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 pop or R&B 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.
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 "Shanté, 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:
In Seasons 1, 2, & 3, the weakest queen of the Top 3 would be eliminated by RuPaul without being given the chance to Lip Sync. The Top 2 queens would then Lip Sync For Their Lives, with Ru choosing the season's winner based on this lip sync as well as each queen's performance throughout the season.
In Seasons 4 & 5, all three members of the Top 3 would participate in the final lip sync, with Ru choosing the winner from the Top 3 later at the live reunion after considering this lip sync, each queen's performance throughout the season, and the opinion of the fans.
In Seasons 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10, all members of the Top 4 would participate in the final lip sync, with Ru choosing which of the four queens to eliminate based on this lip sync and each queen's performance throughout the season. The winner would later be chosen from the Top 3 at the live reunion.
As part of a twist in Season 9, no queen was eliminated at Top 4 after the final lip sync. Rather, all four queens remained in the competition until the live reunion, when the winner was decided by the Lip Sync For The Crown (see below). This concept returned in Season 10.
In Season 11, the final 5 were critiqued, and three of them would be announced as definite finalists. The other two would lip sync for their lives, and the winner would move on to the finale, where they would lip sync for the crown, a finale tradition beginning in Season 9.
Lip Sync For Your Lives
The Lip Sync For Your Lives was a special variation of the Lip Sync For Your Life used during RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race 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 "Shanté, 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"
At the end of "Dynamic Drag Duos," as only two teams were left, the team that performed worst (consisting of Raven and Jujubee) had to lip sync against each other to earn a spot in the Top 3 alongside the two members of the winning team. However, due to the emotion of the performance, Ru declared that neither of the two would be eliminated, and all four queens would participate in the final challenge.
At the end of "The Grand Finale," the two weakest queens of the Top 4 were eliminated by Ru without being given the chance to lip sync. The Top 2 queens then lip synced against each other, with Ru selecting the winner of the season based on this performance as well as the two queens' performance throughout the season.
Lip Sync For Your Legacy
A Lip Sync For Your Legacy was a special style of lip sync used during RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race 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.
In Season 2, the weakest queen of the Top 4 was eliminated by Ru without getting the chance to lip sync. Following this, the remaining three queens all participated in the final "Lip Sync For Your Legacy," with Ru selecting a winner from the three based on the lip sync, as well as each queen's performance throughout the entire season.
In Season 3, the previously eliminated queens had to pick the Top 2 All Stars of the season out of the four remaining queens, instead of Ru. Then, the final two participated in the last "Lip Sync For Your Legacy", with Ru selecting a winner from the two 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 "Shanté, 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.
Some particularly memorable moments from lip syncs include:
During Season 1, Shannel's wig fell off in the middle of her lip sync against Akashia. This was the first time a queens wig came off, accidentally or intentionally, during a lip sync.
During Season 2, Sahara Davenport jumped off the stage into the splits in the middle of her lip sync against Morgan McMichaels. This moment was later recreated in Season 7 by Sahara's drag sister Kennedy Davenport during her lip sync against Katya.
During a Season 3 lip sync between Mimi Imfurst and India Ferrah, Mimi picked India up carried her over her shoulders onto the stage. Mimi was reprimanded for this by RuPaul, and was eliminated as a result.
After Yara Sofia and Carmen Carrera's lip sync during Season 3, Ru announced that neither queen would be going home. This was the show's first non-elimination.
Near the end of Season 3, Yara broke down crying in the middle of her lip sync against Alexis Mateo, due to the stress of the competition. Several of the judges started tearing up as a result of this moment.
During Season 5, Vivienne Pinay and Honey Mahogany became the first two queens to be eliminated in a double elimination, as Ru felt neither brought the passion he was looking for.
Also during Season 5, Roxxxy Andrews tore off her wig during her lip sync against Alyssa Edwards, revealing another wig underneath. This was cited as one of the most memorable moments from Season 5, and Roxxxy later referenced the moment during the first challenge of All Stars 2.
During Nina Bo'Nina Brown and Valentina's lip sync on Season 9, Ru stopped the music due to Valentina not removing a mask she was wearing which was hiding her lips and the judges ability to see her lipsync. After some opposition, Valentina removed the mask and the lip sync was started over, only for it to be revealed Valentina didn't know the words to the song. She was eliminated as a result of this. This was the first and only time RuPaul has stopped a lip sync partway through.
Also during Season 9, in Sasha Velour and Shea Coulee's Lip Sync for the Crown Sasha removed her wig only to have a flurry of rose petals fall out from underneath it. This resulted in a standing ovation from the audience in the middle of the lip sync, and led to Sasha eliminating Shea (a queen who many thought was going to win the season.)
During Monet X Change and Dusty Ray Bottoms' lip sync on Season 10, Monet faked a jump split on a false beat drop of the song. This resulted on the judges laughing out loud.
Kana Warrior refusing to lip-sync against her friend Angele Anang in Drag Race Thailand (Season 2) in a genuine and emotional moment. When made to lip-sync, they both delivered an incredible performance are were asked to stay.
During Season 10, Kameron Michaels participated in 6 lip syncs, the record for most times lip syncing in a single season, later matched by Trinity The Tuck in All Stars 4.
BenDeLaCreme set the record for lip syncing in the most separate episodes in a single season, as she lip synced in 5 episodes of All Stars 3.
Trinity The Tuck lipsynced a total of 9 times across two seasons, breaking the record for most lipsyncs by a single contestant in total.
Season 5 is the first season to feature both a Double Shantay and a Double Elimination.
It was followed by Drag Race Thailand Season 1 and Drag Race Thailand Season 2.
Drag Race Thailand Season 1 is the first season to have three queens compete in a regular lipsync for your life (i.e. not a top 3/4 lipsync) This being between Année Maywong, JAJA, and Petchra
It is also the first season where a queen who won the main challenge also must lipsync for their life, that being Natalia Pliacam in episode 4
Apart from RuPaul, the only male vocal songs have been by Sylvester, The B-52s, Village People, Dead or Alive, James Brown, Wham!, Alex Newell, and Prince.
The first two lip sync repeats were both songs originally used in Season 1, and both in lip syncs won by Bebe Zahara Benet.
The third and fourth reused songs were both from season 4 and both lipsyncs won by Jiggly Caliente.
The sixth and seventh reused songs were both the top 4 lipsyncs of their season where the queen eliminated had been lipsyncing the week prior. They are also both RuPaul songs.
Three out of the four Madonna songs lip-synced on the show were used in Snatch Game episodes.
The majority of artists/bands have only been lip-synced to once, with some notable exceptions:
RuPaul with 24 songs (one with Martha Wash, two with Big Freedia).
RuPaul has been performed 27 times as Covergirl, Born Naked, and Sissy That Walk have all been used twice.
Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Ariana Grande (one as a feature) and Madonna with 5 songs respectively.
Although Spears has been performed 7 times as Stronger and Toxic were used twice.
Lady Gaga, Paula Abdul and Nicki Minaj (one as a feature) with 4 songs respectively.
Although Gaga has been performed 5 times as Born This Way was used twice.
Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Miley Cyrus (one as Hannah Montana), Donna Summer, Demi Lovato, Christina Aguilera & P!nk with 3 songs respectively.
Jackson has also been performed 4 times as Nasty was used twice.
Wynonna Judd, Patti LaBelle, Martha Wash (one with RuPaul), Pussycat Dolls, Cher, En Vogue (one as a feature), Blondie, Gladys Knight (One as Gladys Knight & the Pips), The Pointer Sisters, Katy Perry, Diana Ross, Big Freedia (Both Features), Fantasia, Robyn & Chaka Khan with 2 songs respectively.
Besides RuPaul, Britney Spears is the first artist to be lipsynced two separate times (in Season 1 and Season 4), quickly followed by Donna Summer (in Season 3 and Season 4)
Spears is also the first artist besides RuPaul to have a song used twice, being Stronger in Season 1 and Season 9
Spears is also the first artist besides RuPaul to be lipsynced twice in the same season on two separate episodes, with I Wanna Go and Stronger in Season 9
She was followed by Nicki Minaj in Season 10 with Pound the Alarm and Bang Bang
Whitney Houston is the first artist to be lipsynced twice in the same episode, with So Emotional and It's Not Right But It's Okay from season 9's Grande Finale
She was followed by Janet Jackson with Nasty and If from the season 10 Grande Finale
Besides RuPaul, Miley Cyrus is the first artist to have one of their songs used for two different premiere episodes, Party in the USA in Season 5 & (as Hannah Montana) Best of Both Worlds in Season 11.
If counting international seasons this would be Lady Gaga, with Applause in Season 8 & Born This Way in Drag Race Thailand (Season 1).
All Stars 2 marks the first season where the last lipsync is not a RuPaul song, with 'If I Was Your Woman' by Gladys Knight & the Pips being used
Since then every other final lipsync has not been a RuPaul song, with Whitney Houston in season 9, Miley Cyrus in All Stars 3, Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj in Season 10, Christina Aguilera in All Stars 4 and Lady Gaga in Season 11.
Alternatively, the lipsync before each finale episode in these seasons, besides All Stars 4 and Season 11, was a RuPaul song, with Step It Up, U Wear It Well, Freaky Money, and Call Me Mother.
Currently, only five episodes have contained more than one Lip Sync performance, those being:
Season 9 Episode 14 "Grand Finale" with 3.
Season 10 Episode 14 "Grande Finale" with 3.
Holi-Slay Spectacular with 5.
All Stars 4 Episode 6 "LaLaPaRUza" with 4.
Season 11 Episode 14 "Grand Finale" with 3.
Season 11 is the only season of Drag Race/ Drag Race All Stars where a RuPaul song isn't lip-synced to.
Excluding Top 4 and finale episodes, Season 12 was the first regular Drag Race season to include a Top 2 lip-sync (used in the two premiere episodes). However, unlike the All Stars format of naming both of the Top 2 challenge winners, the winner of each respective lip-sync was the overall winner of the episode (these being Widow Von'Du And Jaida Essence Hall respectively).
All queens that were in Season 12 Episode 9, Choices 2020, had lipsynced prior to the episode.
Apple Music Playlist
Listen to every lip sync for your life song on MUSIC.
