Though she came from one of the smaller RuPaul’s Drag Race international franchises, Vanity Vain undoubtedly made her mark on the inaugural season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars.
From her unintentional humor and having some of the absolute best banter with RuPaul herself, to eliminating queen after queen with her lethal lip-sync skills, Vain had to make Drag Race Sverige more than proud with her showing on the season.
Though she let, as RuPaul calls it, her “inner saboteur” pop out a couple of times, Vain says doing the season was a dream, even though the experience of filming it may be better than watching it back now.
“I loved every single second of it,” Vain told Blavity’s Shadow and Act in a recent interview. “It was such a professional team. I loved everything about it, coming from a very small franchise, and it was the first season [as well], it was the first time for everyone…like the whole production team, the queens, the hosts in my original season. So we just played it out and tried to figure it out together. But this one, it went fast and I loved it. But it’s another experience to look at it [laughs]. I appreciate both of them, but I have to say, I enjoy my experience filming it more than watching it.”
Vain lip-synced five times this season so far (not counting the upcoming lip-sync tournament in this week’s episode)– four times to stay in the competition and one time for the win. She delivered multiple iconic performances and, if nothing else, she left her mark on the competition through these performances. Though she didn’t necessarily plan to be the lip-sync assassin leading into the season, Vain always knew she would prove herself as a performer.
“The thing is that when it comes to lip sync for your life, track record doesn’t matter anymore,” she said. “That’s your chance to actually prove [yourself]. That’s what it is. And fans need to know that that’s the game–and it’s RuPaul’s game. It’s not the queens’ game. And when I get the chance to be on stage and perform, I don’t care if I was worse in the challenge or not– this is my time to shine, I get screen time and I can prove that this is what I do. I came to this show to broadcast that I am a pop star [and] a superstar. I’m the real-life Hannah Montana, and if I get the chance to be on stage and prove to an audience that this is what I do, I’m going to prove that this is what I do. ”
From”Mah Na Mah Na” versus Gala Varo to “I Drove All Night” versus Pythia, Vain delivered iconic performance after iconic performance. “I hated to be in the bottom, but I love to perform, so I’m just like, OK, good energy, let’s go,” she said. “Let’s create a new character and play it out. So I loved every second of performing.”
Though she didn’t necessarily excel in all of the comedy challenges this year, Vain did learn, however, that she is actually a funny queen. Fans online have discussed how Vain had some of the best confessionals and in the werkroom and during the competition, she was the most hilarious when she didn’t even intend to be funny.
“I’ve always thought that I am not a fun queen,” she said. “People have always told me like, ‘Oh my God, Vanity has a microphone, what is she going to say,’ because I’m very unpredictable. I’ve learned that being funny on demand is not my thing at all, but I have [also] learned watching this season, [and] really watching it back now…I didn’t realize it when we shot it, but now when I see it: I’m hilarious. I just need to f*****g calm down [and] relax. I’m actually hilarious. I love that. I love to watch it. “
On her banter with RuPaul, Vain says that the iconic and legendary queen had and host made them feel taken care of and important.
“I have to say also going into this competition, we’ve heard a lot online and stuff, but I have to say that RuPaul is such a warm person, lovely person,” she said. “He cares about the queens. I have to say that every single time when we’ve got our critiques, he will be like, ‘How’s your feet, love? Do you want to take your shoes off? ‘He called the PAs to get [us] some water– he truly cares. I loved every single second I had with RuPaul when I got the chance to talk to her. RuPaul is a lovely human being, and I’m so grateful that I had the chance to work with her like this.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars airs Fridays on Paramount+.