>\n A lot of who Discord is and who Discord has become was shaped in Akron because that was where I started drag. There wasn\u2019t a lot of alternative drag in that area. It was a very, very, very pageant-based city \u2014 and then I stomped into the scene and they did not get it, and they did not want it either.<\/p>\n Well, the people wanted it, but the drag queens did not. But I didn\u2019t let that deter me from my vision. I still showed up every week doing exactly what I wanted to do, and I think that\u2019s what helped build the thick skin I have.<\/p>\n I still showed up and I still got on that stage, because I\u2019ve always said that \u201cI\u2019m not here to get judged by other drag queens, because I\u2019m not performing for them.\u201d I\u2019m performing for the audience. I\u2019m performing for the people who have shown up to support me.<\/p>\n So why do I care what these girls are whispering about upstairs? It doesn\u2019t make sense because they\u2019re not the ones tipping me \u2014 it\u2019s very much like what RuPaul says, that \u201cif they\u2019re not paying your bills, pay those bitches no mind,\u201d right? I feel that in my heart.<\/p>\n What about Chicago?<\/p>\n Chicago was what drove me into being able to do drag full speed because it is such a drag-based city. So you\u2019d be doing drag five nights a week and it really taught me how to get ready and think of a performance quickly. What about St. Petersburg?<\/p>\n St. Pete is what made me love community, because I spent so long kind of just fending for myself, just me and my partner. We were our biggest fans and were the ones gassing each other up; we didn\u2019t have what I would describe as a sisterhood or a community. We were just doing art for each other and for the people.<\/p>\n In some cities \u2026 [drag queens are] just stomping all over each other, but then you have a city like St. Petersburg, where every single drag queen is holding each other\u2019s hand and lifting each other up and wanting each other to succeed. That\u2019s what I was looking for the whole time. I was on the verge of quitting drag when I moved here, and then I met [Cocktail Entertainment Director] Adriana Sparkle<\/a>, and [entertainers] Conundrum and Blue Dream, and I was like, \u201cOh, these are the people I want to be around. This is what I\u2019ve been looking for the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never seen anybody here try to step on anyone, everybody is on the same page that we should all succeed. We should all do this together. We need to give the community something to look forward to, and that\u2019s what made me say, \u201cHey, I\u2019m not gonna quit drag. I found my people. I found my family.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019d auditioned for \u201cDrag Race\u201d in the past. Why was this the right time?<\/p>\n I think RuPaul knows everything. I don\u2019t think that woman is ever incorrect about a single thing. I think I\u2019ve just cooked, you know, like I\u2019m ready. She didn\u2019t want me to go on the show and suck. I think she always saw the vision and I think the vision has arrived, and so now is the right time. And honestly, thank God, because I\u2019ve been auditioning since it was on LOGO, and now it\u2019s on MTV. So honestly, thank you. I\u2019m glad it took a decade for me to get on the show.<\/p>\n Why do you think \u201cDrag Race\u201d has featured so many Florida queens across the years?<\/p>\n I think because most people in Florida aren\u2019t from Florida. Everybody here is kind of from everywhere else, so we\u2019re this giant melting pot of talent from across the world, from people who didn\u2019t want to be cold anymore. (Laughs.) We\u2019re also performing in the hot, hot, hot, hot heat, so we can take anything.<\/p>\n You see influences from all over the country in Florida drag and I think that\u2019s kind of fascinating. Even the girls who are just naturally born and raised here, like I said, they\u2019re used to being boiled to death every day. So what can\u2019t they do? And this season is Florida versus the world, baby.<\/p>\n What was it like to watch the premiere at The Wet Spot?<\/p>\n I was just floating. It was so, so surreal. It was everything that I hoped and dreamed of and it\u2019s so nice knowing I have such a strong family and support system, because many of them flew here from all over the country to watch me literally achieve my dreams.<\/p>\n Not everybody gets to say, \u201cI did it. I\u2019ve achieved what I\u2019ve always set out to achieve,\u201d and getting to share that with everybody around me \u2014 with the community, with the people that I\u2019ve built and gotten to know at Cocktail and I\u2019ve known my whole life \u2014 was just this amalgamation of everything I wanted to do and to see.<\/p>\n And when that was happening, I was like, \u201coh, me and my partner, we did it. We\u2019ve done everything we set out to do, so now the next step is we obviously have to get married.\u201d<\/p>\n Congratulations! What do you want to share about your next chapter together?<\/p>\n Thank you! We\u2019ve been together for 13 years and we\u2019ve done every little bit of every single thing together our whole lives. Our every struggle, every success, every victory we have shared together exclusively \u2014 and so now we\u2019ve achieved our dreams.<\/p>\n Now we can have the money to have the house. We can have the money to have the success \u2026 now we live the life that we\u2019ve always wanted.<\/p>\n Your walk has also taken the internet by storm. What\u2019s it been like to see that?<\/p>\n I had a feeling it was going to happen. I did not anticipate it happening on episode one, which is really, really cool. It\u2019s so funny, because it\u2019s so divisive, right? Like day one, everybody fucking hated it.<\/p>\n Day two, everyone\u2019s obsessed with it. Day three, it\u2019s viral. So what\u2019s day four gonna bring? I don\u2019t know. Everyone\u2019s doing it \u2014 so whether they love it or they hate it, they\u2019re all doing it \u2014 and I have a feeling they\u2019re not gonna stop. Once you lean back and take a strut, you can\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n What has surprised you about your journey so far?<\/p>\n That a walk can hurt people\u2019s feelings. (Laughs.) Like, waking up and looking on the internet like, \u201cOh my God. Who knew just walking could make people so, so angry?\u201d But the girls who get it, get it.<\/p>\n What do you want to tease about what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n Just tune in every Friday at 8 p.m. on MTV to find out if I keep walking like that. We don\u2019t know what\u2019s to come \u2014 but I\u2019d say keep watching to find out, because it\u2019s bound to be fun. I don\u2019t even know.<\/p>\n Am I going to continue to open my mouth and be a raging asshole? I\u2019m going to find out with you guys.<\/p>\n \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on MTV. For more information about each queen and local watch parties, visit DiscordAddams.com<\/a> and MykiMeeks.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u201d season 18 contestant Discord Addams. 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Franchise favorites Roxxxy Andrews<\/a>, Alexis Mateo<\/a>, Coco Montrese<\/a>, Trinity Taylor<\/a> and more have called the regions home, including season 17 finalist Jewels Sparkles<\/a> and reigning \u201cAll Stars\u201d winner Ginger Minj<\/a>.<\/p>\n
It was kind of like full speed ahead drag boot camp. When you\u2019re doing drag that often, you have no choice but to get better. If you have eyes.<\/p>\n