Start your engines because a brand spankin' new season of the Stan Original Series Drag Race Down Under is here.
The new season, which premiered on Stan this week, welcomed 10 talented new queens from Australia and New Zealand, who are competing for a cash prize and most importantly, the title of 'Down Under's Next Drag Superstar.'
And the exciting news keeps coming because along with Aussie comedian Rhys Nicholson returning as a judge with a rotation of special guest judges, the one and only Michelle Visage has stepped into the stilettos of RuPaul as the host.
RuPaul will remain on as an executive producer and she's thrilled to have Visage at the helm of our local version.
"It has been my great honour to bring Drag Race to Australasia. I can't wait to see the franchise flourish under the leadership of the incredible Michelle Visage," RuPaul said upon the announcement.
Watch the trailer for the new season of the Stan Original Series Drag Race Down Under.
When Visage was in Sydney for the annoucment, Mamamia caught up with the iconic judge who was thrilled to be leading the Down Under spin-off. "It's an honour for Ru to ask me," she said.
"All I'm hoping to do is make these queens be the best that they can be, help them shine so that they work for the next 50 years. That's my goal and not to replace RuPaul and not to be anything that anybody else wants me to be. I'm just there to be myself. That's what Ru told me to do. Ru said, 'You be you and you do what you do'."
Visage's relationship with RuPaul is one that began decades ago.
"I met Ru in a nightclub, probably 1987 or '88 in New York City. We both worked for the same boss, which was Susanne Bartsch, who's still throwing the most iconic parties in New York City," she said.
"She hired me as part of a vogueing troupe because I grew up in the Harlem ballroom scene and Ru is Ru. Ru has always been Ru," she continued.
"They were the most fabulous people in New York City, very queer parties and we knew each other, but we didn't know each other."
They crossed paths again a few years later when the former girl group member collaborated with S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. "I came out with a record in 1992 and it's on the Bodyguard soundtrack, and Ru came out with 'Supermodel' in 1992. We saw each other at a music event in New York and I walked up to Ru and I said, 'I don't know if you remember me or know who I am.'
"Ru said, 'Stop. Of course, I remember you, you are motherf**king superstar'," she recalled.
"I just remember welling up with tears because the only person that's ever said that in my life to me was my mother. I felt seen in that moment and then I went my own way."
They would have a third chance encounter in 1996 that would change the trajectory of both their lives.
"I was auditioning for a breakfast radio show. They brought Ru and didn't tell me. They didn't know we knew each other and they put us together to audition [for a show]. That was it. It was a home run when he walked into the room and I was there, I looked at him and he said 'All roads lead to Visage. Of course, you're sitting here, who else would it be?'" she warmly recalled.
RuPaul left the show after three years as Visage stayed on for breakfast radio for another seventeen years, but their friendship only grew stronger.
"We knew that there was no going back," she said.
"Then Drag Race happened and our friendship remained through it all."
Slowly but surely, RuPaul's Drag Race became a reality TV phenonemenon that has run for 16 seasons in the US and spawned 16 international versions and multiple spin-off like All-Stars and RuPaul's Drag U.
When she isn't judging alongside Ru and a rotation of guest judges, Visage is known for being a staunch advocate for LGBTIQA+ rights and equality. She's won multiple awards for her allyship and while she said she has "always been an advocate and always been an ally", the 56-year-old can pinpoint the moment things shifted for her.
"I absolutely know when it happened," she said.
"I was in high school and there was a boy who was getting bullied and it was going on for years… the jock boys picking on this kid and I just got in their face and I said enough is enough," she continued.
"I'm not gonna give you the language that he used. I am from New Jersey. It was not good language. I put my finger in his face and I just went off on the kid [about a boy] I didn't know. We weren't friends, we ran in different circles. He was very fine arts and I was very loud theater kid but I knew that he needed a voice."
Visage and the bullied student got detention but she has no regrets. "I didn't know what possessed me but I knew that somebody needed to defend this kid," she said.
"I knew at that moment that my voice was needed."
The former Seduction member admits that raising her queer child, who she previously told PinkNews was "transitioning", has made her only want to fight harder for equality.
"I've always been the gay rights girl. Always. It's just my platform in life," she said.
"It's my platform and now I have a queer child. I'm here to continue the work that I've started many moons ago to make this world a better place for my queer child and all the other queer people living in it."
It's a dream that she hopes RuPaul's Drag Race plays a small part making coming to fruition.
"I want us to keep spreading the word and keep being positive and being role models for these queer artists and giving them a platform and a voice. That's why this was started and that's what it will always be," she said.
"It's a show for queer people by queer people."
But Visage is aware that empowerment also needs to come from inside, as she admits that she's been hard on herself in the past. "I was so mean to myself and one thing we've learned about quantum physics, the universe and vibrations is that what you put out there is what you'll receive," she said.
"You can't love a body that you hate. The way you speak to yourself or about yourself is really important. Even in jest, I'm quite self-deprecating and I have to check myself. Women do it and we got to stop doing that. We've got to put ourselves first because our kids are watching and if we don't prioritise ourselves, our kids are not going to prioritise themselves."
Relive the iconic moment when Sasha Velour won RuPaul's Drag Race. Post continues after video.
Ahead of the premiere of Drag Race Down Under, Visage is excited for viewers to meet the new class of drag superstars, who bring their unique Aussie and Kiwi flare.
"Australian drag — or Australasian because Kiwis have great drag as well — it has a lot of heart. They lead with heart and they lead with comedy," she said.
"Everything they do is a point of view and that's what I love most about Australasian drag is they are in on the joke. They are willing to laugh at themselves."
Visage promises that the new season will bring some huge twists and surprises.
"In my opinion, it's the strongest season we've had yet. The talent is unbelievable, Ru is gonna flip. She is gonna flip out when she sees this season," she teased.
"There are looks that have never been done before and for me to say that something like that is a big deal because I've been around Drag Race, let's say for a very long time."
Season 4 of Stan Original Series Drag Race Down Under premieres Friday, November 1 on Stan.
Feature image: Stan.