Top 20 Best & Worst Talent Show Performances on RuPaul's Drag Race

20 Best & Worst Talent Show Performances on RuPaul’s Drag Race

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most unforgettable performances from the talent shows, and variety extravaganzas, on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” For this list, we’ll only be considering the U.S. regular and all-star seasons.

#10: Worst: Farrah Moan

“All Stars” Season 4

Burlesque numbers on the “All Stars” variety extravaganzas had always felt like a safe choice. After Roxxxy Andrews and BenDeLaCreme both snagged wins with their own takes on the art form, Farrah Moan clearly hoped lightning would strike a third time. Initially, things looked promising: the routine was undeniably sultry, the setup was lavish and her reveal was genuinely impressive. However, her downfall, literally, came when she accidentally slipped on her own garment and hit the floor in spectacular fashion. The best performers know how to turn any mishap into gold, but unfortunately, Farrah was unable to recover. Shaken and unsteady, she limped through the rest of her number and, unsurprisingly, landed in the bottom two.

#10: Best: Willow Pill

Season 14

Right out of the gate in Season 14, Willow Pill made it clear that her brain operates on a delightfully twisted frequency. While most of her sisters opted for the usual original dance tracks, Willow floated onstage in a flowing nightgown, serenely mouthing the words to Enya’s “Only Time.” She then ran a bubble bath and dropped several confusing objects into the tub, including a glass of wine, a plate of spaghetti and ultimately, a toaster, before climbing into the tub herself. What did it all mean? Who knows? Willow described it as her personal spin on self-care during lockdown. Although she feared the number would send her packing, it ended up becoming one of the most iconic moments in “Drag Race” herstory.

#9: Worst: Trinity K. Bonet

“All Stars” Season 6

On her original season, Trinity K. Bonet surprised everyone with her genuinely hilarious routine in the stand-up challenge. When she returned for “All Stars,” the Atlanta queen decided to go down the comedy route again for her talent show number. But this time, the magic was nowhere to be found. From the second she hit the stage, Trinity stumbled on her words, heralding what was to come. Instead of fresh material, Trinity leaned heavily on callbacks to her Season 6 routine, seemingly hoping lightning would strike again. It didn’t. The jokes fizzled, there was even more stumbling, and her poorly placed wig made it hard to even see her face. The performance nearly sent Trinity packing, but she ultimately lived to slay another day.

#9: Best: Kennedy Davenport

“All Stars” Season 3

They don’t call her the “Dancing Diva of Dallas” for nothing. When Kennedy Davenport hits a stage, she is sure to have you spellbound for every second and this performance was no exception. She came out swinging – kicking, spinning, twirling and launching into jaw-dropping splits with no hesitation. Even just watching this performance from the audience would leave anyone out of breath, which naturally begs the question, how does she still have air in her lungs? And just when it seemed like she had emptied her bag of tricks, Kennedy flipped herself onto an even higher platform, leaving the judges completely gagged. That this performance didn’t land her in the top is, frankly, mind-boggling.

#8: Worst: Amethyst

Season 15

There’s a world of difference between performing on social media and performing in real life, and Amethyst’s talent number made that painfully clear. The self-proclaimed TikTok queen attempted a comedic interpretation of Lisa Stansfield’s “All Around the World,” playing a wine-sipping woman literally looking for her baby. But barely two seconds in, she burned through the joke that was meant to carry the entire routine and had nothing new to offer for the rest of it. To make matters worse, she hit the stage in a pair of regular sneakers. Had she saved the punchline for the end and built more momentum along the way, this number could have worked. But she failed to do so and landed herself in the bottom.

#8: Best: Ra'Jah O'Hara

“All Stars” Season 6

By now, it’s no secret that Ra'Jah O'Hara is a phenomenal designer and seamstress. For her talent number on “All Stars” 6, she decided to raise the stakes by attempting something truly wild. With just 60 seconds on the clock, Ra’Jah rolled out a sewing machine and set out to make an actual dress in real time. Even while sewing the garment, Ra’Jah didn’t forget to entertain, as she fired off quips to Ross Matthews that kept everyone laughing. Remarkably, she finished the dress with more than 20 seconds to spare and still had time to slip behind a screen and put it on. As talent showcases go, this was the full package and it definitely should have placed her in the top two.

#7: Worst: Monét X Change

“All Stars” Season 4

There’s no denying that Monét X Change is a terrific singer, although you wouldn’t know it from watching her “All Stars” 4 talent show alone. Monét’s performance of her original song “Soak It Up” began with her voice bouncing around several different keys before eventually settling into the right one. But then, after revealing into her sponge outfit, the performance didn’t offer anything particularly exciting. We’d already seen the fake split move and the song itself was already big in the “Drag Race” fandom. The less-than-stellar showing from Monét gave us one of the funniest moments of the entire episode, courtesy of Gia Gunn, so at least, something memorable soaked through.

#7: Best: Juicy Love Dion

Season 18

The Princess of Miami entered the werk room on Season 18 bragging about her amazing dance skills. But it wasn’t until the talent show that she got to truly showcase those skills. Performing an original song, Juicy Love Dion unleashed a jaw-dropping routine packed with moves most people wouldn’t dare attempt, let alone land. From a handstand that melted seamlessly into a split to her razor-sharp heel-clacking step, Juicy served hit after hit that fired up the entire room. And it certainly helped that the song she performed to was an absolute bop. To say that she simply ate that would be selling this performance way short.

#6: Worst: Vita VonTesse Starr

Season 18

Sometimes a queen is so gifted in one area that they seem incapable of doing well at literally anything else. A one-of-a-kind designer and seamstress, Vita VonTesse Starr struggled with just about anything that didn’t involve a sewing machine. And that includes her talent number. Her original song seemed inspired by ‘80s workout videos, with lyrics outlining an exercise routine meant to keep the audience in shape. But Vita didn’t seem interested in following her own plan, opting instead for an entirely different choreography. When you hear “fitness workout,” you expect a high-energy number, but Vita’s was surprisingly lackluster, despite the fact that she had sneakers on. She should count herself lucky the judges had no say in the episode’s ranking.

#6: Best: Mirage

Season 16

This was yet another queen whose rightful placement in the talent show was derailed by the “Rate-A-Queen” twist. But in the exact opposite way from Vita. Like many other queens, Mirage performed an original track. But unlike most of them, her number had everyone buzzing long after it ended. From walking an imaginary dog to the front of the stage to sliding effortlessly into a dip, Mirage’s moves were smooth, sultry and totally assured. But perhaps the peak of the performance came when she unleashed the heel-clacking. The “Swiffer of Las Vegas,” as Mirage called herself, put a truly unique spin on the original dance track and had everyone sold. It’s no wonder the performance instantly went viral.

#5: Worst: Mayhem Miller

“All Stars” Season 5

Mayhem Miller is such an unserious individual, it has now pretty much become her brand. For her “All Stars” 5 talent number, Mayhem leaned into the viral video of her performing with her eyes. The first part of it went well, but she then decided to sing live. It didn’t take long for the judges to realize that she barely knew the words to her own song. Mayhem fumbled through the words and at one point, even laughed at herself, because if you can’t laugh at yourself, how in the hell are you gonna laugh at somebody else, right? Just when we thought this was her most unserious performance, Mayhem raised, or lowered, the bar when she returned for “UK vs. the World.”

#5: Best: Gia Gunn

“All Stars” Season 4

Having performed in traditional Japanese Kabuki theater since the age of seven, Gia Gunn has long incorporated the art form into her drag. She brought it vividly to life on the “Drag Race All Stars” main stage, performing a mesmerizing Kabuki routine for her talent show number. Even with so many moving parts, the performance still felt soothing, an undeniable testament to Gia’s mastery of the art form. After watching this, nearly everyone expected Gia to secure her first ever win on the show. But shockingly, she wasn’t even placed in the top two. And that itself was a robbery of epic proportions.

#4: Worst: Derrick Barry

“All Stars” Season 5

Although the judges have taken her to task for relying solely on her Britney Spears act, Derrick Barry truly shines whenever she leans fully into that persona. Sticking to Britney for her “All Stars” 5 talent number might have earned her a safe placement, but Derrick decided to take a risk. She rolled out a parade of celebrity impressions from Cher to Madonna to Miley Cyrus, all supposedly doling out advice on how to slay the competition. Perhaps one of them should have told her not to go down this route, as her impressions blended into one another and failed to deliver any laughs. The judges certainly held it against Derrick, placing her in the bottom two, which led to her elimination.

#4: Best: Anetra

Season 15

Perhaps the most memorable catchphrase from Season 15 was Anetra’s “walk that f-ing duck” and we have this talent number to thank for it. Anetra wasted no time making her mark on the season, delivering a show-stopping performance that fused two of her favorite things – martial arts and duck walking. After walking that duck straight to the front of the stage, she then unleashed her combat skills, karate-chopping one block of wood and obliterating another with a roundhouse kick. This performance left everyone floored and immediately showed the other queens how formidable a competitor Anetra was going to be. Her kitty cat was certainly on fire that night, and according to reliable sources, it still is.

#3: Worst: Coco Montrese

“All Stars” Season 2

In many ways, Coco Montrese paved the way for memorably bad talent show performances on “Drag Race.” On “All Stars” 2, she stepped out of her comfort zone, opting for a routine inspired by classic Hollywood glamour. That risk, ultimately, failed to pay off. Coco simply ran around the stage, delivering neither a compelling dance routine nor a coherent story. While we now know that this wasn’t her original plan, one would still expect a seasoned performer like Coco to make something work. Instead, the snoozefest of a number dragged on for what seemed like an eternity before limping to a dismal end. It was indeed a choice – just not a good one.

#3: Best: Monét X Change

“All Stars” Season 7

Sometimes, all it takes to stun an audience into silence is a microphone and a killer set of pipes. After her disastrous talent show flop on “All Stars” 4, Monét X Change decided to dig out her degree in opera performance when she returned for the All Winners season. Singing a rendition of Vincenzo Bellini’s “La Sonnambula,” Monét left the entire room floored with her incredibly rich operatic vocals. With nothing but her voice, the “All Stars” 4 winner transported the audience from the “Drag Race” main stage to an opera house, complete with an imaginary orchestra and conductor. As far as pure, undeniable talent goes, very few come close to this masterpiece.

#2: Worst: Jasmine Masters

“All Stars” Season 4

She may be the queen of viral memes, but Jasmine Masters quickly learned that casually going viral online is a far cry from delivering a hilarious stand-up routine. For one, Jasmine refused to do any sort of preparation and decided to simply wing it on stage. Spoiler alert: she bombed spectacularly. Her crude monologue about rejecting a guy because of his bad breath contained plenty of detail, but not one single discernible joke. Unsurprisingly, it left the judges, queens and audience members utterly confused. Even after bombing on stage, Jasmine remained convinced she was hilarious and the problem was that everyone else simply didn’t like her choice of topic. Oh, the level of delusion, far too much.

#2: Best: Aja

“All Stars” Season 3

For the second ever “All Stars” talent extravaganza, Aja brought ballroom to the “Drag Race” main stage and showed the children exactly how to vogue. Performing to her own track, she delivered crisp vogue lines, lightning-fast footwork and an effortless duck walk that showed real technical mastery. The routine kept building and building, leading up to the moment everyone remembers: Aja climbing onto a box and launching herself into a clean, fearless dip from several feet in the air. Gasps all around. Fans still echo Milk’s unforgettable line to this day. In under one minute, Aja reminded everyone that she had the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and, particularly, talent to make it all the way.

#1: Worst: Irene the Alien

Season 15

Irene the Alien walked into Season 15 with the confidence of an All Star. But when it came time to justify that aura with a sickening talent number, the Seattle diva stumbled. Her big idea? Making a glass of ice water. Onstage. In real time. What followed was an excruciatingly literal demonstration that involved ice, water, and absolutely no punchline to justify the buildup. Instead of clever absurdity, the joke landed somewhere between unfinished performance art and a rehearsal that accidentally went live. While “Drag Race” has celebrated deadpan humor before, this one lacked any escalation, payoff, or even clarity. In the end, Irene landed in the bottom two and was sent home as the porkchop queen.

#1: Best: Tatianna

“All Stars” Season 2

When Tatianna took the stage on “All Stars” 2, she zigged where everyone else zagged, and it paid off. Instead of singing or dancing, she delivered a spoken-word monologue titled “Same Parts,” set to an eerie instrumental. The piece about her genitals was strange but hypnotic. Every pause felt intentional, every word deliberate, as Tatianna built the tension without ever raising her voice or doing anything excessive. Still, she managed to pull the judges and viewers in, and held everyone’s attention from start to finish. Years later, it’s still quoted, dissected, and celebrated, because it proved that drag excellence isn’t about doing the most, but about making sure you’re unforgettable. And she certainly was. For that, Tatianna, we say, thank you.

Which of these is your favorite “Drag Race” talent number? And which do you never want to see again? Let us know in the comments below.