Return of the queens: Rupaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3 previewed

You may have heard the exciting news that a third season of Rupaul’s Drag Race All Stars is returning to the screen in January of the next year on VH1. Recently the cast of returning queens from previous seasons has been released and has all of us incredibly delighted. The cast consists of a strong group of fan favourites that are expected to deliver exciting and energetic performances throughout the competition.

One returning queen that everyone is anxious and rooting for is season 7’s Trixie Mattel. After being eliminated twice in her season, she has been working hard on growing her platform and has gained quite the popularity in the community whether it be through her folk-music, Youtube presence or other performances. Trixie has a Youtube series with another Drag Race alumnus, Katya Petrovna Zamolodchikova, that has been super successful and has gone viral. I would say Trixie is definitely somebody who the queens should be looking out for, and is a front-runner for this competition.

Two other queens that have been selected to return are ChiChi DeVayne and Kennedy Davenport. These two performers both did fairly well in their seasons, both placing 4th overall. The audience who watched season 7 and 8 were intrigued by their high-energy performances and charming personalities. While ChiChi did not have the means to afford the most expensive polished outfits, that didn’t stop her from delivering killer lip-syncs. Now that she’s gotten success and recognition from the show we can look forward to seeing a more polished side to her outfits. Ms. Davenport is best remembered for her hilarious performance in snatch games, in which the queen’s answer questions while impersonating a famous celebrity. Kennedy announced in an interview that she wants to show the world more of herself and make more people interested in Kennedy.

BenDeLaCreme and Thorgy Thor were huge camp queens with big eccentric personalities during their seasons. BenDeLaCreme was not only voted miss congeniality on her season, she also won the snatch game and delivered very elaborate costumes such as her bug-inspired look in season 6. Since her time in the competition, BenDeLa has been writing and producing many performances, including her three one-woman shows. Thorgy Thor was first eliminated because she had a hard time organizing and editing her ideas, which resulted to some messy performances during challenges. Ms.Thor has been working a lot with the drag race company like going on tours with them. She has also been developing her platform as a musician and performing a lot with her violin. Now that Thorgy is officially back, she is hoping to really organize herself and get further in the competition.

Some shocking news to us all is the return of Shangela (for the third time) and Morgan McMichaels. These two queens were from the earlier days of Drag Race, both competing on the second season. Shangela, while known for her being an incredibly big, funny personality, was really remembered by a fight between her and MiMi Imfurst in an episode of “Untucked”. People were very surprised to hear about her return because this is now going to be her third time competing on the show. Morgan McMichaels, also has grown a huge amount and is ready to prove herself she can succeed and not get inside her own head. These two queens are here to show that you can not underestimate the older Drag Race alumni.

The final two coming back are the unique Milk, and fierce Aja. Milk, from season 6, stood out with her weird but creative looks. She presented some iconic outfits on the runway such as walking out pregnant, rocking a long nose, or even wearing a beard which later inspired a future challenge in season 7. During her first run, Milk explains she didn’t care too much about winning but was more focused on inspiring a different genre of drag. Now that she’s been invited back to the show, she is hoping to snatch the crown and win the title of America’s next drag superstar. Aja, fresh off the latest season of Rupaul’s Drag Race was actually the first queen to be revealed. She was most known for her beef with fellow drag competitor, Valentina. People fell in love with her sassy attitude and her hilarious remarks. Despite her last attempt being so recent, Aja thinks she has grown a lot and really developed herself during this short time. In season 9, Aja does not think that she was acting like her full self; and says “she felt like she was in shambles.”. This time around she has a better understanding of what to expect and how she can do better.

But nine queens seems like an odd amount to be returning, since majority of the seasons have had 10-12 queens. This has sparked theories that a 10th queen will be announced once the show has premiered. Although not confirmed, rumoured queens have been season 1’s winner BeBe Zahara Benet, fan-favourite of season 6 Adore Delano, or the feisty Darienne Lake. All three would be excellent choices to return because they all have something to prove to the world. Bebe can prove that she can compete with modern-day queens, and that she has grown from becoming the first winner or the show. Adore could redeem herself after eliminating herself within the first couple episodes on Allstars 2, and prove that she is stronger and better than ever. Lastly, Darienne had received quite a bit of backlash from her season for being shady and rude to her fellow queens, so she can rebuild her reputation and prove she is more than just some rude comments.

This season of All Stars is looking very exciting with all of the fierce queens returning. Every queen is very unique and will bring new aspects of drag to the table. Who do you think will take this year’s crown and title of America’s Next Drag Superstar? Do you think it’s fair that some of these queens are returning for the third time? And will there be a tenth queen? Let us know in the comments and tune in on VH1 this January to find out!