Yahoo News RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 queens preview twists, tears, alliances, and 'fierce ass competition' ahead
There's just something about watching streams of Jaymes Mansfield's blonde hair flap in the wind while she poses for her RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 promo shoot against the backdrop of a glistening sunset — all while the Spice Girls' infectious bop "Never Give Up on the Good Times" rattles the walls of a Manhattan photo studio.
It might be the most obvious metaphor of all time, but, facts are facts, America, and it's apt to note the relevance of the song's lyrics ("Never give it up, no, never give it up," and "Livin' it up is a state of mind," etc.) to the trajectory of the AS8 cast of 12 queens returning to the Emmy-winning competition for another shot at winning the crown.
EW
As Jaymes, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Kahanna Montrese, Monica Beverly Hillz, Naysha Lopez, and Lala Ri prove, All Stars 8 is a place where early-out contenders and time-tested icons from the show's storied past are on equal ground, all vying for the title against a runner-up (Kandy Muse) and queens who lasted well into their OG seasons (Alexis Michelle, Jessica Wild, Darienne Lake, Heidi N Closet, Jimbo). And, as the queens exclusively tell EW in their first round of interviews ahead of the new season, fans shouldn't count anyone out based on years-old track records.
"This is a very emotional cast. The girls cry for anything. You know, some cat fights, it's going to be good. I read the s--- [fans] say online, and maybe people don't expect this cast to be the top of the top, but this cast brought it this time around," Kandy tells EW. "Don't be fooled by these girls. This cast, these girls, are some fierce ass competition, and they came to win."
Ahead of the May 12 AS8 premiere on Paramount+, watch EW's exclusive first round of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 cast interviews with the entire group of returning queens below.
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8 cast interviews:
Alexis Michelle
First appearance: Season 9
Challenge wins: 1
Bottom placements: 2
Final season placement: 5th
On her memorable clap-back to guest judge Tamar Braxton after the season 9 roast: "I mean, clearly, it was such a knee-jerk reaction for me. I did not think that all the way through, but it was just like, I knew, at that point, I was going to have to lip-sync for my life," she says, adding that she was in "fight-or-flight" mode when she asked Braxton, who questioned why Alexis was painted green, Michelle Visage's least-favorite color, if she'd ever seen the show before. "I'll tell you a little something, a little behind-the-scenes, when cameras went down, she looked over to me and was like, 'I'm sorry.'"
Darienne Lake
First appearance: Season 6
Challenge wins: 1
Bottom placements: 4
Final season placement: 4th
Reflecting on her iconic "Point of No Return" lip-sync against BenDeLaCreme: "It was all off the top of my head. I'm like, what am I going to do during the dance break? I'm not going to take my clothes off or do a death-drop, dip, whatever, splat, I think it was also because it was the second time that I was lip-syncing for my life, so I was just like, oh, thank you, this is what I normally do during my number, I take money," she says of the moment that "really made Ru cackle" in the moment. "Exposé, who sang the song, they made a little video for me that you can find on YouTube, of them being like, 'Darienne, we love you, we love that move, we're stealing it for our concerts.' It was really great to be recognized.... I let them have it, because no matter how many times they do it, people in the audience will be like, 'That's a Darienne Lake move!'"
Heidi N Closet
First appearance: Season 12
Challenge wins: 1
Bottom placements: 4
Final season placement: 6th
On her fashion-glow up: "This time around, I actually brought things that [reflect that] this is my drag, this is what I want to present for this category versus I have to have something for a category.... These looks? Stunning. I might be the fashion girl of the season," Heidi explains, adding that, like she did with curtains she found on the side of the road ahead of season 12, she used unconventional materials like "paper towels and loofahs" on All Stars 8.
Jaymes Mansfield
First appearance: Season 9
Challenge wins: 0
Bottom placements: 1
Final season placement: 14th
Revealing that she fudged her skills to get on season 9: "There were some things that I wanted to put out there and try and do over again. When I got on Drag Race the fist time, I was what you call a baby queen. I literally lied on my audition tape and said I could do a million things that I could not do. But I learned somewhat how to do some of those things now. I'm coming back with a much stronger arsenal of things to use in a competition," Jaymes says. "I was just like, in my audition tape, 'You don't understand. I'm a fierce dancer. I'm an amazing lip-syncer,' like, everything drag queens should probably know how to do a little bit. I was like, 'I'm a great makeup artist,' but they saw the makeup, so I don't know how they got me on there. Maybe it was a rough day that day!"
Jessica Wild
First appearance: Season 2
Challenge wins: 1
Bottom placements: 1
Final season placement: 6th
On having a mini reunion with season 2 sister Raven — who won an Emmy for doing RuPaul's makeup — on the AS8 set: "We were busy, she was doing her thing, and I was doing my thing, but we crossed each other at some point, and I was like, 'Bitch, you're skinny, look at you!' and she was like, 'You too, bitch!' [Her expression was] like, You're doing great, keep doing what you're doing," Jessica remembers. "She was always looking at me like [she was] so proud. And when Raven looks at you, that's like [she's saying], 'Bitch, I love you!' because of her expression. It's crazy to be in front of Raven. That is my season 2 sister and kind of the winner of every season she's on. I have a beautiful relationship with Raven's mother. One day she sent me a message like, 'Jessica, I was thinking about how amazing you and [Raven].... are doing so well in your life and your careers.'"
Jimbo
First appearance: Canada's Drag Race, season 1
Challenge wins: 1
Bottom placements: 1
Final season placement: 4th
On her drama with Pangina Heals during the UK vs. the World finale: "I certainly, on Canada's Drag Race, got so much love, so when I got a bit of trolling and a bit of hate on UK vs. the World, I was okay with that, it was par for the course. If you're in the public eye and on a competition show where people are heavily invested, those same investments helped me be loved, so I know all the energy is not always positive all the time, but at the end of the day, I know my intention and who I am in this world, and I am a wonderful person with a great heart and a lot to give," Jimbo says of the moment she rubbed fans the wrong way by shading fellow competitor Pangina Heals for eliminating her on episode 3 of UK vs. the World — and she has no regrets. "Do I regret it? No. That's Untucked. I was in my feelings in those moments. Of course, do I want to handle it differently? Sure, maybe, but, at the end of the day, I was eliminated early in something I put all of my heart and soul into, and I owed it to myself and my fans to give a performative reaction, so I didn't want to sit there and be like, 'No, I'm fine, it's all a show. I'm totally fine,' and just hold it all back, because who is that serving? I'm not doing my job then and nobody's getting the entertainment they want."
Kahanna Montrese
First appearance: Season 11
Challenge wins: 0
Bottom placements: 2
Final season placement: 14th
On her drag mother, season 5 and All Stars 2 alum Coco Montrese, preparing her for AS8: "She actually was like kind of hands-off on this one, and for good reason, because the first time around she definitely saw that I was in my head, and she wanted to make sure this time around that it was me," Kahanna says, adding that her AS8 runway glow-up is where she truly "came alive" on set. "We'd already talked about the mistakes I made going into it, so she knew, this time around, I was ready. It was more like, 'You've got this, just be you, girl.' To me, that was more than anything, just to have my drag mom believe in me and see that I was ready. The first time around she was like, 'Ooh, girl, I don't know if you should audition, chile. Girl, it's a little busted.' But, she was always real with me."
Kandy Muse
First appearance: Season 13
Challenge wins: 1
Bottom placements: 3
Final season placement: Runner-up
On leaving season 13 with more than just her sisters' hearts: "I stole a lot of things from the Drag Race set. There were a lot of curling irons, flatirons, blow dryers — all the hair tools, I stole. I tried to steal a sewing machine. A full sewing machine. A few girls from my season stole. Trust me. I would always go to [Gottmik's] station and steal wigs from her.... The Anastasia makeup wall? Everything in my bag. I fully left with a brand new [suitcase]. I'd tell the PAs, 'I need an extra suitcase.' And they're like, 'Why?' because you're not buying anything when you're at Drag Race; you're stealing it! And they gave me one," Kandy recalls. "There are photos of RuPaul in the Werk Room that do come off the wall, and I tried to steal that one, but they caught me.... There was one time, sorry, RuPaul and World of Wonder and everyone at Drag Race, I'm sure it's still there, there's a piece of the Werk Room wall, which is wallpaper, we all know the Sugar Walls are not real, we ripped a huge hole in it, and there's a piece of the Werk Room in my house."
Mrs. Kasha Davis
First appearance: Season 7
Challenge wins: 0
Bottom placements: 1
Final season placement: 11th
Mrs. Kasha Davis speaks on her sobriety journey since leaving Drag Race: "The biggest gift I've had since season 7 is that I identified my alcoholism. My phrase is, 'There's always time for a cocktail,' and that's great for everybody except some of us who maybe can't handle it or it maybe it gets a little bit too much. I was brought to my knees, and I made this kind of statement to whatever there is in the universe, that I'm powerless over alcohol, and everything began to change for me. We're working on seven years of sobriety now," she explains, adding that she feels "present" for All Stars 8 in ways that she "wasn't in the moment" for on season 7. "Specifically, in our community, many people find that they have to turn to — or they choose to turn to — drugs or alcohol, many times because their families own them, etcetera, and you find comfort there. Here is an example of somebody who found a different way!"
Lala Ri
First appearance: Season 13
Challenge wins: 0
Bottom placements: 2
Final season placement: 10th
On her iconically bad, Golden Boot Award-winning bag look: "I really don't get tired of it. I didn't expect it to go on this long, though. I thought it was going to be for like, a year, and then people would forget about it. But, the fact that people are still talking about it to this day, a Halloween costume two years in a row? Are you sick of this or not?" Lala says before spilling some tea on how the look held up on set. "After the lip-sync was over, they actually tried to piece me back together, real quick, before the commercial break was over. I don't know if you guys noticed, I'm like, taped up after the lip-sync. Catastrophe, child. What is this, honey?"
Monica Beverly Hillz
First appearance: Season 5
Challenge wins: 0
Bottom placements: 2
Final season placement: 12th
On breaking new ground and coming out as trans on the season 5 Main Stage: "When you hear every judge say the same critique, you can't help but to be like, okay, if I don't open up now and take this moment, not just for myself, but for so many people like myself that don't have this opportunity, then I'd be really upset with myself, so, I was like, let me just let it all out and see what happens. Whatever happens here, if I do go home, I'm fine, because I let it free," Monica recalls. "I did not want to come back, I was pretty much done with drag, period, about two years ago. I had my name changed legally, I was going through a lot of trying to find out who I was.... when they asked me to come back, I was like, you know what, I'm history. How could I not come back? Hello! Definitely I'm coming back, I'm going to do this, and I'm going to finish what I started."
Naysha Lopez
First appearance: Season 8
Challenge wins: 0
Bottom placements: 2
Final season placement: 9th (after returning to the competition following an episode 1 elimination)
On embracing different aesthetics for her All Stars 8 return: "There's a lot of fashion. There's some ugly stuff, too," Naysha — Miss Continental winner and host of the iconic Roscoe's Drag Race recap shows in Chicago — jokes of the season ahead. "I went into season 8 knowing who I was, but very caught up in my own aesthetic and not allowing myself to break free of that, do other things, and embrace different aesthetics. Going into Drag Race, even if you're a comedy queen, at some point you're going to have to serve beauty and fashion, and vice-versa. A fashion or beauty queen has to ugly it up a bit and be funny. So, the second time around, I feel like I was way more prepared to do that than I did the first time."
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