By Shawna Healey

The participants of the forthcoming season of RuPaul’s Drag Race has been announced: 10 queens from previous seasons will be featured in the upcoming series airing in December.

The new season will see Monet X Change, Latrice Royale, Trinity Taylor, Farrah Moan, Valentina Monique Heart, Jasmine Masters, Naomi Smalls, Gia Gunn, and Manilla Luzon all compete for the crown and the title of RPDR All Stars Four winner, following in the footsteps of Chad Michaels, Alaska Thunderfuck, and Trixie Mattel, who won the title earlier this year.

The promo pictures show the queens looking magnificent in ice blue, silver and pink.

Who are the queens?

Monet X Change placed 6^th in season 10, where she was also titled Miss Congeniality. Monet X Change was sent home in episode 10 by Kameron Michaels. She is most remembered for making and wearing a dress out of dish sponges for the “drag on a dime” challenge. She was declared safe, despite criticism from her fellow queens.

Latrice Royale is a firm fan favourite, with many quotes and gifs of her from the show going viral. Latrice coined the 5Gs: Good God Girl Get a Grip. Latrice Royale featured on season four and the original All Stars, and placed fourth in season 4, where she was sent home by Chad Michaels. In the original All Stars, Latrice was paired with Manilla Luzon, forming Latrila. The pair were sent home in episode three, losing to Rujubee (Raven and Jujebee). Latrice also won Miss Congeniality in season 4, and was declared “mama bear” by the other contestants.

Trinity “the Tuck” Taylor featured in the ninth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, where she placed third and fourth alongside Shea Coulee. She won three main challenges but was in the bottom two once in episode four, in which she was the team captain.

Another season 9 queen is Miss Farah Moan, who hails from Houston, Texas.  She is another fan favourite, and is most commonly known for how “fishy” she is, and the amount of highlighter that she wears. She was eliminated in episode 8, finishing in eighth place.

Valentina is a drag queen from Los Angeles, California.  She featured in season 9, and is known for one of the most memorable eliminations in RPDR Herstory, in which she failed to memorise the lyrics for her Lip Sync For Your Life challenge. Valentina initially attempted to lip sync with her Klub Kids mask covering her mouth, but RuPaul demanded that she remove it.

Monique Heart was eliminated in season 10 episode 7, placing 8^th and being sent home by The Vixen, having won one mini challenge in episode 3. She is known for her “brown cow realness” and iconic one-liners.

Jasmine Masters was a contestant on season 7 of RPDR. She had a limited run on the show, but has gained a cult following through her YouTube uploads, in which she often says “I am Jasmine Masters and I have something to say”. Her most famous – or, arguably, infamous – videos was titled “Jasmine Masters RuPaul Drag Race fucked up drag”, in which she commented that the quality of America’s drag scene has waned since RPDR first started airing. Fans initially reacted negatively, but this soon started turning into a kind of comic appreciation.

Naomi Smalls was a season 8 runner up, having won one main challenge in episode 6. Her name is inspired by two black legends in the respective fields of modelling and rap: Naomi Campbell and Biggie Smalls. Naomi now hosts a World of Wonder show on YouTube along with fellow contestant Kim Chi called M.U.G. Naomi’s entrance quote on season 8 was “”Check your lipstick before you come for me.”

Miss G-G-G-Gia Gunn was on the sixth season of the show, where she placed 10^th, sent home in the 6^th episode, in which she impersonated Kim Kardashian in the Snatch Game challenge, by Laganja Estranja. One of her most memorable quotes from the show is “My name’s Gia Gunn. I don’t jump guns, I am the boom boom gun.” On the trans visibility day last year, 20^th of April 2017, Gia revealed that she is transgender, making her the sixth contest to come out as being transgender. Gia is also the third member of the Haus of Edwards following Miss Alissa herself, and fellow Drag Race alum Miss Shangela Laquifa Wadley.

Last but certainly not least, Manilla Luzon. Manila was on season three of RPDR, where she placed runner up behind Raja. Manila was also part of Latrila in the original All Stars, where she was sent home along with Latrice, losing to Rujubee. Manila is known for her signature white strand of hair and pineapple dress. During season three Manila did very well, only being relegated to the bottom two once, after which she was forced to participate in the Lip Sync For Your Life challenge to “MacArthur Park”. RuPaul called this the “best lip sync of all time”. Manila is named after the capital of the Philippines, where her mother was born. She chose this name to celebrate her heritage.

According to RuPaul, the forthcoming season will “shock fans, although I don’t think they’ll be disappointed. We always try to do something fresh and interesting, and sometimes it turns out in a way that you don’t really expect.” This series of All Stars will be followed by the show’s fourth regular season.