By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
The queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 recently descended upon Sin City for a historic Eleganza Extravaganza: the 1,000th performance of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!, and we’ve got exclusive deets on the HERstory making moment!
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images for Live Nation
The milestone event, which was broadcast on World Of Wonder, brought together both legendary alumni and the latest crop of Ru Girls, all reveling in the glitz, glamour, and undeniable legacy of the show. The electrifying event featured queens entering the werk room, competing with personal performances, and, of course, lip-synching for their lives.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images for Live Nation
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images for Live Nation
Source: Denise Truscello /Getty Images for Live Nation
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for Live Nation
The top six queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Suzie Toot, Sam Star, Lana JaRae, Jewels Sparkles, Onya Nurve, and Lexi Love, recently brought their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to Las Vegas to take in the celebratory moment and visit iconic landmarks.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for MTV
Members of the press joined the queens as they sashayed around town to spread the power of drag while looking gag-worthy in intricate looks before the main event, Drag Race Live!’s 1000th show.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for MTV
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for MTV
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 Queens Reflect On Drag Race Live!’s 1000th Show
On Saturday, the Flamingo Hotel was bustling with superstars of the drag scene, including Ru Girls. Drag Race watchers have come to love. Also seen at the electrifying show was Drag Race Live! director RuPaul himself and his co-director/choreographer Jamal Sims.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
In the audience were Drag Race superstars and Drag Race Live performers like Naomi Smalls…
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
Kennedy Davenport…
Source: Denise Truscello /Getty Images For Live Nation
Derrick Barry…
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Mirage…
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
and Kahanna Montrese.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
Also spotted were Drag Race winners Symone (Season 13)…
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
Kylie Sonique Love (All Stars 6)…
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
and Jaida Essence Hall (Season 12).
Source: Denise Truscello /Getty Images For Live Nation
Jaida was joined by their fellow stars of Drag Race Live!’s 1,000th live show: Morphine Love Dion, Ginger Minj, Asia O’Hara, and Plane Jane.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
Hit the flip to see what the season 17 queens thought of Drag Race Live! and their individual Drag Race journeys.
Season 17 Queens Of RuPaul’s Drag Race Talk The Show & Drag Race Live!
For Lana Ja’Rae, stepping onto the Drag Race stage was already a dream come true, and celebrating this iconic milestone in Las Vegas elevated the experience to another level.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
“I still don’t believe it,” she told BOSSIP while wearing a showgirl-inspired aesthetic to embody the Vegas spirit for the milestone performance. “There are times I wake up, and I’m like, I’m hearing my voice on TV. That is the weirdest feeling ever. I’m so honored, so grateful. I mean, I knew it would happen, but I never thought it would happen at the same time. It’s a very surreal experience actually being here and being in the moment. So I’m trying to take it all in—and not take it for granted.”
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
Fellow Drag Race competitor Onya Nurve shared in the excitement of the moment.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
“It’s been amazing, you know? Like, I’ve been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race on TV. So, to be here in Vegas in drag for the 1,000th episode, with all of these different queens from different seasons, like, we’re making HERstory here. I cannot believe that I’m here right now.”
For Onya, Drag Race has been an inspiration since she first witnessed Sasha Velour’s rose-petal-filled lip sync and Symone’s runway dominance.
“That’s when I realized I wanted to dip my foot in the pool of drag,” she said.
And as for her place in the competition, as the series 17 frontrunner with THREE maxi challenge wins under her belt, Onya knew she’d do well–but she admittedly was sniffing out her competitors.
“I am very competitive, and so I did see myself doing this well in the competition,” Onya told BOSSIP. “I tell you, when I got there, I felt like a dog. I was smelling a***es trying to figure out who the big dog was. Baby, I was the big dog, okay?! Woof Woof!”
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
The Las Vegas celebration was also a reflection moment for many contestants. Lexi Love, who was outfitted in vintage Jean Paul Gaultier, described the surreal nature of it all.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for MTV
“It’s surreal. It is the real life of a Ru Girl,” she told BOSSIP. “It’s f****g incredible, like, I feel like one of these girls in this live show, like, oh wait, I am one of these girls in this live show. Holy s*** See? It just keeps tripping me out all the time.”
She also touched on the deep bonds formed among the Season 17 queens.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
“Oh no, no, no, I hate all of them. They’re all horrible people. No, I’m just kidding,” she said with a smile. “I’m just so thankful that I have people that I call my friends now. We all say that this is like a fraternity or sorority. A lot of us didn’t go to college or get that experience, and a lot of people in life have those people that they connect with the most, and that they have the longest relationships with. And I finally got my group.”
Season 17 contestant Sam Star shared similar enthusiasm about competing on Drag Race.
Source: Denise Truscello /Getty Images For Live Nation
“[Being a Ru Girl] is such an honor. It’s like, unbelievable, truly. I had dreamed it for so long and for it to have happened. Um, and for me to be so proud of what I was able to do, I’m over the moon. If I’m dreaming, please don’t wake me up. I mean, but I do like to eat breakfast, so maybe wake me up. Yeah.”
Sam Star also credited her drag mother, Drag Race legend Trinity The Tuck, for her support.
“Amazing! I mean, thank God, if I would’ve been bad girl, I would’ve been read! But she’s always been such a big supporter, and she told me before going, she said, ‘If you just go and do what you do and show them who you are, you’re gonna be fabulous.’ And thank God I did!”
Source: Denise Truscello /Getty Images For Live Nation
Another season 17 star, Jewels Sparkles, expressed her disbelief at being part of Drag Race.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty Images For Live Nation
“Oh my God, it’s the craziest, most full-circle, most iconic thing ever. It’s just been a dream for so long, and like—girl, we did it, bitch. We’re on Drag Race! Like, oh my God, it’s crazy. It’s the best feeling ever.”
Jewels also reminisced about the moment she fell in love with drag.
“I was in Puerto Rico, and my cousin was like, ‘You need to watch Drag Race. Have you ever watched it?’ And I was like, ‘I’m not watching that, like, I have no interest in watching that show.’ And she was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna watch it, and you’re just gonna have to sit there and put up with it.’ And I remember watching it, like, light bulbs [went off].”
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for MTV
Season 17 contestant Suzie Toot reflected on her own experience.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for MTV
“It’s been really incredible. It’s surreal. It’s absolutely surreal because I’m a fan of Drag Race as much as anybody else is. So, to see myself on it is such a mind f***. Seeing my character, more than anything. It’s like, I came up with Suzie Toot. This is an invention of mine, and whenever RuPaul says Suzie Toot on the show, I’m like, hey, it’s me, I did that. I made that, it exists because of me.”
Susie Toot also had a clear answer when asked which season she’d love to compete in.
“I think season seven. I think season seven had a lot of comedy challenges and a lot of fashion girls, and so I think I could have snuck in pretty well. And the Shakespeare challenge? I would have ate that up. They had some fun challenges on that and the Divine musical challenge. They had some great ones.”
Source: Bryan Steffy / Getty Images for MTV
As the queens of Season 17 basked in the neon lights of Vegas and the grandeur of Drag Race Live!’s 1,000th show, it was evident that they’re the epitome of all great things drag: charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.
These queens are the future of drag, stepping into a legacy that continues to dazzle, inspire, and break boundaries with multiple franchises and 1,000 shows in Vegas.
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for MTV
Source: Denise Truscello / Getty for MTV
In the words of Ru herself, “Shantay, they stay!”
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