RuPaul’s Drag Race 13 EP 14: Top 4 ‘Lucky’ Performance Analysis

This week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race featured the top 4 queens perform the “rumix” of RuPaul’s song, Lucky, and it will identify who goes to the finale.

It seems like RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 has been taking forever to crown a winner. This is because the average number of episodes every season is just fourteen (14). This season is expected to have sixteen (16), with this week’s episode, counted as the 14th. The following ones are supposed to be the Reunion episode, then the Grand Finale. But this is not the only one to have reached this. Season 3 (2009) was also this long.

Ever since each and every one of the queens entered the Werk room, we have been graced by their Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent. But last week’s episode, the 9th queen to sashay away was Olivia Lux, placing 5th on the lineup. She has been an immense talent in the show and has won two challenges. She was sent home by Kandy Muse, who is now part of the top 4.

They lip-synced to Cher’s Strong Enough and it was very heart-felt. I think it deserved the double save more than the Bo$$ lip-sync with Symone and Kandy (again). Having Kandy in the top 4 was very controversial because of her track record. She only had one win and lip-synced thrice already. But despite that, I believe that she earned her spot there and definitely proved to us that she’s a great entertainer, especially in the Roast challenge.

Now, let’s talk about their verses in “Lucky” and we’ll do it in sequence based on the song.

First, we have Gottmik. She was the first competitor to sing in the song. Her lyrics are:

Wake up, girls, it’s now time to listen
Hand on your hip and assume the position
Mama Ru said that we’re all born naked
Gottmik says, “love your body, don’t fake it”
Here’s the tea, I put in work, baby
So fight for yourself and let all the basic haters lurk, baby
That face that’s stamped so right
Clown paint and waist so tight
Boys, girls, and in between
It’s time to crown your queen, let’s go

Her lyrics are very representative of herself. I love the part saying, “Clown paint and waist so tight”, because of her signature white makeup and so often that she wears a corset. I also love how she reminded us of one of Mama Ru’s best songs, Born Naked, and adding her take on it, saying “love your body, don’t fake it”, which is about how you should love yourself and release the real you. It is a line that references her (as Gottmik, and him as Kade), being a transman. Her lyrics are a celebration of who she is.

Her delivery was good as well—with that small and raspy voice, she rapped every lyric. It suited the vibe of the song perfectly. The words are clear and precise. Her singing-rapping is very straight to the point, every second of her part, she rocked.

In the video, she was also very cute. With that tiny body of hers, she was able to work every part of her set. She also nailed the choreography. She was very beautiful and sexy. Blue really did suit her. She was amazing.

Next, we have Kandy Muse. Her lyrics are:

Yo, the Muse is back
Top four, bitch, on the track
She ’bout to bring it back
And you hoes better watch your backs
Queens wish thеy had my spot
They said I would go first
Now I’m laughing from the top (Ha ha ha ha!)
From the hood to Hollywood
With three bad bitchеs on my side
Number one showstopping diva
Now I’m ready for my crown, bitch

This one I also really loved. She brought in a great attitude. This is like a diss track to all of her haters, saying that all of them thought she’d go home first, but now she’s laughing at them while she’s on the top 4. I also particularly love her lyrics, “With three bad bitchеs on my side” because she was not afraid to lift her sisters up. This is despite them being her competitors. She figuratively said that my talented sisters and I got to the top 4, together.

Her delivery though, not as much. She still had the problem of not being to enunciate her words better for us to understand her. Her lyrics are dope, but she wasn’t able to convey them properly. If I hadn’t read the lyrics previously I wouldn’t understand parts of it. Her large and flavorful voice should’ve been a great rapping voice. This was a better one compared to her verse in Condragulations though. This is more understandable.

In the video, she was good. Her choreography was on point and she also worked every part of her set like Gottmik. She didn’t miss a beat and gave a good attitude like she always does. Her personality in this was shining bright, which is what people love about her. She clearly rocked the color yellow, just like when she did that “Beyonce Lemonade” runway moment.

Third, we have Rosé. Her lyrics are:

Little Scottish boy grew up to be the supreme
I’m the definition of the American Dream
Lucky for my daddy who believed in a star
But take it from Rosé, you better work to go far
Every single thing about the bitch is right
Magnify the résumé, the font is tight
I can rap? What a gag
Check it, baby, this is drag

Wow, this one’s great. Her lyrics are good. Just with her opening line, she already made an impact. She introduced herself as the Scottish boy who grew up to be the supreme. And by that, I think she means a supreme drag queen or a performer in general.

She also said that she is the definition of the American Dream, which highlights that being an American, means reaching your dreams, even as a queer person—a minority. She also incorporated the title of the song, “Lucky”, saying that her daw was lucky enough to believe in her. Of course, this made her who she is as a drag queen—a successful one because her father believed in her.

And her delivery, wow, talk about broadway. Her delivery was well done. It was very theatrical. Her vocals for the singing part were superb. Her voice was filled with texture and passion. She hit every note and gave heart. It’s as if she believed every word she said and gave meaning to each and every lyric. She wasn’t done with that though. She also rapped and her enunciation was good.

In her performance in the video, what would we expect from Rosé? Of course, she was still very broadway. Her movements were very extensive. They were large which made her choreography, grand. She was known for being able to dance well. Here, she didn’t disappoint. She was very beautiful despite being called “butch”. She clearly is a star performer.

Finally, in the last verse of the four, we have Symone. Her lyrics are:

(Ahh) You wanna, wanna taste of me?
(Ahh) I’m the mothertuckin’ Ebony…
Enchantress, it took a minute, oh, but now I see
(Ahh) I’m the Sugar Honey Iced Tea
(Ahh) I got the fashion, beauty, and the brains
You see that crown? Oh, baby, that’s for me

Oh, Symone, Symone. My queen. She’s my favorite of them all, but I won’t be bias towards her.

Her lyrics are the shortest, I believe. I’m not sure if it’s because of how she chose to sing it, or her given time was just short. With this, I was left craving for more. I really wanted more from her. I’ve already heard that she is the “Ebony Enchantress” in Condragulations. I understand that it is her branding, but she could’ve brought something more to the table. Other than that, she mentioned herself as a “Sugar Honey Iced Tea” which needed more explanation.

Her lyrics that I liked are “I got the fashion, beauty, and the brains”, which are really her. I also particularly liked “You see that crown? Oh, baby that’s for me”. It was very Symone, because it’s funny and a different way of saying that she’s the rightful winner. That single line was witty for me. I wish she had more things like that.

And her delivery, as I mentioned, I didn’t quite get if it’s the reason why her part was short. She chose to prolong the words that she wanted to emphasize. It brought attitude and flavor to the song a lot. It is very much reminiscent of the “flag fact’ry” moment. I’m glad she brought that back because it is one of the first moments we truly loved her.

Some of the comments I have read online didn’t particularly like this, but I did. I thought it gave more attitude and identity to her delivery. The only wish I had for these to be improved is really her lyrics. It was so short. I wanted more! That’s what lacked for me.

Lastly, with her performance in the video, it was very Symone. She was a real supermodel with how she worked every part of her body. Her aura and stance when she was first showed was breathtaking. She also brought back that quirky, yet very elegant way of how she lip-synced.

With all of this said, they still had to do one final runway to identify who’s going to the finale. Category is: Drag Excellence!

Gottmik had a white gown that had black spots. It was very Cruella De Vill, which was very fun, but still very fashionable. This also reminded us how fun, yet elegant her take on drag is.

Next, we have Kandy who sported,  like, a 60’s look with her hair and dress. She said that girls would probably wear gowns, that’s why she wore this. For me, the colors didn’t mesh well, and the way the dress was tailored for her didn’t really do her body’s form, justice. It was not flattering. The garment used to make this was wrong; the sleeves were weird, it’s also wrong. Hunny, it was definitely a choice.

Third, we have Rosé.  Wow, this look is good. Once again, she proudly wore her Scottish badge. She wore a gown made entirely of tartan; the pattern was beautiful; her hair was very big, and as she said, it is a shade of the most beautiful Scottish-orange ginger. This was very elegant. The only critique I could give this was the gown could’ve given her a better shape, because this made her look huge. I thought it was kinda baggy.

Lastly, Symone. NOW, THIS! Oh my god, I can’t breathe. It is very beautiful. She wore a gown that is a shade of violet. The garment looked very nice and chic. It complemented her beautiful chocolate skin. It was tailored to her very well. Her hair was also styled nicely and is like a beautiful shade of gold. It was a very good contrast to the large gown because it was very small. Her silver pair of earrings was also a very nice piece, which went well, and in style the silver strikes on her hair and her silver pumps. We couldn’t expect less for Symone when it comes to this. It was just perfection. Oh god, I’m screaming!

This was a very interesting top 4 because they are diverse and a huge representation of their own kind of drag. That’s why Mama Ru decided that they should lip-sync for their life individually to Whitney Houston’s I Learned From the Best. It is to further accentuate their performance and the judges could examine them more closely.

In the end, all of them were able to make it to the finale. Mama Ru announced that they are all moving on to the next round.

Having all of these discussions and comments, who do you think should be America’s Next Drag Superstar? And better yet also ask, who would be crowned?

I’m Team Symone, all the way!