Thanks to the astronomical sensation that is the empire of RuPaul’s Drag Race, drag stars have become household names over the years. Every season of all of the drag competition’s numerous iterations brings forth a crop of Ru’s girls for *the culture* to feast on. Many drag performers, who otherwise would have existed in obscurity or been pigeonholed into regional drag circuits, have had their careers enlivened by their time on the show. It takes a certain star factor, though. Not every queen who graces the show leaves with endorsement deals, millions of social media followers and national tours. You still have to stand out amongst the glittery fray. And no queen has sissy’d that walk quite like Trixie Mattel.
One of the many scourges of show business is trying to nail the ephemeral goal of staying power. It gets harder and harder as our digital world opens up more portals to become the next big thing. Yet somehow, Trixie Mattel has managed — despite massive competition in the field and new drag stars popping up every day to be the new gag of tomorrow, sis — to not just endure, but evolve into her own kind of drag superstar. After competing on the seventh season of Drag Race and winning the even more coveted crown on the third season of All Stars, Mattel began something not many drag queens can claim: an earnest singing career.
