{"id":115300,"date":"2026-01-28T17:37:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/115300\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T17:37:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:37:25","slug":"rupauls-drag-race-exclusive-first-lewk-the-rate-a-queen-talent-show-is-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/115300\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u2019 Exclusive First Lewk: The Rate-A-Queen Talent Show Is Back!\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oh, you wanted a twist? RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/a> Season 18 is full of them! We\u2019ve clocked some shady queens, witnessed messy drama, and heard some shocking critiques. In this exclusive first lewk at this week\u2019s all-new episode, fans will see that RuPaul keeps on keeping the girls on their toes. <\/p>\n

The clip begins after last week\u2019s elimination in which Kenya Pleaser successfully defeated Briar Blush in a Lip Sync For Your Life. Shocked, the queens walk back into the Werk Room. \u201cThere are moments of Briar that I will be missing. I do think she means well. I do think she\u2019s misunderstood,\u201d says Mia Starr in her confessional. \u201cBut Kenya got you, girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Kenya wipes Briar\u2019s lipstick message from the mirror, Jane Don\u2019t looks on. In her confessional, Jane shares her thoughts: \u201cTo see Briar leave now feels like a wakeup call. That confidence and chutzpah are only going to take you so far.\u201d The queens continue to reflect on last week\u2019s events.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer passing out in the middle of judging was insane,\u201d says Kenya to the group. \u201cDo you think she saw the writing on the wall and kind of knew her fate and it caught up with her?\u201d asks Athena Dion. \u201cGoing up there and getting negative critiques\u2026I can only imagine what was going through her mind, through her body, while that was happening,\u201d says Juicy Love Dion. \u201cBut she\u2019s also the kind of person that is a tough cookie to crack,\u201d replies Athena. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting to the point where the game is wearing you down,\u201d Jane points out, and the queens nod in agreement. After some debriefing about the maxi challenge in the Werk Room (Vita VonTesse Starr celebrates her win; Discord complains about negative critiques from the judges; Athena defends her outfit), the ladies leave to rest up for the next day. <\/p>\n

The following morning, the queens saunter into the Werk Room, and Discord\u2014who has only worn black\u2014shows up in a yellow hoodie. \u201cIt\u2019s a new day in the Werk Room. I had to do something different, so I put on some color,\u201d explains Discord in her confessional. \u201cDiscord, you\u2019re looking extra bright and shimmery this morning,\u201d exclaims Nini Coco. \u201cBeing in the bottom group really broke Discord,\u201d jokes Jane.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m turning over a new leaf. I\u2019m going to be in the top this week. I\u2019m going to be bright and shiny and talkative,\u201d says Discord to the group. \u201cSometimes when you turn over a new leaf, isn\u2019t it the same leaf?\u201d asks Kenya shadily. As the queens chat among themselves, RuPaul enters the Werk Room to introduce their next Maxi-Challenge. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is judgement day,\u201d begins RuPaul. \u201cThis week, queens are doing it to whom? Each other!\u201d \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d asks Myki Meeks. \u201cGet ready for the Rate-A-Queen talent show\u2026 part 1.\u201d \u201cPart 1?\u201d asks Kenya. RuPaul laughs evilly. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis week, half of you will take the stage to perform a show-stopping talent number, and the other half will watch and rate the performances. The Rate-A-Queen results will determine the tops and bottoms of the week,\u201d says RuPaul to the shocked queens. \u201cGag,\u201d says Ciara Myst quietly as the girls murmur to each other. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe top two queens will lip sync for the win. And the bottom queen will lip sync for her life against next week\u2019s bottom from the Rate-A-Queen talent show part 2,\u201d RuPaul continues as the queens gasp. \u201cNow I\u2019ll let you decide who performs which week and the performance order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo much power,\u201d screams Ciara to the group. Meanwhile, Athena is already plotting. \u201cRate-A-Queen is back, but I have a strategy,\u201d declares Athena to the confessional camera. \u201cAs long as we can stick to it, I think everything will be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which queens will perform this week? And who will have to wait and worry? Tune in to an all-new RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race this Friday, January 30th, at 8PM on MTV!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oh, you wanted a twist? RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race Season 18 is full of them! We\u2019ve clocked some shady…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123,3296,29049],"class_list":{"0":"post-115300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news","14":"tag-reality-tv","15":"tag-rupaul"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}