“I’m ready to share Alyssa Edwards again.”
After six long years, drag superstar Alyssa Edwards is back. Edwards is one of the 12 queens competing for a place in the international pavilion at the Drag Race Hall of Fame in “RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars,” which premiered Friday on Paramount+.
And while she faces some fierce competition from the other queens, Edwards declares she has some unfinished business and wants to be crowned Queen of the Mothertucking world.
But what took her so long? She puts it down to trusting her gut; but also, timing was everything. So when the opportunity to appear on “Global All Stars” presented itself, Edwards snatched it up. “I remember sitting there thinking, ‘I’m ready to challenge myself. I’m ready to put my art out back out there.’” She added, “This was a chapter that I felt was unfinished business.”
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The show will see all 12 queens representing their home countries bringing charisma, nerve and talent on an international level. Edwards will represent the flagship American show. “This is where it all began,” she says.
“Drag Race Global” also features Athena Likis (Belgium), Eva Le Queen (Philippines), Gala Varo (Mexico), Kitty Scott-Claus (United Kingdom), Kween Kong (Australia), Miranda Lebrão (Brazil), Nehellenia (Italy), Pythia (Canada), Soa de Muse (France), Tessa Testicle (Switzerland) and Vanity Vain (Sweden).
Edwards likens the latest iteration of the franchise to the Olympics of Drag. Rather than entering through the classic workroom entrance, the queens come out onto a main stage, thus providing them with the brightest of spotlights from the get-go.
That large platform is important for the queens when it comes to representing their countries and their drag, but some are feeling the pressure of taking on this responsibility.
“Drag Race Italia” Season 2 alum Nehellenia admitted she has been feeling nervous. “Italian drag queens are underestimated,” she says. “We’re not famous around the world. We don’t have the same opportunities. We’re just working in clubs. We don’t do TV and premieres, so to be here representing my country and all of my drag sisters can be the first time an Italian queen can show the world that we are all the same.” She adds, “Maybe I can be the voice of all Italian queens and to ask for more.”
Scott-Claus admits, “At first, I was thinking, ‘Okay, it’s just like the last time.’ But it’s not just ‘Drag Race UK,’ it’s the entire bloody United Kingdom. It’s huge, but that’s what also makes it so exciting. To showcase our drag on this global stage is such an honor.”
“Drag Race France” alum de Muse has to grapple with coming from a country considered to be the fashion capital of the world. “That’s just a cliché,” de Muse says, but of course, it adds to the pressure when putting her looks together. “I’m just going to have fun because I see all this talent in front of me, and we can learn from each other,” she teases.
Pythia hasn’t let her run on “Drag Race Canada” give her any preconceived ideas. “I’m going to have fun and go with it,” she says promising to deliver an elevated version of herself. “What happens in the past is in the past, and it served me at the time. This is the future, this is the now, and let’s create something new.”
