Lip Sync Performances

A Lip Sync Performance, most commonly referred to as a Lip Sync For Your Life, is a crucial aspect of RuPaul's Drag Race. Lip-sync performances have made an appearance at the end of almost every episode, and are used as a way for Ru to determine which queen to eliminate from the race.

A lip-sync performance consists of two queens (with some exceptions) lip syncing to a song by a female vocalist, with the expectation that they will dance and pull other tricks while this is going on. This performance is then edited down into a 2-minute clip for use during the episode.

Throughout the series several lip-syncs have resulted in memorable and controversial moments; lip syncs are often the source of the most publicity for the show.

Lip Sync For Your Life

A Lip Sync For Your Life is the most common style of lip sync used on the show. It has so far made an appearance on every non-All Stars season of the show.

At the end of each episode, the two queens who performed worst in that week's challenge will be placed up for elimination, indicating that they must lip sync for their life. Before the lip sync begins, Ru will state the following to the queens:

"Two queens stand before me. Ladies, this is your last chance to impress me, and save yourself from elimination. The time has come... for you to lip sync... FOR. YOUR. LIFE. Good luck, and don't fuck it up."

Following the lip sync, the queen who (in Ru's opinion) performed best will be told "Shantay, you stay," while the eliminated queen will be asked to "Sashay away." In the case of particularly good lip syncs, both queens may be saved by Ru, and in the case of particularly poor lip syncs, both queens may be eliminated.

Final Lip Sync

While still referred to as a "Lip Sync For Your Life", the final lip sync of each season follows a slightly different format, depending on the season.

Lip Sync For Your Lives

The Lip Sync For Your Lives was a special variation of the Lip Sync For Your Life used during All Stars 1. It was created to deal with the season's unique "teams" twist, and also introduced the panic button, which was only used during this season.

At the end of each episode, the two teams that performed worst in that week's challenge would have to select one of their members to represent the team in the lip sync. Before the lip sync began, the two teammates not lip syncing would step off to the side of the stage, and Ru would say the following:

"Two All Stars stand before me. Ladies, this is your last chance to impress me, and save your team from elimination. The time has come... for you to lip sync... FOR. YOUR. LIVES. Good luck, and don't fuck it up."

During the first minute of the lip sync, if the teammate not lip syncing felt that her partner was under-performing in the lip sync ("having a she-mergency," as it was referred to on the show), she would have the option to hit a "panic button" and take her partner's place in the lip sync. However, each team was allowed to use the panic button only once during the season.

Regardless of whether or not the panic button was used, following the lip sync Ru would announce the safety of the team he felt performed better in the lip sync with "Shantay, you stay," and would ask the team that was eliminated to "Sashay away."

Final Lip Syncs

The final two lip syncs of this season followed a different format than the one laid out by the rest of the season. In both cases, the two queens performing were lip syncing for themselves rather than on behalf of their team. As a result, these two lip syncs were referred to as a "Lip Sync For Your Life".

Lip Sync For Your Legacy

A Lip Sync For Your Legacy was a special style of lip sync used during All Stars 2. Notably, this format led to the queens eliminating each other rather than Ru eliminating them.

At the end of each episode, Ru would announce the two queens that performed best in that week's challenge as the "Top All Stars of the week." Ru would also select the 2-3 queens who performed worst in that week's challenge to be up for elimination. After this, the bottom queens would be given the chance in the workroom to defend their case for remaining in the competition to the Top 2 of the week. The Top 2 would then select a tube of lip stick bearing the name of one of the bottom queens, representing who they would eliminate if they were to win the lip sync. Next, all the queens would return to the main stage, with the Top 2 queens standing at the front of the runway, and Ru would say the following:

"Two top All Stars stand before me. Ladies, this is your chance to impress me, win $10,000, and earn the power, to give one of the bottom queens the chop. The time has come... for you to lip sync... FOR. YOUR. LEGACY. Good luck, and don't fuck it up."

Following the lip sync, Ru would select the queen he felt did the best in the lip sync as the winner of the week's challenge, saying "You're a winner, baby." The winning queen would then reveal who she had chosen to eliminate, and that queen would be asked to "Sashay away" by Ru.

Final Lip Sync

While still referred to as a "Lip Sync For Your Legacy", the final lip sync of this season followed a slightly different format. The All Stars of the season compete in the last "Lip Sync For Your Legacy", with Ru selecting a winner based on the lip sync, as well as each queen's performance throughout the entire season.

Lip Sync For The Crown

The Lip Sync For The Crown was a unique twist on the lip sync format used for the Season 9 finale. Rather than Ru simply stating the winner during the live finale, it was revealed that the remaining four queens would have to compete in a bracket-style lip sync tournament in order to win the season.

At the beginning of the finale, a large wheel displaying the faces of all four queens was brought out. The queen selected by this wheel was given the chance to choose who she would compete against in the first round of the bracket, with the two queens not chosen lip syncing against each other in the second match-up of the first round. Each of the two performances began with Ru standing at the front of the stage, the two queens behind him, and announcing to the audience:

"Two queens stand behind me. Ladies, this is your last chance to impress me and save yourself from elimination. The time has come... for you to lip sync... FOR. THE. CROWN. Good luck, and don't fuck it up."

At the end of the two matches, Ru announced in front of the live audience which of the two queens performed better with the familiar "Shantay, you stay." The eliminated queen would be asked to "Sashay away," this time with the applause of the audience behind them.

The second round of the tournament consisted of the winners of the first two match-ups (at this point the Top 2 queens of the season) lip syncing against each other in the final lip sync of the season. The performance began again with Ru at the front of the stage with the two queens behind him, this time announcing:

"Two queens stand behind me. Ladies, this is your last chance to impress me, and prove to the world that you are America's Next Drag Superstar. The time has come... for you to lip sync... FOR. THE. CROWN. Good luck, and don't fuck it up."

Following this performance, Ru chose the winner of the season based on this final lip sync as well as each queen's performance throughout the season.