Aja, also known as Aja Miyake-Mugler and previously known as Aja LaBeija, is a rapper and drag artist from Brooklyn, New York City. She competed on the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 3.
Aja later returned as a Lip-Sync Assassin in All Stars 8. She won her lip-sync against Kahanna Montrese, revealing that the group chose to eliminate Monica Beverly Hillz.
Quick Answers
What season of RuPaul's Drag Race did Aja first compete in?
Aja, the drag queen, made her first appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race in Season 9. She later competed in the All Stars Season 3 of the show.
Provided by: Fandom
Why did Aja choose her stage name?
Aja, known for her performances on RuPaul's Drag Race, initially intended her stage name to be pronounced 'Asia'. However, she adopted the pronunciation 'Ah-ja' due to common mispronunciations, and this name has since become her recognized stage identity.
Provided by: Fandom
Who did Aja win her lip-sync against in All Stars 8?
Aja, a prominent figure in RuPaul's Drag Race, emerged victorious in her lip-sync battle against Kahanna Montrese during All Stars 8.
Provided by: Fandom
What was Aja's previous stage name?
Initially, Aja intended her stage name to be pronounced as 'Asia'. However, after repeated mispronunciations as 'Ah-ja', she chose to retain this pronunciation.
Provided by: Fandom
Drag Name Origin[]
The name Aja was chosen because her original name was supposed to be Aja, but pronounced as "Asia," but because people kept mispronouncing it as "Ah-ja," she kept it.[6]
Track Records[]
| Statistics | USA Season 9 | USA All Stars Season 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Ranking: | 9th Place | 7th Place |
| Maxi Challenges Won: | 0 | 1 (Ep. 1) |
| Mini Challenges Won: | 0 | 1 (Ep. 5) |
| Times as Team Captain: | 1 (Ep. 4) | 0 |
| Times in Bottom: | 2 (Eps. 3, 7) | 2 (Eps. 3, 5) |
| Episode Eliminated: | Episode 7 | Episode 5 |
Memorable Quotes[]
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9[]
- "Your edges are officially snatched!" (entrance Quote)
- "I feel so at home with so many talented girls."
- "The true gagarini. That is what is about to go down."
- "Nina Bo'nina fell on the sofina!"
- "I'm an Illuminati princess, they tried to silence me and I'm like, no bitch I'm still gonna talk." (during their White Party Realness runway.)
- "You’re perfect, you’re beautiful, you look like Linda Evangelista, you’re a model! Everything about you is perfect! Did you stone those tights? Oh, you’re smiling! They eat her up EVERY SINGLE TIME she’s on that damned stage! Shedoesn'tevenhavetodoanythin- She could walk out there in a fucking diaper and they’d be like, “Valentina! Your smile is beautiful!" (to Valentina during the "Untucked" in Episode 3 "Draggily Ever After".)
- "Trinity is selling the song right now. Charlie on the other hand, it looks like she's telling children to get off her lawn." (about the Trinity the Tuck vs Charlie Hides lip-sync)
- "Girl, I feel like a soft serve ice cream cone right now!"
- "Did my nose get thinner?"
- "Gooped and Gagged."
- ”I just don’t feel like you should be Miss Congeniality”
- "I think I'm just gonna get on MY knees."
- "I don't wanna say I read her, I just aggressively complimented her."
- "Werk fan favorite!"
- "You're a slut." (jokingly said during "Untucked.")
- "Yas, Pep!" (when Peppermint came out as transgender during the show)
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 3[]
- "Maybe I'll come, maybe I'll win, maybe I'll slay but I won't know unless I play- bitch I'm a poet ya'll see that rhymed." (Meet The Queens)
- "I feel like I was like a little turtle inside the little shell and now I'm just like a full blown like....what's not a turtle?" (Meet The Queens)
- "Ayo sis! I have some unfinished business." (entrance quote)
- "They're going to be telling me my smile is beautiful. Watch."
- "I'm gonna go put on something more see-through so I can be a hoe."
- “Go ahead pass me the mic. Let me show you how to do it right. Let me show you how to level up your puss in the middle of a kitty cat fight. Got a secret bigger than Alyssa's, wanna pet my little kitty and kiss her? Banjee queen, got my baby hair slick. Don't gotta say shit, just lick my secret.” (verse in Sitting on a Secret)
- "Girl, I don’t see no flowers, I don’t see no glitter, I don’t see no gag. You ain’t no Sasha Velour, bitch. Keep your wig on."
- "What the fuck is happening?" (about BenDeLaCreme eliminating herself)
- "I have the power of God and anime on my side."
- ”Do you want Celine to come over and sing you a song? Girl...” (in response to Milk’s breakdown on Episode 2)
- "Not BenDeLaChrist, savior of Morgan and the drag queens."
- "Ayo sis... I gotta go!" (exit quote)
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 8[]
- "I heard you want auntie from the back." (Lip Sync Assassin entrance quote)
Extras[]
- "Sis."
- "Ayo, sis."
- "Girl, she is carrying."
- "Send me home."
- "Oh yes."
- ”Owww”
- "It's real ironic when you walk into All Stars in ninth place, sharing the place as the lowest placing queen on the season with me, and then you walk in, and all your achievements are out of drag, and then you sit there and say we're not on the same level, well you know what baby? I agree with you. We're not on the same level. and you spoke a very true statement, and I'm happy, that out of all the lies you told this season, you said something real. So with that, I applaud you, Milk, I deeply applaud you." ("Other queen: "Do you think she's skim, almond, soy?") "I don't give a fuck, I'm skinnier... and thinner... and more beautiful. And I will always have more estrogen running in my my blood because I was born with two X chromoSOMES. I don't have an Adam's apple, you could never clock me, darling. So take your ponytail and wind it up in that little black box and use that top wig to cover your face, because your mug on this evening? You look like Aquaria on testosterone. So walk back off the runway, and walk back into the workroom, and sign that mirror."[7]
Trivia[]
- Aja was the youngest queen to compete on Season 9, at the age of 22 during filming. She is also the youngest queen to compete on an All Stars season at the age of 23 during filming, beating out Tatianna and Adore Delano.
- Aja was the last queen to enter the werkroom on Season 9.
- Aja was the first queen revealed for All Stars 3, being interviewed by Michelle Visage during a Facebook live-stream, three hours before the contestants' reveal episode.
- Aja was supposed to wear the rainbow kimono that Lady Gaga wore, and instead later changed it to the "Beauty Has No Shape" dress by Comme des Garçons. She later said that she had saved the kimono for the Rainbow Look on the ball episode.[8]
- Aja admitted of practicing Santería in the Drag Queen Carpool with RuPaul before Season 9 aired.
- In episode 7 of Season 9, Aja implies that she does some form of divination readings, possibly in the brujeria style.
- Aja had to post an Instagram photo and explain about her skin, due to criticisms about her makeup looking rough.
- She is the first queen to be in the Top 2 for the first Main Challenge in an All Stars season, without winning a Maxi Challenge in their first season, followed by Monique Heart.
- Coincidentally, they both lost the Lip Sync for your Legacy, and against the queens who win the most Main Challenges in their seasons (respectively BenDeLaCreme with 5 and Trinity The Tuck with 4).
- India Ferrah also experienced this situation of winning the first Main Challenge in an All Stars season, without winning a Maxi Challenge in their first season, but she lost the Lip Sync for your Legacy to the Lip Sync Assassin, (Yvie Oddly)
- Aja is the mother of the drag family "The Haus of Aja". Her drag daughters are Dahlia Sin, Kandy Muse, and Janelle No. 5.
- As of Season 13, Dahlia and Kandy have both appeared on Drag Race. It is unknown if Janelle will appear.
- Aja, Alexis Michelle, Peppermint, and Sasha Velour recorded a song together titled "C.L.A.T."[9]
- They were also interviewed for getoutmag , and had to wear a Broadway themed look, Aja doing Grease.
- Aja dropped out of high school to do drag, although she had perfect grades.[10]
- Aja won Drag Queen of the Year at the 4th Annual Brooklyn Nightlife Awards in 2016.[11]
- On Season 9 and All Stars 3, Aja was up for elimination on episode 3.
- Aja wears the fragrance Aura, by Thierry Mugler.
- Her drag family "The Haus of Aja" dissolved because Aja wanted to focus on her career as a rapper, so her drag children (Dahlia Sin, Kandy Muse, and Janelle No.5) created a new drag house called "DOLLHAUS". However, Aja returned to drag shortly before the Season 12 cast announcement, now performing as a member of the Dollhaus with her daughters.
- On Trinity The Tuck's podcast WERK , she revealed the speculated and mysterious decision of BeBe Zahara Benet on All Stars 3, when she decided to withhold her lip stick choices.
- On All Stars 3, Aja became the eleventh contestant in the Drag Race franchise to win a Mini Challenge on the episode she got eliminated, after Jade in Season 1, Mystique Summers Madison in Season 2, Phoenix and Yara Sofia in Season 3, Kenya Michaels in Season 4, Alexis Mateo and Yara Sofia in All Stars 1, Ivy Winters in Season 5, BenDeLaCreme in Season 6, Mrs. Kasha Davis in Season 7, and followed by Crystal in Series 1 of Drag Race UK, Tamisha Iman in Season 13 and by Sister Sister in UK Season 2.
- Aja confirmed on X that she no longer does drag as of October 8, 2019 [12] On Instagram, September 5, 2021, she explained that the reason was conflict between gender identity and artistic standpoint.
- In her Instagram post, she officially announced her return to drag after being inspired by Kylie Sonique Love on All Stars 6.[13]
- In May 2021, Aja revealed she had joined the Royal House of LaBeija. In early 2023, she had changed her social media names to "Aja 007", which signified that she was currently not affiliated with any ballroom house but is still active in ballroom. In October 2023, Aja joined the House of Miyake-Mugler, the same house that Olivia Lux of Season 13 joined.[14]
- In both of her Snatch Game performances, Aja portrayed a drag queen (Alyssa Edwards in season 9 and Crystal LaBeija in All Stars 3.
- Aja has expressed interest in returning for another season of All Stars.[15]
- On April 27, 2022, Aja was announced as a contestant on Legendary Season 3 representing the Royal House of LaBeija.[16] The House of LaBeija went on to place 6th.
- She was the first Lip Sync Assassin on All Stars 8.
- Some of Aja's first drag names were Sindel and Kitana, which are both references to the video game franchise Mortal Kombat.[17]
Gallery[]
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9[]
Mini Promo
Mini Trailer
Sexy Selfie with Pit Crew
Miss Congeniality Candidate Promo
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9 Looks[]
Promo Look
Premiere Look
Confessional Look
Entrance Look
Hometown Look
Gaga Look
White Party Look
Princess Look
Naughty Nighty Look
Faux Fur Look
Snatch Game Look — Alyssa Edwards
Madonna Look
Big Hair Look
Unaired Club Kid Couture Look
Unaired Rainbow Look
Unaired Best Drag Look
Reunion Look
Finale Look
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 3[]
Mini Promo
Mini Trailer
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 3 Looks[]
Promo Look
Premiere Look
Casting Special Look
Confessional Look
Entrance Look
All-Star Variety Show Look
LSFYL Look
RuDemption Look — Fairytale Princess Eleganza (S9; E3)
VH1 Divas Look — Amy Winehouse
Wigs on Wigs on Wigs Look
Wigs on Wigs on Wigs Reveal
Snatch Game Look — Crystal Labeija
Flower Power Look
Soup Can Look — Sugar Tits
Studio 54 Look
Kitty Girls Group Look — Lil' Banjee
Jury of Your Queers/Unaired Red for Filth Look
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 8[]
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 8 Looks[]
Lip Sync Assassin Look
Videos[]
An hour with Aja
Out Of The Closet w Aja
Follow Me WOW Series Aja
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9[]
The Best of Aja Season 9
Drag Queen Carpool Aja Season 9
Queen To Queen Season 9 - Aja & Nina Bo'Nina Brown
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3[]
Meet Aja All Stars 3
Aja's All Stars 3 Runway Looks
Discography[]
Singles[]
| Year | Title | Artwork | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Level Ya Pussy Up" | 
|
|
| 2017 | "C.L.A.T. (feat. DJ Mitch Ferrino)" | 
|
with Alexis Michelle, Peppermint, & Sasha Velour |
| 2018 | "Finish Her! (feat. WNNR & DJ Accident Report)" |
|
|
| 2018 | "Brujería (feat. Mitch Ferrino)" | 
|
|
| 2018 | "Demons, Witches & Bitches" | 
|
with Shilow & The Vixen |
| 2018 | "Art Jesus" | 
|
|
| 2018 | "Jekyll and Hyde (feat. Shilow)" | 
|
|
| 2019 | "Commercial" | 
|
|
| 2019 | "I Ain't Left" | 
|
|
| 2019 | "Mama Chola (feat. Amira Wang)" | 
|
with Shilow |
| 2023 | 
|
Extended Plays[]
| Year | Title | Artwork | Singles | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | In My Feelings - EP | 
|
|
|
| 2019 | 
|
|
||
| 2019 | 
|
|
}===Long Plays==={| class="wikitable" border="2" style="text-align:left;"|- |
Long Plays[]
| Year | Title | Artwork | Track List |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | BOX Office | 
|
|
| 2021 | 
|
|
Social Media[]
References[]
|
[]
| Winner | Sasha Velour |
|---|---|
| Runners-Up | 2nd: Peppermint • 3rd & 4th: Shea Couleé & Trinity Taylor |
| Other Contestants | 5th: Alexis Michelle • 6th: Nina Bo'nina Brown • 7th: Valentina (Miss Congeniality) • 8th: Farrah Moan • 9th: Aja • 10th: Cynthia Lee Fontaine • 11th: Eureka (Departed) • 12th: Charlie Hides • 13th: Kimora Blac • 14th: Jaymes Mansfield |
| Judges | RuPaul • Michelle Visage • Carson Kressley • Ross Mathews |
| Pit Crew | Jason Carter • Miles Davis Moody • Bryce Eilenberg |
| Winner | Trixie Mattel |
|---|---|
| Runners-Up | 2nd: Kennedy Davenport • 3rd & 4th: BeBe Zahara Benet & Shangela |
| Other Contestants | 5th: Morgan McMichaels • 6th: BenDeLaCreme (Quit) • 7th: Aja • 8th: Chi Chi DeVayne• 9th: Milk • 10th: Thorgy Thor |
| Judges | RuPaul • Michelle Visage • Carson Kressley • Ross Mathews |
| Pit Crew | Jason Carter • Bryce Eilenberg |