Queens Dress (and Undress) to Impress at the 2017 Ultimate Queen Competition

On March 24, the premiere of the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race garnered its biggest ratings ever, and here in Denver, Tracks debuted its own new season of the Ultimate Queen Competition, complete with 21 drag performers vying for thirteen glamorous spots before a packed house. The competition was fierce all around, and the stakes were raised for the next battle, which is tonight, Friday, March 31.

The queens came with names like Sofia King Fierce, Lexi Diamond, Karma Kouture, Chastity Von Trapp and Adryanna Slayz and the fiery passion of a hundred suns in order to burn their way through thirteen weeks of competition for one of Denver’s most prestigious drag titles: Ultimate Queen.

Highlighting why we chose the competition as the Best Place to See New Drag Talent, this year’s crop of competitors may have been the most polished and determined yet to hit the Tracks stage. Every girl had done her homework and brought her best drag to dazzle and delight the audience with practiced looks and rhinestones, impressing the judges at every turn.

But when the tips had been collected and the acrylic nails swept up, seven girls were cut from the competition — Holly Monroe, Sofia, Amber, Lucy Blue, Carmen Sutra, Chastity and R.C Michaels — while thirteen moved on to slay another day: Lexi, Karma, Adryanna, Piper D’Bulge, Her?, Vivica Galactica, Monica Kayne, Jameson Rabbit, Menaje E’Toi, Patty Theft Misdemeanor, Evelyn Evermoore, Stella Ray and Aera Waters.

Three of those continuing — Piper, Her? and Vivica — were showcased in our 2017 Thirteen Freshest Faces of Drag list and provided strong proof as to why they deserved to be there. Her?, in particular, was the judge’s choice for top performer of the night, an even sweeter victory given that she is the competition’s first bio queen (a cis woman using drag to amplify female expectations and blurring the gender lines of the art form even further) competing for the crown.

Piper D'Bulge floored the audience with her sassy, sexy stature, dance skills and complete control of every damn muscle in her body.
Vivica Galactica came busting out of the gate with attitude and a desire to show off the hard work she's been building on for the last year as an amateur performer with big dreams and the will to make them come true.
Another competitor — Evelyn Evermoore, who wasn't on our Freshest Faces list but could prove a likely candidate for next year's with attitude and style reminiscent of Manila Luzon's — had the audience on their feet with her unique take on Barbie Doll realness. If she can keep up her creativity and joy, she could prove to be one of the competition’s shining stars.
Doors open for the Ultimate Queen Competition at 7 p.m. every Friday through June at Tracks, 3500 Walnut Street. Drag Race screens at 7:30 p.m., and the Ultimate Queen Competition runs from 8:30 to 10 p.m. The show is free for 21+ and $5 for 18+. Visit tracksdenver.com for more info.