
Ranked: The 20 greatest RuPaulâs Drag Race verses of 2022
âFashion, beauty, runway pose â Icesis nails it on the noseâ đ đ»
I think of all the challenges on RuPaulâs Drag Race today, itâs any time the queens have to write and record their own verses for a girl group challenge or RuMix finale task that has the most lasting impact on their Drag Race legacy. I know in my personal circle of friends that are fans, when a new song drops we spend inevitably the next six months quoting it to each other â for better or for worse. Some lyrics this year have made me laugh (I say âHACONICK STAAAALâ like Raja in Legends literally every day) and some have wordplay so clever that itâs changed the trajectory of my life forever. So â without further ado â I present my top 20 ranked Drag Race queens verses of 2022.
20. Silky Nutmeg Ganache â Bonjour Hi
AY-O, DONTCHA KNOW, THAT I AM BIG SILK AND I AM THE SHOW! You know what, I love Silkyâs trajectory. I will admit I wasnât a fan of her at all on season 11, but her All Stars 6 legendary run and her next level upped game in Canada VS the World has made me a convert to the church of the Reverend Doctor Silky Nutmeg Ganache. This verse is a call to arms â bursting with personality. Canât get âSlaying is my occupation, the reverend doctor got educationâ out of my head.
19. Black Peppa â UK Grand Finale Megamix
Peppa opens the season four finale megamix with an absolute BANG. âA bad gyal rhythm with a Caribbean twistâ is the kind of lyric that has me grinning maniacally at the TV screen.
18. Danny Beard â UK Grand Finale Megamix
How on EARTH has it taken this long for a queen to namedrop Buffy on a verse that mentions slaying? Thatâs how you win a crown, bitch. So much star power in such short verse itâs unreal. The beard is truly here to stay.
17. Blu Hydrangea â Living My Life In London
I canât believe this was THIS YEAR? Charli XCX retired when she heard this robotic masterpiece. No shade to Blu, but I think sheâs got the voice of a childrenâs TV presenter â so for her to sound like sheâs serving a mature or cool bop the odds are stacked against her. On Living My Life in London she defied those odds. âCreator, eliminator, Belfast queen is a gender breakerâ â we stan the autotune.
16. Baby â Come Alive
Youâd be hard pressed to find a better fist pumper of an opening line than âHANDS UP SAY HEY BABYâ, which truly makes me want to bellow âhey babyâ at the top of my lungs. Every time I hear it I visualise the satisfying stomp that comes with it. She deserved a solo win for this challenge.
15. MonĂ©t X Change â Titanic
Whilst I donât think the writing is quite as wow as what weâve heard from MonĂ©t elsewhere, her vocal performance and delivery on this is so satisfying on my ears. If MonĂ©tâs got a verse on a Drag Race track, rest assured itâs going to slap.
14. Lady Camden â Catwalk
Love the âStep, SMACKâ jumpscare more than I love my own family. Absolutely terrifying. New drag name unlocked: âAnna Padda Bouxrayâ.
13. Vanity Milan â Bonjour Hi
This verse has had such acclaim for good reason. Itâs so euphoric seeing Vanity back with such oomph, sheâs such a star. The âBlack queens donât look the same so remember my nameâ lyric hits even harder after the BBC blunder just a few weeks ago when they mixed up Baby and Black Peppa across all their social media channels. Vanity gobbled this UP.
12. Raja â Titanic
Atlantic deep, my loots I keep
Sink my bling-bling, bye-bye ring
Treasure chasinâ, danger facinâ
Baby, your drowninâ, frozen frowninâ
Honey, your heart, why so cold?
âThatâs hotâ, melt like gold
Clubbinâ in our Juicy Couâ
Call me Angel, Lucy Liu (Hi-Yah!)
Thatâs what we call: Performance art. Ahead of her time. I love that itâs all about Titanic until she shoves in the final two lines about Juicy Couture and Charlieâs Angels, for no good reason. Trying to decipher this verse would disintegrate a Victorian child.
11. Icesis Couture â Bonjour Hi
The chokehold âFashion, beauty, runway pose â Icesis nails it on the noseâ has on me needs to be studied at universities. Itâs faultless.
10. Jinkx Monsoon â Legends
Itâs a testament to Jinkxâs unmatched talent and how outstanding she is at Drag Race that she manages to reach top 10 queens verses of 2022 ranked with ease. Rapping is obviously not Jinkxâs forte, but wit and humour and performance ability are qualities she has in spade loads. Every line is so funny. RUB A DUB DUB GET IN MY TUB! So stupid, so perfect.
9. Mo Heart â Living My Life in London
No joke â this is a verse good enough to be a feature in any main pop girl single. Mo raps like she was born to top it. This bit in particular, âStarted out in KC, moved out to Hollywood / Where stars are made and dreams come true, whatâs good?â, hits so hard.
8. Daya Betty â Catwalk
Urgh, Daya Betty. What an iconic queen â someone who had a real arc on season 14 from villain to fan favourite. It was on Catwalk where she really hit her peak â a verse that hits every beat so satisfyingly that you canât help but want to listen to it on loop forever. She looked BEYOND hot, too â which just makes it all even better.
7. Jaida Essence Hall â Legends
What I love about Jaidaâs Legends verse is she manages to take something that doesnât come naturally to her and make it feel like she was born to do it. Sheâs so good at looking immaculate but still being hilarious and not taking herself too seriously at the same time. When she wallops Raja on âbeastâ I laugh literally every time.
6. Sminty Drop â Come Alive
Manchester mannequin, got the dolls panicking
Legs long, tum tight, tell me can you handle it?
Blow you away with a glossy kiss
Modern Renaissance with a bad girl twist
They pack big, but Iâm packing bigger
Your Visa low, so you can watch my figure
âOh my gosh, like, who is she?â
S-M-I-N-T-Y-D-R-O-P
What a shame that Sminty didnât quite nail it on stage, because of all the queens verses ranked from Drag Race here, this is honestly some of the best lyric writing of the entire year. Not to mention the speed with which she manages to rap it â itâs a wordy verse but she nails every line with precision and personality. Itâs dynamic, varied and cool as fuck. I just WISH sheâd nailed it on stage. Weâd still be shaking from the perfection now.
5. Spankie Jackson â Bosom Buddies
SPPPPPPPPAAAAAANKIE MOTHERTUCKER IN THE HOUSE TONIGHHHHT!!!!!
4. Willow Pill â Catwalk
This verse is just impeccably smart. Not a word feels wasted, with Willow either referencing a moment from the season or referencing her own struggles with her chronic illness and what sheâs done to overcome them. âCute, absurd and a touch of ugly â I celebrate life letâs poor the bubblyâ is one of the most delicious pop melodies of the year, and the âWe live in the matrix Iâm the solutionâ line is too wow for words.
3. Shea CouleĂ© â Titanic
Murderer: Youâve got 15 seconds to live.
Me: *presses play on Sheaâs Titanic verse*
Sorry, but wow. The volume of 90s references Shea manages to shove into 15 seconds is outrageous. I LOVE the lyric âWhatâs wrong boo, your CD skipping?â so much!!! The ferocious way she performs this verse from âLike Titanic itâs going DOWWWWNâ to âTurn around boo let me see that backâ lives in my mind rent free. The fact this isnât even the best Shea verse this year is mind blowing.
2. MonĂ©t X Change â Legends
âRealise the triple crownâs why Iâm here, itâs what Iâm after / Bow down, kiss the ring, call me masterâ⊠erm, okay! Daddy MonĂ©t! Every second of this verse feels special â and I think MonĂ©t highlights her skills as a singer AND a rapper perfectly. The lyrics are clever, the vocals are tight and the BOP BOP BOP bit is one of the most euphoric Drag Race musical moments of the year. AND she nails the performance. Sheâs soooo good at this.
1. Shea CouleĂ© â Legends
When it comes to queens verses on Drag Race, Shea CouleĂ© is BeyoncĂ© â and I say that in the sense of that all the queens ranked here, she is untouchable at what she does. Not only is she untouchable with one or two good verses, but she has FOUR outstanding ones. She raps and writes like sheâs got a multi platinum greatest hits rap album and sheâs doing a Super Bowl spot to promote it. And Iâm not joking. With her Legends verse, Shea proves why sheâs the GOAT of Drag Race queens verses â an easy top spot of the ranked 20 greatest this year.
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