- 6/26/2025
Get ready for wig-snatching drama as we spotlight the Lip Sync showdowns where both queens brought the house down and truly deserved a save. From epic rivalries to surprise stunts, these performances were so close, choosing one winner just didn't feel right. Whether it was a high-energy dance-off, a comedic turn, or a straight-up fight for survival, these moments had fans and judges alike questioning the final results.
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00:00Finally, the couple is in the bottom together.
00:02Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:04And today, we're counting down our picks for the lip-sync for your life showdowns
00:08where both queens should have lived to slay another day.
00:10We're only covering the American seasons
00:12and the lip-syncs that ended with a contestant's elimination.
00:19Candy, candy, wait!
00:22Number 20. Brooklyn Heights vs. Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.
00:26People let me tell you
00:29I work hard every day
00:32I get up out of bed
00:35I put on my clothes
00:37Cause I've got bills to pay
00:40When it came time to fight for a spot as one of the top four in the finals,
00:44these two lovebirds had to battle it out to an Aretha Franklin dance hit.
00:48Two more different performers you could not find.
00:51But love, love, love, respect for yourself
00:55And that's why I'm not looking for
01:00Handouts, fancy, welfare
01:02Don't need stealing, feeling
01:05Not my feeling
01:07Brooklyn Heights put her impressive ballet technique to use
01:10while Miss Vanjie tapped into her irrepressible energy.
01:14From there, it's really just a matter of taste.
01:16But Vanjie's performance is too fierce to ignore.
01:19She wants this so bad, and you can see it the whole time.
01:22Oh, oh, oh, oh
01:25Keep on looking at me
01:27All right now
01:28I walk out every day
01:31I get up by my bed
01:34Pull out my clothes
01:36There had never been a top five in the finale before.
01:39If there was time to break with tradition, it was here.
01:43Number 19. Coco Montrese vs. Jade Jolie
01:46I'm spinning, I'm kicking, I'm high energy and fun
01:57I'm just laying everything on the table
01:59The vibes during this Lip Sync for Your Life are out of this world.
02:03Rue's loving it, the Pointer sisters are living,
02:06and Coco Montrese and Jade Jolie are giving I'm So Excited the explosive energy it deserves.
02:10While Coco was clearly the season's Lip Sync Assassin, Jade doesn't just hold her own here.
02:16She gives a fun and goofy performance that feels like pure joy.
02:19I can't underestimate Jade.
02:21She wants this just as bad as I do.
02:23And I just can't hide it
02:24Jade may have been eliminated, but this is such a shining moment for her.
02:28Especially when you consider her opponent is one of the season's most fearsome Lip Sync artists.
02:33I'll get you back to me
02:36I'll get you back, I'll get you back, I'll get you back, I'll get you back, I'll get you back, I'll get you back.
02:43Oh!
02:44Number 18. Morgan McMichaels vs. Kylie Sonny Glove
02:48I, I, I knew, I knew you
02:52I never said I wasn't gonna tell you about it
02:57No, baby
02:58One of the crazy things about Drag Race is how differently a performer's talents may be
03:02considered between an original season and an All-Stars one. Kylie Sonique loves acrobatics
03:07and impressive flexibility were a big part of what nabbed her the All-Stars 6 crown.
03:12But in her original season, those skills are almost portrayed as foolish and just not right
03:17for the song. I was telling myself, you're going to have to do whatever it takes to get you out
03:22of this hole. Landing in the bottom two with Morgan McMichaels, Sonique brings her A-game.
03:31She twirls, splits, and cartwheels all across that tiny stage. Morgan is unimpressed, and
03:37unfortunately, so is Rue. You both approach this with two completely different styles.
03:44Morgan, the precision of your lip sync was one of the tightest we've ever seen.
03:49Sonique, you pulled out all the stops and worked every inch of this stage.
03:56If we could turn back time, though, we'd want to give this the double save it deserves.
04:00Number 17. Jocelyn Fox vs. Laganja Estranja
04:04It's the synchronized split that shook the RuPaul's Drag Race main stage.
04:13But this entire showdown to Pink's stupid girls is a lesson in grace under pressure.
04:17Laganja Estranja had just had the biggest meltdown of the season in Untucked.
04:22I feel very attacked!
04:24Relax, relax.
04:25But she went out there and absolutely smashed this.
04:28Jocelyn Fox rightfully won her way back into the workroom, but still, Laganja was fiercely determined.
04:47Now, we're not here to say Laganja's narrative had not run out by then.
04:51She was clearly against the ropes and crashing fast.
04:54I don't wanna be a stupid girl
04:56Baby, if I act like that
04:59Push up my bra like that
05:02Stupid girl
05:04But she filled this song with all the attitude necessary to at least make it one more week.
05:09Number 16. Corey King vs. Lydia B. Collins
05:12This matchup was more dramatic than usual.
05:26Season 17's Corey King and Lydia B. Collins were actually in a relationship when they lip-synced against each other.
05:32And you cannot say that they didn't go for it.
05:34Kiss me once
05:35Kiss me twice
05:39Come on, pretty baby
05:42Kiss me deadly
05:44Lip-syncing to Lita Ford's 1988 rock song Kiss Me Deadly, these two more than lived up to that title.
05:52Although Corey is the one to sashay away, this is a double shantay in every way possible.
05:57How could someone lose this lip-sync when we all won?
06:00Come on, pretty baby
06:02Kiss me
06:03Come on, pretty baby
06:05This is the moment we've been asking for!
06:13And if you want more proof that this should have been a double shantay, RuPaul was cackling the entire time.
06:20Number 15. Lanaysha Sparks vs. Detox
06:23Take me home
06:24With you is where I wanna be
06:28Crafting your arms tonight
06:32Just making love
06:35There are a lot of reasons Lanaysha Sparks got a raw deal on her season.
06:41The language barrier was a hurdle she didn't always clear,
06:43but the Puerto Rican queen always turned it out when she had to perform.
06:47I think Lanaysha's heart is really coming out and Detox is selling it. It's gonna be a close call.
06:59When she and Detox bombed the Snatch Game, they had to battle their way back in a lip-sync for your life to Cher's disco hit Take Me Home.
07:05Detox's campy approach and impressive jaw action are favoured in the edit of the sequence, but Lanaysha's seductive take on the song is totally different and just as effective.
07:15I'm in heaven, seems like heaven
07:20Time to try.
07:2514.
07:26Nina Bonina
07:26Brown versus
07:27Asia.
07:40Finally is a
07:44showdown of
07:45the season's
07:45underdogs.
07:46Both Asia
07:47and Nina Bonina
07:48Brown had a
07:49rocky road during
07:50season 9.
07:51While other queens had better track records,
07:53these two always came through with the performance.
08:04And Cece Penniston's House Anthem is a song a queen can really let loose on.
08:09Aja is tapping into her dance background,
08:11while Nina goes for a more lived-in, dramatic interpretation of the song.
08:15But the proof that these two were a perfect match
08:17is when they begin to synchronize and battle each other on stage
08:20in the second half of the lip-sync.
08:28These two are bringing out the competitor in the other,
08:31and both show they should have stayed.
08:33Number 13, Latrice Royale vs. Dieter Ritz.
08:50Two lip-sync titans face off to this pounding Gladys Knight soul classic.
08:57If anyone was going to take out Dieter Ritz,
08:59who gave one of the show's best lip-syncs of all time,
09:02it had to be Latrice, who gave another one of the show's best lip-syncs of all time.
09:06Both of these queens were completely in the pocket here.
09:09Between Dita's fierce energy and Latrice's feeling the words down deep in her soul,
09:26there's no loser here.
09:28It's a match-up that's worthy of a double shanté,
09:30and a higher ranking among the show's very best lip-syncs.
09:44Number 12, Monet X Change vs. Cameron Michaels.
09:48Lizzo's Good As Hell is the perfect lip-sync song.
10:01You can play it straight like Cameron Michaels does,
10:04or you can go for the comedy like Monet X Change does.
10:07While Cameron's slick moves and acrobatics had already saved her spot in the season the week before,
10:11this one made her a true lip-sync assassin.
10:14I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby, how you feelin'?
10:19I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby, how you feelin'?
10:24I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby, how you feelin'?
10:24I do my hair toss, check my nails, baby, how you feelin'?
10:25Ooh, child, tired of the foolish, gone dust your shoulders off, keep it movin'.
10:30But Monet's overtly comic approach is just as good.
10:33She tells the story, and she makes us laugh while doing it.
10:37The editing is clearly not in her favor,
10:39with RuPaul looking less than impressed by her slide across the stage.
10:44And we have to wonder if she charged Monet for that light she took out.
10:53Number 11, Jen vs. Silky Nutmeg Ganache.
10:56You love this life entirely, spinning over my head.
11:02You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy.
11:07Week after week, the contestants on the 6th edition of All-Stars faced off in an elimination lip-sync
11:13that would eventually earn them a spot back in the real game.
11:16Silky Nutmeg Ganache was absolutely killing it.
11:19She was destroying every single queen looking for redemption.
11:23But Jan almost stole her spot.
11:25Miss Jan is about to snap her goddamn neck.
11:28She done tore these people the stage up, done broke lights.
11:31There's some good drag right here.
11:35Performing to Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker,
11:37Jan tore up the stage
11:38and matched pace with the reigning lip-sync SmackDown champ.
11:43Jan's kinda turnin' it for me.
11:45I'm not gonna lie.
11:46Miss Silky, Miss Jan is comin' for you, girl.
11:49You better come harder than that.
11:50Although she edged Jan out with a cardboard guitar prop she hid under her coat,
11:55it's safe to say this one was Silky's closest call.
12:07It's always exciting to see Queen's unique interpretations of the same musical material.
12:12And sometimes, they're quite similar.
12:15But for this performance of the Black Eyed Peas' My Humps,
12:17two contestants with starkly different aesthetics took totally opposite approaches.
12:28While Tina played up her gaudy teddy bear outfit and pulled out old-school dance moves,
12:34Utica used her quirky yet high-fashion monster look as inspiration for an oddly spooky take on the song.
12:39Although Utica's combination of snarling and strutting won her the lip-sync,
12:49it was one of the hardest to call in Season 13.
12:53Utica, Shantae, you stay.
12:55Thank you so much, RuPaul.
12:579. Team Latrilla vs. Team Brown Flowers
13:00Queens often have to adapt their performance styles to fit particular songs.
13:12But that wasn't the case for this number.
13:14The choice of show tune perfectly suited Latrice Royale's old-school glamour,
13:18as well as Tammy Brown's retro kookiness.
13:21It was particularly thrilling to see Tammy give her all onstage,
13:25since her only lip-sync on her original season was one of the show's most ill-prepared.
13:30If I had the song down, it would have been better, but I didn't have the song down.
13:33And I had made the decision before I went onstage today
13:35that I was gonna not do that song if it happened to me.
13:39Although both queens were thoroughly entertaining,
13:42Latrice was declared the winner,
13:43and fan favorites Tammy and Nina Flowers were sent home arguably before their time.
13:49But with their sterling reputations and equally lively tributes to Ethel Merman,
13:53it would not have been surprising if both competing drag race legends had Shantae'd.
14:07One of All-Star Season 4's biggest twists put each remaining queen spot in the competition at stake
14:18as they were forced to lip-sync for their life against an already-eliminated peer.
14:22To the tune of RuPaul's Adrenaline,
14:25two of the series' most model-esque beauties went head-to-head in a fierce battle.
14:33While Gia revealed a sparkly, tasseled bodysuit
14:36and showed off perfectly-timed, voguing-inspired moves,
14:40Naomi demonstrated gravity-defying flexibility that had the judges cheering.
14:44With both queens sporting extra-long wigs and Gia whipping hers all over the stage,
14:54the remaining queens were simply in awe.
14:59Although Naomi was declared the winner,
15:02Gia more than proved herself as a captivating performer.
15:05Number 7. Raja vs. Carmen Carrera
15:09Some lip-syncs are campy and others are emotional,
15:12but this Season 3 performance set the bar for sexy.
15:19In contrast to more typically dance-heavy numbers,
15:25here, two friends created an electrifying spectacle
15:28through the sultriest game of one-upmanship the show had ever seen.
15:32I had to muster out all the fierceness I could find within me and just go for it.
15:36Raja gradually disrobed, strutting around in just a see-through top and lingerie,
15:41but Carmen wasn't about to be upstaged.
15:44Raja's getting naked, I'm like, this is gonna be hot,
15:46because Carmen is nudity, and we're gonna throw down right now.
15:50She got totally naked and joined Raja on the floor,
15:53leading to one of the show's most iconic mainstage moments,
15:56courtesy of some red lipstick.
15:58Carmen had already benefited from a double shantay this season,
16:01and had just returned after her first elimination.
16:04But this face-off had RuPaul visibly on the edge of her seat,
16:08and could have warranted a second double save.
16:11Ladies, we've had 28 lip-syncs for your life,
16:16and that was by far, straight up, the most surprising one ever!
16:21Number 6. Milan vs. Kenya Michaels
16:24This showdown had two of season 4's most energetic performers
16:35ripping up the stage to Madonna's classic, Vogue.
16:39Milan immediately launched into an impressive headstand,
16:42while Kenya started off slowly and seductively,
16:45posing and tossling her hair.
16:47Straight out the gate. Milan's head is on the floor,
16:49his legs are in the air.
16:50And I'm like, uh-oh, this could be bad.
16:52Before long, though, both queens were giving it their all,
16:56and paying homage to the legendary geometric dance style.
16:59And all I can think of is pay homage to the people
17:02who lived in the Vogue world.
17:04On the song's climactic beat,
17:06Milan and Kenya simultaneously dropped to their knees
17:09and then into matching splits,
17:11and the judges ate it up.
17:17The contestants' similarly upbeat lip-sync styles
17:20didn't serve them in every situation,
17:22but here, they combined to produce
17:24one of the show's most impressive all-out dance-offs.
17:27Number 5. Anitra vs. Marsha Marsha Marsha
17:30As soon as it happened,
17:44Drag Race fans knew they were witnessing her story.
17:47Obviously, the big moment here
17:48is Anitra literally jumping over Marsha
17:51while she's in the middle of her own stunt.
17:52It's one of the biggest death blows in any lip-sync ever.
18:05But still, it should not take away from the fact
18:08that Marsha Marsha Marsha
18:09is absolutely slaying this.
18:10She recovers from that moment
18:24and finishes strong,
18:25working the entire stage
18:26and doing all she can to pull focus.
18:29These two are forces of nature,
18:31and this is exactly what
18:32every lip-sync for your life should be.
18:34This season 1 face-off
18:56is considered by some fans
18:57to be the original double shantay
18:59that should have been.
19:01The edit favored eventual winner
19:02BB's more expressive performance.
19:05But Angina gave a regal
19:06and emotional rendition
19:07of Britney Spears' empowerment anthem Stronger.
19:11Stronger than yesterday.
19:14In a move that would later become
19:15a lip-sync cliché,
19:17BB snatched her own wig
19:18to reveal her hair underneath,
19:20while Angina dramatically tossed
19:22her headpiece near the song's climax.
19:24I am stronger.
19:29In the end,
19:30front-runner Angina
19:31was controversially eliminated.
19:32And it's understandable
19:34why this lip-sync
19:34had one of the most
19:35hotly debated outcomes
19:37in Drag Race herstory.
19:46Number 3.
19:47Kennedy Davenport vs. Katya
19:49This lip-sync came at a pivotal moment
19:57in season 7,
19:58as spots in the final four
20:00remained up for grabs.
20:01When their Hello Kitty-inspired looks
20:03weren't loved by the judges,
20:04two highly talented dancers
20:06with opposing drag styles
20:07went head-to-head
20:08to the tune of Katy Perry's Roar.
20:17Both queens went all out
20:19and pulled off
20:20some seriously impressive stunts,
20:22with pageant veteran Kennedy
20:23narrowly eclipsing quirky fan-favorite Katya.
20:26While Kennedy's head-banging,
20:28stomping,
20:28and acrobatic jumps
20:29captured the song's fighting spirit,
20:31Katya's more understated take
20:33tapped into its hopeful message.
20:40This easily stands out
20:41as one of the series'
20:42most inspirational
20:43and uplifting lip-syncs.
20:45And it had the other queens
20:46screaming the performer's praises.
20:48And you're gonna hear
20:50me roar!
20:54Yeah!
20:57Number 2.
20:58Adore Delano
20:59versus Trinity K. Bonet.
21:07It's no secret
21:08that Trinity was a tough opponent
21:10in season 6,
21:11with performances
21:12besting April Carrion
21:13and Milk
21:14already under her belt
21:15by the time she faced
21:16Adore Delano.
21:16In front of legendary choreographer
21:19and singer Paula Abdul,
21:20the queens gave a hot
21:21and heavy interpretation
21:23of her house-inspired song
21:24Vibology.
21:25This number had
21:26everything we want
21:27from a lip-sync,
21:28on-point dance moves,
21:30serious sensuality,
21:31and even a good dose of humor,
21:33thanks in part
21:34to the queen's
21:35wacky animal costumes.
21:36It was Trinity's third time
21:45in the bottom,
21:45a notoriously hard position
21:47to emerge from unscathed.
21:49But if ever there were
21:50a reason to keep her around,
21:52this chemistry-filled duet
21:54was it.
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22:17Number 1.
22:18Coco Montrese
22:19vs. Alyssa Edwards
22:20Season 5's biggest rivalry
22:31between two pageant legends
22:33came to a head
22:34in this performance
22:35of Paula Abdul's
22:36aptly titled
22:37Cold-Hearted.
22:42It's widely understood
22:43as one of the show's
22:44most impressive
22:45and evenly matched face-offs,
22:47with both queens
22:47leaving no stone unturned
22:49in their quest
22:50to outperform the other.
22:51Although Coco had already
22:52shown us her dancing prowess
22:54against Jade Jolie,
22:55she demonstrated mastery
22:56over the song's
22:57rapid-fire rap verse.
23:00I'm making sure
23:01the judges see
23:02every word
23:02that's coming out
23:03of my mind,
23:04as if I was
23:04Paula Abdul herself.
23:06And while Alyssa
23:07threw herself
23:08to the ground
23:08with abandon
23:09and nailed a spinning
23:10jump into a split,
23:12Coco put her gigantic
23:13sleeves to creative use.
23:15Very beautiful.
23:15Her outfit works
23:16perfectly for the
23:17dance moves.
23:18Best thing.
23:19She is everything.
23:20With the dramatics
23:21turned up to 11,
23:23this lip-sync
23:24for your life
23:24felt more like
23:25a battle to the death
23:26and could have
23:27easily gone either way.
23:28Do you agree
23:38with our picks?
23:39Let us know
23:39in the comments.
23:40do you agree with me?
23:49I'm there.
23:50Oh,
23:50no.
23:51Oh,
23:51no.
23:54Oh,
23:54no.
23:55Oh,
23:56no.
23:57Oh,
23:57no.
23:57Oh,
23:58no.
23:59Oh,
23:59yes,
24:00oh,
24:00I'm here,
24:01oh,
24:02no.
24:03Oh,
24:03no.
24:04Oh,
24:05no.
24:05Oh,
24:06no.
24:06Oh,
24:07yeah.
24:08Oh,
24:09oh,
24:09oh,
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